Pre Production - Location, Prop List, Shots, Risk Assessment & Production Schedule

Location, There are only two main locations the first is grange park which is in South Norwood, this has been chosen as as it is quiet and isolated also because of the amount of tree's it makes the area look very dark and creates tension. The second is in a bedroom as it is a private area of the home which adds a sense of reality whilst at the same time a place where you can be alone and makes the character seem isolated.

Prop List.

 

Shot Analysis.

Risk Assessment

Production Schedule

Storyboard

Shot 1: Black screen, to create anticipation as they wait for something to happen.

Shot 2: The ex girlfriend is peering from behind a window watching the couple walk through a dark isolated park. This is an over the shoulder shot from behind the ex girlfriend so there is a long shot view of the couple walking together alone. 

Shot 3: The ex girlfriend is looking at the facebook profiles of the new couple alone in her dark bedroom scrolling up and down in a crazy, psychotic manner. This is also an over the shoulder the shot as throughout this opening sequence the audience will not see the ex-girlfriends face.

Shot 4: The ex girlfriend is looking at a single picture of the couple making scribbles and notes all over the picture in angered way alone in her dark bedroom. This shot is a high angle shot at it will show the picture and the back of the ex girlfriend.

Shot 5: The shots fades into a black screen and the words "WHEN THE JEALOUSY GETS OUT OF CONTROL" appear on the black screen.

Shot 6: The shot then jumps into another clip of the ex girlfriend looking at a series of pictures of the new couple all of which have been ripped and have notes scribbled all over them.

Shot 7: The shots fades into a black screen again and the words "AND IT BECOMES AN OBSESSION" appear on the dark background.

Shot 8: There is a jump shot of the ex girlfriend watching a video on youtube of the couple this is an over the shoulder shot from behind the ex girlfriend. 

Shot 9: Then there is a rewind shot of the ex girlfriend rewinding the video over and over again in a frantic way. This is also a over the shoulder the shot from behind the ex girlfriend.

Shot 10: This is another over the shoulder shot of the ex girlfriend rewinding the video once again and then she makes a loud bang on the desk of the table eliciting fear in the audience as the sound is so shocking.

Shot 11: The shot then fades into a black screen where the words "CREATED BY D'MEE SMITH, GIANNI FRANCIS , GEORGINA SOLOMON IS..." appear on the black screen then the black screen fades out. 

Shot 12: The screen fades out and jumps into the shot of a a phone zoomed into the screen and in the screen the words say "I CAN SEE YOU" then the rest of the film would continue and this us when the title sequence would fade out.

Quentin Tarantino Case Study

Quentin Jerome Tarantino, born in March 1963 is a well known director and his most well known for the thriller films that he has directed. As part of creating my own thriller title sequence, I will be looking at some of his work as inspiration to see what makes a appealing thriller opening title sequence. I will be looking at 4 of his most famous films Pulp fiction, Reservoir dogs, Jackie brown and Kill Bill Vol. 2 and analysing them to see what identifies them as thrillers.

The opening title sequence to pulp fiction starts off with people talking and a robbery taking place however it doesn’t reveal any characters that are involved and what their role may be within the film which leaves the audience unaware and starts them off with only a small amount of information which would get them thinking and creating a potential storyline. The music is not what is usually matched up with a thriller film and seems more comic which may add some confusion for the audience. Also the opening credits are very cartoonist and childlike which is also disoriented from the dialogue that is used and what is usually associated with a thriller opening title sequence. This opening sequence is good for a thriller because the audience have little information to start the film off with which allows them to think for themselves more.

In the opening scene of Reservoir Dog’s it starts with a conversation with a group of men that seem to be having a serious conversation however it is not clear as to what it is about, this allows for a lot to be left to the audiences imagination and to make further assumptions about who these group of men are and what they do. There is then a wide shot of the group of men which moves into close ups of all the men which then allows the audience to identify each character, however they don’t know anything about any of the characters so they can only assume their role by the expression of their face and the actions they’re doing.  Once again the music seems to be disconnected from the men’s personas and is cheerful and catchy music, which gives no insight into the rest of the film. The lighting seems to be bright however it ends with a bloody man in a back of the car which would give further insight into who these men are and their roles however it gives no indication to the storyline and why the man in bloody.

The start of the opening scene of Jackie brown starts with music which is cheerful and happy and a lady on a conveyor and it follows this lady on the conveyor for a fairly long period of time which leads the audience in the unknown about who she is, what she does and what is going to happen in the film. The text is typical of the 60’s style which could suggest a time period but not anything suspicious or negative is associated. Then there is shot where we can see into people luggage and it contains suspicious objects such as a gun which adds the element of danger and this creates more curiosity about who the woman is. Throughout this the lighting is very bright which creates no element of unawareness and also there is no dialogue used until the end where she is not saying anything suspicious and it is revealed that her job is a flight attended. So throughout the opening scene not a lot of indication is given away about the film and who the main character is.

In the opening scene of Kill bill Vol.2 it seems very unlike the other works of Quentin Tarantino as it starts with a woman lying on the group who looks badly beaten up being shot, which immediately puts the theme of violence and danger into the film. However it does not show the rest of the woman’s body as it just a close up and it does not show who shot her, which leaves the audience with only a small amount of information. Then it goes into a shot of that same woman driving her car and describing her experience after that incident, however she does not describe why this happened but she does reveal the name of who did it and what she is going to do next which gives audience an idea of what will happen. When the woman is speaking she is speaking very dramatically and quietly which could create suspense for the audience. There is also suspicious and gradually building music in the background which would suggest that this character is going to do something dramatic and shocking. The whole of the opening sequence was in black and white which meant that the audience could not get a clear insight to the setting and the atmosphere which leaves them in the unknown slightly.

From looking at these four opening sequences it is clear that Quentin Tarantino uses a lot of confusion to make the audience unaware. He also doesn’t give away the storyline in the opening sequence however he can still inform with snippets of information. This way of directing allows the audience to figure things out and think for themselves which is what a thriller is meant to do.

David Fincher

David Fincher was born in 1962 in Colorado however he was raised in California. At the young prime age of 18 he first got into the film industry by working for John Korty at Korty films. He then went on to work at ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) before leaving to start his directing career with TV advertisements and music videos. He is a now well know thriller director. Some of his works, include, panic room, Fight club and seven and he likes to use similar characters such as Brad Pitt who stars in all of those films. In this case study I will be looking at some of the works of Fincher and looking at what conventions of a TV drama he sticks to and what he includes in his films to make them a TV drama.

In the opening credits of seven it is apparent that the genre of this film is thriller, this is because of the lighting, music, credits, edits and what is shown in this opening sequence. The lighting within seven seems to be very dark throughout, however in each shot there is always an element of light and this element of light allows the audience focus on a specific aspect of the shot. The music in seven is not typical musical music and sounds like electricity sparks, which adds suspicion for the audience as the sounds could suggest something and be a clue for the audience. This will raise questions for them, which is a convention of the TV drama of thrillers. The credits used have a sketchy effect and when they fade in and out of the screen they shake and move which can add an element of tension for the audience. Also the clips within this opening sequence show information that could help put together a storyline throughout the film but because of the lack of dialogue and that fact that it’s a series of short snippets means that the audience are still left I the unknown.

The music in the opening sequence of the fight club starts off and continues throughout the sequence the music was very fast and this creates anticipation for the audience as they wait for something exciting to happen. The lighting throughout the opening sequence is very dark and light is highlighted and flickers on the zoomed in nerves which are not obvious until the light flickers, This leaves the audience in the unknown as to who’s nerves they are and why they are a significant in the opening sequence. The credits contrast with the music and move quite slow which makes them stand out and they disperse off the screen, which adds a spooky element to the opening sequence. The fact that the majority of the opening sequence starts off as a zoomed in shot of nerves and throughout zooms out until it eventually comes to a face which reveals a small amount of information to the audience but not a lot, so they are still left with questions as to who this person is. 

The opening sequence of the panic room seems to be quite the opposite of the typical conventions of a thriller as the lighting is generally quite bright and looks like a typical sunny day in New York, which would raise no suspicion of the audience. Also the words don’t contrast with the background like they do in other opening sequence; this is quite unusual for an opening sequence. The shots are quite jumpy and show different aspects and parts of New York; however these shots don’t pan quickly which means that anticipation is not created and the audience have time to attempt to figure things out. The music was quite boring and classical which seems to be unrelated as to what could potentially happen next and the conventions of a thriller. However from the opening sequence not a lot of information is given and this is when this film seems to conform to the conventions of a thriller as the audience would be left in the unknown and are left with a lot of questions.

From looking at all of those films it is clear that Fincher always leaves the audience with questions, he leaves a lot up to the imagination of the audience and although he gives clues about the storyline in his opening sequences the information given is limited and therefore the audience would be left confused which is a key feature to the conventions of a thriller film. Fight club and Seven are similar in the opening sequence as small information is revealed, the lighting is very dark with glimmers of light that highlight important aspects of the shot and give clues to the rest of the film. However panic room seems to be quite the opposite because its brighter, less information is given away and the music is classical and contrasting to the conventions of a thriller, however one thing that is similar throughout the films is that the audience are left with questions about the potential storyline, which is valuable as this is partially what can make a film a thriller.

Opening Title Sequence Analysis

‘The Hunted’

Within the title sequence the lighting is very dark and any colour used in the lighting is very patchy which creates the effect that something sudden will happen in the film. The sound is spooky and mysterious and the use of the scream at the end gives the audience the idea that something frightening has or will happen. The fact that the text is scary creates the idea of being unsure to the audience. There are a lot of close up used within the opening sequence which enables the audience to only focus on the specific aspect of the shots which doesn’t allow the audience to see anything else and this creates suspense.

‘Days of Atonement’

The lighting within this opening clip is also very dark and all the bright lighting used makes the audience focus on the aspect of the shot. This will raise questions for the audience as to why they’re focusing on the specific aspect. The sound used builds tension as it gets faster it makes you think that something exciting will happen. The little amount of text used doesn’t distract the audience from the character or what is going on in the opening scene, which leaves a lot to the imagination and allows the audience to think. The camera angles used in this clip are, close ups, over the head shots and mid shots and these all allow the audience to focus on the character because even when you are able to see the background it is not distracting for the audience.

‘Blitz’

The lighting throughout this short film is allows very dark and any light used within the filming of this clip is a very dark light which leaves the audience in the unknown and allows them to think about what has previously happened and what will happen next. The sound builds tension and suspense for the audience, which allows the audience to think and doesn’t show the audience what, may happen in the movie. The text is very basic which is not a distraction however the way that the words fade in add an element of suspense and spookiness to this opening clip. In this film there are a lot of close ups and wide shots this allows the audience to see whole scene and then they are able to focus on the aspect which allows them to see clues into what may happen within the film.

Thriller Genre Conventions

A Thriller is a type of film that has an exciting plot and sometimes a form of criminal activity. The aim of a thriller is to raise questions for the audience whilst at the same time adding suspense and tension through the storyline and characters. Thriller’s are usually a very popular type of movie as it is the genre of film that makes the audience feel the most involved as not all of the information is given to them and information is not usually revealed as easily as other information. Also some of the conclusions that arise in the as a result of the films plot in left up top the audiences interpretation of the character or an event that has happened within the film.  My opening sequence and film conforms to the genre of thriller, as there is an underlying idea that criminal activity takes place. But it mostly causes a lot of assumptions and questions to be raised, this is because even though the opening sequence seems to reveal a lot of information it also deceives the audience which makes them confused about the reality of the film itself.

A sub-genre is usually a storyline that co-acts with the usual storyline; this is usually used to confuse the audience. In some cases the stories can be unrelated however majority of the time the sub-genre storyline is key aspect of the thriller storyline and is perplexing for the audience as it is harder to identify how each character becomes involved with one another and this will raise more questions for the audience which helps the film to conform to thriller genre of film. The sub-genre in my opening sequence and runs throughout the film is romance, as the whole thriller is based on a couple and a jealous and psychotic ex. It seems obvious as to what may happen however this is a disguise for who the characters really are within the film whilst still sticking to the romance and thriller genres.

Editing within a thriller is key as it can help the scenes that has been shot conform to the typical conventions of thriller when put together into a film. Many editing techniques have been used. One that is used very often is zoom in’s and close up as they focus on a particular aspect of the scene which allows clues to be given for questions to be raised. Also this blocks out other information that can be going on around that particular aspect and which can leave audience in the unknown. Within my thriller opening sequence we have used close for this particular reason, also this gives an insight into what may happen within the rest of film. We also used the editing technique of putting a sepia colour effect over our opening sequence as this highlights the emotion of the character also the dark colours add to the thriller genre.

Characters within the opening sequence are vital to the conformation of the thriller opening sequence. As the roles that they are portraying is what makes the film a thriller. For example the psychotic character within my opening sequence helps to conform to the genre as the behavior she shows is of criminal activity and adds excitement to plot as well as creating suspense for the audience with her role as a psychotic, jealous ex.

The mise-en-scene in the film is the most important and location, props, character performance and dialogue all work together to meet the conventions of a thriller.  For example within my opening sequence, the location of a bedroom shows isolation and seclusion from the outside world which adds to her psychotic behavior as this is a key feature of stereotypical mentally unstable people. The props within the sequence also add to the characters personality as the use of the laptop, creates verisimilitude to the opening sequence and the character. However the use of the pictures adds to the obsession she is trying to show and raises questions for the audience as to why the character has the pictures and what is her relationship with those within the pictures. Character performance is vital as it makes the character seem as realistic as possible whilst at the same time exaggerating the psychotic and jealous features of the character, which conforms to the conventions of a thriller film. Finally dialogue is important, the lack of dialogue within the opening sequence means that less information is revealed about the character which adds suspicion to the audience which is a key feature to the thriller genre. Music is also very important as it sets a tone and atmosphere for the film and how it may continue throughout the film. The eerie sound within our opening sequence make the opening sequence conform to the thriller opening sequence and creates suspense for the audience.

Fireworks Thriller Logo Test

During the Lesson today I learned how to use Fireworks. This programmer will allow me to create a logo for my thriller Title Sequence. This is a test example of the stages that I will have to go through to make my logo.