Planning: Micro-elements (Mr Smith)

Micro-elements are a significant part of films. This is because it is the key factor to putting the different scenes into one whole prouduction flowing smoothly. The three elements are cinematography, sound and editing.

Cinematography:

Cinematography is important to films because it gives the audience a different representation of the character and allows the audience to respond in different ways. The cinematography we will be using is...

An ariel shot is used right at the beginning when the scene opens and the audience see both bodies laying on the floor. We chose to use this because it will show the bodies and iconography clearly for the audience to grasp the atmosphere in the first couple seconds of the scene. 

A close up is used when showing Carlie's hand. This to emphasise the cuts and damage that has happened to her. She will still be bleeding which suggests the violence that has occurred before. This will help give the audience and understanding of what has happened before hand. This is conventional to a thriller as close ups are almost always used for emphasis to affect the audience. 

A zoom out will be used just after the shot of Carlie's eye. It zooms out to see the rest of her body and also Lashane's. We decided to use this as it would help create a natural flow from the eye shot to the bodies then zoom out more into a fade to white. These edits work quite well together which helps the audience stick to the narrative. 

A high angle will be used when the female victim is scurrying around after waking up from being knocked out by the violence between her and her boyfriend, she is looking for a gun. We have chosen to use this high angle to show the character as an inferior character. This is conventional to a thriller because it shows vulnerability in victim which is usually what is shown in thrillers. 

Medium shots will be used when the audience is shows the 2 injured bodies laying on the floor. We've chosen to use this because it shows a clear view of both bodies and how injured they are. This is conventional to a thriller because it allows the audience to not only see both of the characters, but some of the scenery. 

Long shot will be used for the end to show the last shot of all the 3 characters. We have chosen to use this because it's a shot where we can see all the characters actions in the last shot which is very significant to the thriller.

A shot reverse shot will be used when both actors are arguing. We will use this to create tension between the two characters. This is conventional to a thriller because it will generate a reaction from the audiences as well as encouraging emotion and helping withdraw meaning.

An extreme close-up will be used when the antagonist is introduced. This will be used to give the audience a clear view of the character entering the narrative. It will show the emotion of the character therefore giving spectators time to try and figure out what her intentions are. This is conventional to a thriller because the extreme close-up will also show that the character has a hidden identity, making the audience feel uneasy. 

Editing:

Editing is important in films because it uses different techniques in order to put the film together. Editing we will be using are...

Fade to black is used when the production company's name comes up on a black screen and edits into the next shot of the hand dripping with blood. We have chosen to use this edit because it runs smoothly with the background of black and in the first edit.

Fade to white is used when we're doing a flashback scene. We used the fade to white as this symbolises the reminiscence of what had happened. This will give the audience a clear understanding that the scene is going into a flashback.

Straight cuts will also be used quite regularly as it is one of the most significant edits when putting a film together. It is quite easy to use and does not confuse the audience which is why we chose to use them. 

Sound:

Sound is important in films because it is used to create understanding for the audience and to create more meaning about the character and emotions. We will use...

Non-diegetic sound is used when the shots are showing 2 injured bodies, this music is very dim but eerie for the audience to listen to. We used this because it would make the audience feel uncomfortable watching the scene. This is conventional to a thriller because in the making of a non-diegetic sound you can bring the atmosphere to a certain moment in the scene with an upbeat tone of sound to make the audience jump out their seats. 

Parallel sound is used when the flashbacks are happening with the couple. You can hear their voices and what they are arguing about. We have chosen this so the audience feel what the characters are feeling through their words and passion in their voices. This is conventional to the thriller genre because it shows violence in the characters and the situation itself which is needed for the audience to have an understanding. 

Diegetic sound is a sound part of the film world and will be used during the flashback scene of the couple arguing.The audience know exactly where the sound is coming from and is important for the audience to hear the dialog between both characters. This is conventional to a thriller film as without diegetic sounds the audience will not understand the film. 

On screen sound will be used when Carlie is arguing with Lashane and objects are being smashed about. e.g. the glass and frames.  The audience is able to hear the smashing and see exactly where the noise is being created. 

Off screen sound will be used when the gun is used to shoot someone. You will not be able to see where the gun shot is coming from but you will hear it. We have chosen to use this because it is very conventional to a thriller film , by the way it leaves the audience in suspense and will encourage the theme of mystery. 

Overall, this has been beneficial to our group as it has given us a clear understanding of what different techniques we are using and why we are using them. Also, it has shown just how significant it is to use the micro-elements. 

Planning: MES (Mr Smith)

Mes en scene (MES)

MES in very important in film making. This is because it allows the audience to grasp the different elements in detail. These different elements also help set the scene as they help portray the narrative.

The 5 sections of MES are: 

Setting: 

We chose to set our thriller in an ordinary dark room in a house. The rooms we chose to film in are the living room and bathroom. We decided that a house would be the best place to film as it portrays the couple living together and also easy to build low-key lighting. We hope this setting gives our audience a daunting atmosphere and builds tension on what is going to happen.

Iconography:

The iconography we chose to use are..

•Blood: to portray to reality of the violence that has take place. Also, to show danger and scare the audience. 

•Smashed glass: to also portray violence that has taken place. Suggests that the characters are aggressive to one another.

•Frames: to portray the reality of their relationship and also it being thrown about suggests that they're not getting along anymore.

•Lipstick: to portray the confidence the antagonist has and how she wants to make herself look good.

•Gun: to portray violence and danger. Suggests how angry the character is towards the other and wants to resolve he situation in violent way.

Costume, Hair, Make-up:

Character 1: Carlie 
She should be wearing grey casual clothes to show her depression to the audience.
Also, natural make-up, however, make-up dripping by the end of thriller.
Big curly messy hair to portray her anger and craziness.

Character 2: Lashane
He should be wearing all black clothing in order to portray a dark and mysterious character.
Neat hair as he isn't angry but feeling more guilty.
No make-up

Character 3: Zelal
She should be wearing all black clothing (hoodie) to portray a mysterious and anonymous character for the audience.
Dark lipstick and nails to portray her arrogant personality.
Straight long hair, neat. Suggesting she is a perfectionist.

Lighting:

Low-key lighting and the use of candles to create a smokey atmosphere. This is to make the audience feel disturbed, alarmed and frightened. Also, this is conventional to thrillers as most thrillers shoot scenes with low-key lighting to maintain tension and anxiety for the audience which is what we would like to achieve.

Colour:

The use of dark colours such as black's, grey's and red's as it sets a daunting atmosphere and is conventional to a thriller. Lighter colours would suggest that something good or happy is about to happen which is why thriller tend to stick which dark colours creating a adrenaline rushing atmosphere.


Planning the MES has been beneficial as it has helped the group understand exactly what is going to be included. Also, identifying the MES helps the audience grasp the details easier and have the right response to our thriller. Without MES, it would be extremely difficult to portray a narrative which would engage the audience and attract them.

Planning: Character Representation (Miss Begum)

Character Representation:

Character representation is very significant in the film making industry. The character representation allow the audience to understand each character in much more depth and detail. It is important to have characters witch different personalities and characteristics. The audience should be able to easily identify which characters are either the victim, protagonist or antagonist. 

Name: Carlie Cokell-Smith

Character role: Character 1, Girlfriend of character 2. 

Age: 21

Gender stereotype of role: Young female, attractive and innocent. 

Costume: Grey clothing, quite casual.

Hair&Make-up: Big curly hair, natural make-up, quite pale.

Body language: Confident, upright, slightly weak and vulnerable. 

Facial expressions: Angry, frustrated, upset, scared. 

Represented as: Angry girlfriend who is hurt by her boyfriends actions. 

Role within narrative: Arguing with her boyfriend after hearing he cheated on her. She attempts to kill him as he is unconscious, however, is stopped by mystery girl who walks in with a gun. 

Name: Lashane Williams 

Character role: Character 2, Boyfriend of character 1. 

Age: 21

Gender stereotype of role: Young male, attractive, suspicious, has a dark side. 

Costume: All black clothing. 

Hair&Make-up: Neat hair. 

Body language: Confident, masculine, strong, built, superior.

Facial expressions: Angry, frustrated. 

Represented as: Deceitful boyfriend who denies his wrong actions of cheating. 

Role within narrative: Arguing with his girlfriend over him cheating. Gets both girls caught up in the situation and nearly gets shot by character 1 (Carlie).

Name: Zelal Keskinbisak 

Character role: Antagonist 

Age: 21

Gender stereotype of role: Young female, attractive, intelligent, arrogant, selfish. 

Costume: All black clothing, choker round neck, hoodie covering her face, hidden identity. 

Hair&Make-up: Long straight hair, dark lipstick, quite pale and nails dark. 

Body language: Upright and confident. 

Facial expressions: Bland, emotionless, serious. 

Represented as:  A crazy girl in love with character 2 (Lashane).

Role within narrative: She gets ready to attempt to kill character 1 (Carlie). Is seen putting on her lipstick looking good and proud of herself. However, audience does not know if she succeeds. 

Overall, character representation has been extremely useful as my group have a clear understanding of what each character presents and brings to our thriller.

Planning: Production roles (Miss Begum)

Production roles are positions in which are given to certain people to help make the film. Each person which a role is responsible for their own and has to fulfill it. These are some of the production roles...


1) Camera operator: 

Organise the scenes by working alongside the story boarder operating the camera to capture different shots, angles and sizes. Responsible for capture and bring ideas alive on screen.


2) Producer:
The producer makes sure everything is ready for the director and ensures good communication amongst the entire team.

3) Director:
A director is the person who controls the making of the film. Also controls the films artistic and dramatic aspects and visualises the script while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision. Director also finalises decisions.

4) Lighting:
Responsible for the design of the lighting plan for a production. Ensures there is the right lighting for different scenes.

5) Location:
This role is responsible in finding a suitable and necessary location for the different scenes.

6) Costume, hair & make-up:
This role is responsible in making the actors/actresses look their character. The appearance of the characters are extremely important as they need to match the expectations of the character they are playing.

7) Storyboard:
The story boarder is responsible in planning the scenes and making sure they're being fulfilled. Without the story board the scene would not flow very well and would be very unorganised.


8) Editor:
The editor is responsible in putting the scenes together so they look professional and flow better.

9) Sound:
The sound person is responsible in creating the music included in each scene.

The roles in our group...

1) Camera operator: Emine 
As a group we decided to assign Emine the role of the camera operator as she has had past experience working in a photography shop where she learnt how to operate a camera.

2) Producer: Carlie
We decided to assign Carlie the role of the producer as she is good at keeping good communication amongst the team.

3) Director: Me
We decided to assign myself as the director as I believe I am good at managing and organised. Also, I have had past leadership experiences.

4) Lighting: Me
We decided to assign myself with the lighting role because I have had experience in holding different lighting for a long period of time as I have a steady hand.

5) Location: Emine
We decided to assign Emine with the location role as most of the settings are going to be set in her house and she will know whether it is available and suitable.

6) Costume,Hair,Make-up: Me
We decided to assign myself with this role as I believe I am quite creative and enjoy designing things.

7) Storyboard: Carlie
We decided to assign Carlie with the story boarding role as hers was the most detailed and narrative was most organised.

8) Editor: Emine
We decided to assign Emine as the editor as she has past experience of editing in her music GCSE.

9) Sound: Carlie
We decided to assign Carlie this role as she has had experience in mixing music together and making sound.

Conclusion:

Overall, from understanding the different production roles it has helped our group understand who exactly is responsible for each role. This will make it much easier for when we come to filming our thriller. 

Planning: Storyboarding (Miss Begum)

Story boarding:

Story boarding is the section after the script and before the filming. Story boarding is used to carry out exactly what shot, what props etc is going to be used in each scene. Story boarding includes clear images of what is going happen in the scene, the narrative and all the micro-elements. There are 9 elements included in story boarding which are...

1) Shot
2) Duration
3)Iconography
4)Setting-location
5)Lighting
6)Sound/Dialog
7)Edit
8)Characters
9)Narrative description

Story boarding is essential when film making as it organises the shoot better. The director will know exactly what to shoot first which will make it quicker and easier. Also, the director will be sure of the narrative and does not have to worry about remembering every single detail as that should be carried out on the story board. 

This is my storyboard...

Planning: Opening Scene Narration (Miss Begum)

Opening Scene Narration

My thriller opening scene will start with pictures of a crime scene. Someone is dead on the floor and has not been identified yet to the audience. The victims body is covered and there are detectives around the body. The audience can hear picture shots and sirens in the background. This then cuts to a interview scene with a medium shot of the antagonist, (which the audience does not know yet) wearing dark colours. The police is talking to the antagonist however she is not listening due to the voices in her head. The voices get louder and she starts having fits and cannot control herself. She eventually can't take the noises anymore and starts screaming which leads to her fainting which fades to black on the edit. During this black out it should be silent so it will build suspense for the audience. When she is awakened she can hear shuffling noises and is tied down to a bed. The girl starts seeing flashbacks where it fades to white in order to make it clear to the audience. The first flashback is of her boyfriend dead and her sitting in the corner shaking and panicking. The girl cannot stop moving as she does not know how to react towards her actions. Then the scene goes back to her sitting on the bed again where the camera shows a close up of her face which will show her concentrating on her thoughts. Then the second flashback shows her actually killing her boyfriend. The audience at this point still do not know why she has killed him however find out at the ending scene where she is smiling and says "Our love died so I guess he had to." I would want my audience to respond in a shocked way as I want to story line to be unexpected. I also would like the audience to question the scene as it would suggest they are interested in it and would want to watch more. 

Planning: Final Idea (Mr Smith)

Final Idea

Title: The Red Flag/Unknown/Alone

Narrative/plot: Credits - Pictures of crime scene, pictures of families, sirens, picture noises, police tapes, walky talkies. Then there is an interview scene with a medium shot of the antagonist wearing dark colours, hair is big, curly. Police is talking to antagonist, she can't hear, leads to muffling of his voice. Antagonist starts hearing things, P.O.V shot, schizophrenia kicks in. Tension builds, voices louder, leads to her having a fit. Fade to black on P.O.V and moment of silence after she drops. When she wakes up she can hear shuffling noises, doesn't know whats happening. Audience sees flashback of girl killing her boyfriend saying "Our love died so I guess he had to."

Narrative structure: Todorov, Aristotle - provoking emotion which is conventional to a thriller.

Characters:  

• Dead boy on the floor covered up - Victim
• Young girl - Antagonist 
• Police officers
• Nurses (because she's ill) 

Mise en scene:

• Lighting & Colour: Low-key lighting, under lighting (when she wakes up) , top lighting (interview)  back lighting. Colours should be dark, however interview room should be white. 

• Settings: Hospital/Police station, forest, crime scene. 

• Body Language & Facial expressions: Antagonist physical appearance is quite petite however confident and sleek. 

• Costume, hair and make-up: Costume of antagonist should be dark colours and leather. Police/nurse wearing uniforms. Hair of antagonist should be messy, big, curly and make-up, dark circles under the eyes. 

• Iconography: Blood, knife, ropes, pictures, medicine.

Film influences:

Se7en
Shutter Island
Memento
Identity

Why is this opening conventional to a thriller?

This opening is conventional to a thriller film because the narrative revolves around an investigation. Also, a convention of a thriller is violence and harm being the focus of the storyline which is what I have included.

What themes does your thriller present?

Psychological 

Death

Obsession

Envy

Crime

Violence

What response will you get from your audience?

The response I expect from my audience is to be curious, frightened and disturbed. I would like the audience to be attracted to the narrative and enjoy watching it.

Planning: Initial Ideas (Miss Begum)

Initial Ideas

Many ideas have been presented during my groups discussion of the initial ideas. We discussed Carlie's, Emine's and my idea for our thriller. 

IDEA 1: Carlie

• Narrative: Girl being interviewed by the police because she killed both of her parents. 
• Title: Alone
• Sub-genre: Crime
• Characters: 2 police officers, teenage girl, parents dead on the floor. 
• Narrative structure: Todorov, Aristotle
• MES: White room (police station) Bedroom. 

An advantage of this idea is that the story line is conventional to a thriller. The sub-genre matches mine and Emine's. The settings can be easily located for example, police stations white room could be in a bedroom instead. A disadvantage of this idea is that there is no highest point of conflict which needs to be discovered.

IDEA 2: Emine

• Narrative: A young girl who loses her way in life and ends up spiritually possessed. 
• Title: The red flag 
• Sub-genre: Psychological/Crime 
• Characters: Female victim, children, crazy man, police. 
• Narrative structure: Aristotle
• MES: Urban setting, city, flashing lights, dark, leather clothing. 

An advantage of this idea is that the story line is conventional to a thriller. MES is quite easy to access. However, a disadvantage, it might be difficult to express a possessed person.

IDEA 3: My Idea

• Narrative: Crime scene, someones dead, eye witness can't explain what they saw. Or, the killer has schizophrenia and controls his life. 
• Title: The Unknown
• Sub-genre: Psychological/Crime
• Characters: Nurses, police, victim, female antagonist, no protagonist.
• Narrative structure: Todorov, following the structure. Aristotle, importance of plot, arouse/provoke emotion within tragedy. 
• MES: Forest, abandoned places, dark places. Low-key lighting, back lighting. Blood, knifes, tools, walky talkies, police sirens. 

An advantage of this idea is that schizophrenia and death are conventional to a thriller. Setting may be easy to access however, lighting may be harder. A disadvantage is that schizophrenia is a hard and sensitive topic and might not be portrayed accurate enough.

Conclusion:

This discussion has been beneficial as we have learned all our ideas and discovered a way to put them together. We were able to create a new story joining all of our stories together and deciding which parts should be kept or not.