Editing our Preliminary

After making our film and ensuring that we had all the footage we needed, we then uploaded it all onto a MacBook computer to begin our editing process.


We firstly saved our work into a folder and then used iMovie to start piecing together all the shots taken.

I look on the role of cutting down each shot taken and we all decided on the order of the footage. The first section of our film was quite easy to fit together as it was numerous shots of the girl lying on the stairs when the audience is not sure whether she is dead or alive.
We took loads of effective shots from all angles and chose roughly about 10 of these shots which are cut fast paced to build tension and also to make our thriller quite modern.
We decided at this point to change our original idea of having the camera track down her arm and her fingers twitch. We decided the best thing to do would be to have all the shots muddled up, unsettling the audience and keeping them intreged. Therefore, we were still sticking with our original idea to have the story begin at the end and then go back on itself.
Other shots we edited together at this point were one hand held shot of the killer walking away after looking down on his victim (Aerial shot) and further a zoom in on the arm of the girl from high angle.
When using iMovie you can edit and cut out any background noise. We wanted silence in this section of the film so it re-inforces how the girl is hopeless and vulnerable. We did this by muting all sound but then adding in the ringing noise of her phone. One particular shot were we kept sound was the hand held shot, so that the audience can hear the footsteps of the killer, dramatising the situation and almost projecting his domance over the silence. We used a traditional ringtone so it is obvious to the audience and does not distract them from the action.

The next section of the film was edited my myself and Claudie. We went through this section chronologically and picked out which pieces of dialogue we preferred. The first shot was of the killer walking down the corridor towards a classroom, we cut it exactly to the point when he turns in the door and then added in the section shot of his coming through the door to make it seem continuous.

We added in the tracking shot of the killer walking across the room towards the victim who is tied up on a chair and they exchange dialogue.
Our shot reverse shots were quite hard to cut exactly, however, the dialogue fitted fine so that it looked smooth enough for our task. This meant that the audience could easily see both reactions between the two main protagonists.
One of our final shots was of the line from the killer 'don't worry it will all be over soon', after this is said and the victim begins to scream, we then cut the shot and added the next of a shot taken out of the door-way. When the victim carries on screaming, suddenly we cut the footage so that the door slams shut on the action, leaving the audience outside without knowing what will happen next.
Finally our last shot, we added in at the last moment as we decided it was relevant to summing up the story. It is of the killer walking down another corridor away from the incident. This is clever as the hand held shot walks away from the victim and towards a door with lines across it. This last shot does exactly the same thing however, from the view of a camera. This depicts an inclimation that the killer may be being watched by someone, leaving the story on a cliff-hanger.

We decided to edit the colouring and brightness of our film as we had decided before making it. We made the brightness at around 190, the saturation at around -33 and then added shadows to give an orange dinge to the shots. This effect basically made the surrounding a greyish murky black and anything white extremely bright. This really helped in the first section of our film as the background faded in and the blood stood out as a bright red on her shirt and arm. This is quite a symbolic element to our film as it highlights her vulnerability and her helplessness. Furthermore, the extreme whiteness of her shirt exemplifies how she is innocent in such a horrific situation.

The last two shots we used we slightly changed the colouring, making it more black and white so that when the killer is walking away down the corridor, the figure is completely black against the whitness of the walls. This could even symbolise the effectiveness of a film and how he has committed such a horrific crime in a 'safe' environment.

One of the last things we did on Monday the 30th of November was to add the credit to our film. We used the font 'Courir' which looks like a typewriter as made it a murky blood red to contrast to the white blackground and reinstate the crime committed. We placed the credit bottom centre as the killer walks away and used a 'soft fade' technqiue so the credit appears and then disappears in a sort of uneasy way.

Naming our Film:

Claudie named our film 'Detained'. This is clever as it means to 'hold back, to confine or hold in custody.' This is relevant to our film as it coincides with the notion of detentions and how the girl is trapped in her school by the killer, however, it juxtaposes any school regulations or moral teachings in a school.

Studying AS Level Thrillers

COMPULSIONS:

This thriller made by students of a different college set their film in a large field near a wood and housing estate. They uses the same ending and starting shot to establish that something bad was about to happen, (we were initally planning on using this in our preliminary task, however, we then brain-stormed different ideas for our final.)

The two main protagonists are young girls of our age who are walking home from a shopping trip as this is a shorter route home. The thriller is narrated with a voice-over of one of the two girls, updating the audience on where they have been and also as an opinion to the event that is about to happen. As the two characters are young girls this creates an innocence and vulnerability which is realistic to everyday life as one of the long shots taken sees a man following them further in the distance.

The diegetic music used throughout the film, which gradually fades out towards the build up at the end is an eerie tingling sound. Its repetive, echoeing sound is unnerving however, also is quite childish and happy which juxtaposes the thriller however, also coincides as it links to the narrative speech being cheery.

The man in the distance is used as a red herring throughout the film as he is straight away percieved to be the one who kills the girl who is seen to be dead at the start of the film. However, after the clip of the girl on the floor, the story unwinds to concur that it is in fact the girl's friend who kills her, shocking the audience with this cunning twist and creating a sinister atmosphere.

The use of the narrative is very effective throughout this film as the girls voice projects the childhood innocence. However, the dialogue is quite staged at times which makes it seem unrealistic to the audience. Nevertheless, the way that the voice is fast paced and high pitched adds an element of suspense and fright to the drama. When the action builds up when the girls split up, the voice almost trails away from the audiences awareness as they are focused on what is going on. I like this technqiue as it seems as though an interview after the murder is taking place and adds to the reality of the situation.

Some of the shots are not exactly straight at the start of the film, however, as it is filmed in an open field is is quite different to range shots. There are many close-ups of grass and feet which makes it clautrophobic and also impacts on the vulnerability which is successful to the drama.





CASE 343:

The film was structured as a case study, as though an interview was being recorded by the police attempting to find out who was the murderer earlier that year. The use of type writing font coincides with the investigation, which fades with the transition of black, this is conventional but also is dramatic.

I would say that the narrative craft makes this film successful. I would love to use this technique as the murderers synopsis of his day does not coincide with the action. The group had phrased the dialogue specifically to make it humourous such as 'I moved some things around' and the man was moving the body.

The shots are filmed smoothly and simply around the house. They had thought specifically about the way the camera moved and how the character moved in and out of shots instead of being followed by the camera. This is clever it shows his attempted dominance over the situation, however, as the interview does not match up, he has been caught red handed. Furthermore, by having only shots of below the shoulders (many close-up), this disguises the murderers face which makes it more frightening and gives off a sense of claustrophobia.

I loved the use of the sink near the start of the film, where the water ran red with the blood, this piecing sound of the water drumming on the metal and the stained water adds to the conventions of a thriller, which would have gained them marks.

They used a lot of repeted shots however, they were successful as the actor's state of mind changes when he hears a knock at the door. This helps to contrast his slight sense of dominance and then his panic when he knows someone is around. The use of the mat slipping beneath his feet as he gets up from sitting on the toilet seat helps to mirror how his plan is slipping away, and no longer hidden under the mat.

The last shot of when he eventually opens the front door, is edited using a transition of fade to white. This could symbolise a passage into heaven, or a way to admit his sins.

I liked the way much of the film is silent throughout as its adds to the build up in tension and suspense. However, when the credits emerge a dramatic boom sound if used to shock the audience and again it subtly adds to the build up in events to suggest a horrific ending.

Class Work:

Looking at specific camera angles:
We initally took photographs of different camera angles so we were familiar with the technqiues for our filming. Using a range helps to create suspense as well as keeping the audience interested.
We took photos of anything we had at home from different angles as a reference in the future.

LINK TO 17 COMMON CAMERA ANGLES IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwbsYgZ7d-8

Applying our camera angles to the genre:
We spent time becoming familiar with these angles and how we could apply them to the thriller genre. We looked at a range of genres so we could compare which shots were used. In action movies panning shots and long angle shots are frequently used. Whereas, in Romances shot reverse shots are commonly used between the protaganists and close-ups to convey the emotions.
In the film 'Kill Bill' directed by Quentin Tarantino, aerial shots are used throughout the scene and further, it is a continuous shot which uses a range in heights and distances to interest and bring in the audience to the action.
Therefore, the shot can smoothly change from being an aerial to a panning to a close-up to a mid-shot etc. This is a great technique as it allows the audience to see nearly every angle of the set, all the emotions taking place and adds excitement.

KILL BILL SECTION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke6KUtcG9jY

Notes on Thriller's we analysed:
HITCHCOCK'S FILM PSYCHO: We watched the scene where the woman is murdered in the shower by an unknown killer. The music builds up massively throughout the scene, initally there is only the diegetic sound of the water, however, when the murderer enters, (the audience can see his silhouette through the shower curtain) the music begins with a high pictched skriek which coincides with the sound of the knife going into her. All the dagged movements, and the quick editing help to mirror the panic and sudden shock which has taken place. After the murderer leaves and the woman is left to die, the music changes to a deep and booming sound which is repetitve and dramatic. Hitchcock uses an effective close-up of the blood draining away down the plug. This is murged from the woman's eye as she dies and the camera then comes out through the plug hole, which is also a successful technique as it establishes the woman has died and ties together the murder which has taken place.

PSYCHO SECTION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VP5jEAP3K4

HITCHCOCK'S FILM THE BIRDS uses a range of shots. Low angle, mid shots, panning shots of her movement, and repetitions of headshots which are shot/reversed between the woman and the birds as the number increases, building up the tension. This also is symbolic as it depicts the protaganist of the scene to be herioic and the birds to be the villians.
When the children and teachers are running manically away from the birds, Hitchcock uses jolty movement to bring the audience into the action and also reflect the flapping of the birds wings. There are zoom up shots and close-ups on objects which are dropped in the pandemonium such as the glasses on the floor.
He creates a sense of anxiety and panic through the jolting of the camera and hand held shots. This contrasts massively to the calm/steady shots used at the start of the scene and the childhood innocence reflected at the school. The special effects/CGI by super imposing the birds onto the screen, at the time would have shocked audiences as they are edited to dominate and shadow the victims.

THE BIRDS SECTION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPaVvY8tPoo&feature=PlayList&p=C8E93345CEA78742&index=43

HITCHCOCK's FILM REAR WINDOW uses many other successful techniques relating to the thriller genre. We analysed the opening scene of the film. At the start, continuous shots are used which establish the surrounding, observing the lives of neighbours in the area. One of the first shots goes through an open window, straight away coinciding with the storyline and how the man will witness a murder, bringing the audience closer into the action. The camera is used as simply an observer at the beginning of the film, as it eventually pans round and zooms up to a close-up on the protagonist's face. There are close-ups on photographs of him and his family, establishing his life before the accident as he is now in a wheel-chair with a broken leg. This first section is very much calm and contained, the shots are smooth and efficient which will later contrast massively to the outcome and his witness to a murder.

The music is definately not dramatic or frightening, its mischievous and cheeky, reflecting the man's role in the film as he stalks the people from his window. Its an extreme contrast to the intentions of the film as its light-hearted, however, underlying sections are quite distorted to remind the audience of the sinister nature.

REAR WINDOW SECTION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gikt0LD_qyo

COLLATERAL directed by Michael Mann a modern thriller, uses a variety of shots throughout the opening scenes coinciding with its genre. There are close-ups on the hands of the driver and headlights as the taxi driver and his customer drive through the city. Over the shoulder shots are used whilst the two characters exchange dialogue using also shot/reverse shots. At this point in the film, the shots are smooth and longer, this is used to contrast later on when the action takes place and shots can be cut short to reflect urgency/panic. Some close-ups are slightly claustrophobic which could symbolise an unstable character, furthermore, occasionally hand held shots are used to make the audience feel as though they are driving along with the characters. Later on in the scene a 360 degree shot is used as well as low angle following, this intelligent shot creates interest for the audience.
As the protagonist departs from the airport before catching a taxi, the sounds of the hustle of the airport can be heard. However, when music begins a few seconds later, the repetitive and electronic sound of a heartbeat makes the scene atmospheric and suggests something my happen soon. The upbeat songs blasting out of the car radio reflect the normality of this everyday activity, furthermore, juxtapose the conventions of a thriller. Classical music is heard which creates a sense of relaxation and a calming innocence, which could easily be turned on its head later on in the film.

COLLATERAL SECTION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZpPVmAvMVk

DAVID FINCHER'S FILM PANIC ROOM begins with the opening credits super imposed over sky scraper shots of the city. The names are in 3D, bold and huge, the font dramatic and over-powering, it belittles the background, coinciding with the storyline of Panic Room and how mother and daughter are taken hostage and belittled in their own home.

PANIC ROOM OPENING CREDITS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqIclb4qsJI

The music throughout is dramatic and of a deep tone. It is repetitve, emphasised deep notes suddenly followed by high pitched sounds which unsettle the audience. Furthermore, there is also a tick-tocking noise which re-establishes the storyline and how time is running out, at the rate of a heartbeat.
The action begins with mother and daughter being guided round a vast house for sale by an estate agent. Jodie Foster's character is wearing all black, glasses and has her hair tied back tight to suggest she is quite a timid and ordinary character. Her appearance could suggest she has not had the most exciting or charismatic lifestyle. The daughter is quite mischievous and upfront, by the way she is on her scooter, not taking a huge interest when the estate agent dissaproves of her behaviour. However, they convey a regular family life and being both female there is a vulnerability in their situation. The lighting at this point is bright, juxtaposing the atmopshere created when darkness falls. This is also affermed when the characters come across the panic room which is dark with an orange glow, creating a claustrophobic ambiance.
A variety of shots are used including low angle shots as the characters walk into the house for the first time, this creates a domance/power at the start of the film which the characters have snatched from them when the intruders arrive and they are left helpless. It also suggests subtly that they may win in the end.
Characters move in and out of shots, affirming to the audience they are touring the house. The pace of camera work is smooth and not short or snappy. This is useful as it will later contridict the sense of panic created when they are trapped. When in the panic room, the camera is positioned so it reflects the faces of the characters through a television screen which is used to see all rooms in the house. This is clever as they look in control at this point in the film, whereas, when the intruders arrive they are definately left hopeless.

A really successful technique which I would love to attempt would be a continuous shot such as in the Dunkirk scene in Atonement. Although it is not under the thriller genre the technique would also work well for our tasks as it allows the audience to take in the established surroundings and engrosses them in the drama.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07Z-UJDPJOs

Permission

I wrote a letter ensuring that our group was held responsible for any damage that may happen to the cameras just before use, this was signed and given in as evidence.

Location Notes...

We have decided to set our preliminary task at school, this obviously coincides with our idea to use a student as the victim so it seems a relevant option.

The corridors are quiet dark and gloomy for our setting, and the lighting on the stairs gives off a greenish tinge which really helps to create a sinister and frightening atmosphere.

With nobody around at night the corridors and classrooms tend to look very vast and spacious so that helps when creating our thriller as we want the girl to seem helpless and vulnerable.

Furthermore, a school is supposed to be seen as a safe environment for students to learn which therefore completely contridicts our thriller as the girl is in an extremely dangerous and tense situation.

The classroom we intend to use is very dark with huge blinds. It is perfect as a choice as it looks instantly gloomy and we can easily work with the cameras in a larger space.

Creating a Blog

We decided to record all our ideas and tasks on a blog as a diary, keeping track of all our thoughts and decisions. I used the schools a level media blog to keep up to date with my filming work and ideas.
It is written in chronological order of events and decisions for our thrillers.
I edited the fonts and colours to coincide with the thriller genre so it is relevant to the task.
I will be adding more pictures and video footage of our process as the task carries on so that we can refer back to our ideas for the future.

Beginning our filming

A few of the shots we took for our media projects.

We used a variety of camera angles, such as aerial shots, hand held, point of view, close-ups on hand, high and low shots to capture the victim.

In one shot we used hand held perspective from the murderer point of view, this picture was the final shot he sees as walking away from the body. You see an aerial shot of the body from his perspective before he walks away to leave. This shot through the glass pane will also be used at the early stages of our film when the murderer walks into a classroom to meet his victim.

We are planning on editing the shots to be all in black and white, however, we intent to make the blood bright red to juxtapose the colouring so it is

striking and dramatic to our audience.

Preliminary Task

We have started to plan and develop our Preliminary Task for our thriller film. It is basically a protype version of our final ideas for a thriller, so that we can practise our techniques and become familiar with the filming.

Our film must include the following:
A person opening and walking through a door.
A person crossing a room -- Tracking Shot.
Dialogue exchanged.
Shot and Reverse shots.
Two people sitting opposite one another.
Use of 180 degree rule.
Timing: Around 2 minutes, minimum 30 seconds.

We have decided to film our preliminary thriller in school, from five O'clock onwards so that it is dark outside, to coincide with the genre.

It starts with a close-up shot of a girl's (16) arm sprawled down a flight of stone stairs as though she is dead or badly injured. At this point the audience do not know whether she is dead or alive. We will use a variety of camera angles to capture the victim lying as though she has been thrown down the stairs. We will use an aerial shot of the girl from the perspective of the killer as though he is looking down on her, as though he is in control. Also, we will use close-ups of the girls arm covered in blood as her phone rings and her fingers flinch to try and answer the call. We also want to use high and low angle shots of her. She will be wearing many braclets and red nail varnish so that the audience recognise it is the same girl in the later scene.

Shot cuts to a male, dressed in complete black with hood up walking towards a flight of stairs. Mid shot cuts to close-ups of his feet as he walks up the stairs. Then as he reaches the top, shot cuts to a low angle shot of his legs as he turns to climb yet another flight of stairs. Then shot cuts again to an extreme low angle shot from down below -- making him look powerful and threatening as he walks up.

When he reaches the top stairs, he walks past the steady camera which turns to follow his movement through double doors and out of sight. Shot cuts then to a hand-held shot, shaky, diegetic sound of his breathing as he swiftly looks into classrooms whilst walking along. Then cuts back to behind the door -- extreme long shot of him through glass panes in door as he turns into a room.

Cuts to tracking shot as he enters and walks across room. Over the shoulder shot angling down, again gives him power and the victim below looks vulnerable. The victim is the same young girl dressed in school uniform who is tied to a chair. She will have black mascara dripping down her face, messy hair and uniform, tiny bit sweaty to reflect her panic and traumatic state.

Exchange in dialogue, she will be screaming asking questions such as "Why am I here", "What are you going to do", "Please don't do this." Initally he does not answer, use of shot reverse shots between characters, keeping her face in the light, however, his in the shadows.

When he answers, it will be patronising sneers at the girl, querky comments.

One of these last shots will be a close-up of the girls arm once again, as she carefully puts her hand into her bag behind her attempting to grab her phone, however the rope is too tight. This is the point when the audience see her braclets and nail varnish to reiterate the fact she is the same person.

Remaining with close-up of her arm, suddenly another hand comes into shot, he graps her wrist.

Scene cuts again back to staircase. A shot through the upstairs window of the staircase out into the playground as the man walks away, shot tracks round 180 degrees, girl comes into sight, lying sprawled on the stairs covered in blood. Zooms onto her arm once again, tracks down, however this time her phone is just seen out of reach of her arm, as it rings, her fingers suddenly flinch and the film cuts to blackout.

Location: School.
Costume: Uniform (messy), Black hoodie, hood up and dark trousers.
Sound: Slight non diegetic music playing, however, hardly noticeable, repeative noise such as a drumming sound.
Actors: Preferably Helen Hancock and Barney Smith.

Inital Ideas: Alone

Girl wakes up in the early morning suddenly, close-up of her face. Window wide open, curtains fluttering in the wind. Close-up of clock and an establishing shot of the room. Gets up, closes window, turns into hallway.
Goes to find family, realising each window is wide open and curtains are not drawn -- No one in sight.
When she goes downstairs there is a high angle shot of her from the top of the stairs down, which then cuts to a close-up on her foot on the stairs.

In the kitchen as she calls out names, the radio is on but there is white noise, the phone is off the hook repeating the phrase "Please hang up and try again", the tap is running slightly, windows wide open. She calls but no reply, so makes her way into the living room, close-ups on her face, a high angle shot from on the stairs looking down through the banisters as she walks through the hall into the living room.

The television is on, however, there is no signal so it is just a fuzzy blur, volume turned up full blast, so only sound is again the white noise. Windows still wide open. A mid shot of her as she lurches forward to switch off the television. At this point the camera angles towards the screen, when the screen goes black after she turns it off, the audience suddenly see a figure standing behind her in the reflection, however, when it comes into focus after being blurred, it is a coat on a hanger behind the door.

At this point she is terrified, shouting urgently she opens the front door and steps out into the street. Hand held shots are used to contrast to the still frames when she begins to fast pace down the centre of the road, calling for help. High angle shots from top of buildings as she reaches the end of my road. (We could use the top floor of Waitrose car park looking out onto my street), this shot would make her look insignificant and of small importance when running along frantically.

When she turns onto the highstreet using an extreme shot from across the road and she swerves into view, there is no one in sight. We would film this in the early hours of the morning. She walks along the pavement, a distance shot, blending into a long shot, then mid shot, then close-up. As she stops and turns towards a shot, camera moves with her, she glances into a shop window, shot taken from a side angle to ensure it is not seen, however, there is no reflection.

Suddenly, film cuts to white noise and a blurred screen such as the television earlier.

Costume: Girl is around 15/16 so just in pjamas, maybe a hoodie. As she gets more frantic this should show through messy hair, maybe slight sweating, teary eyed etc.

Sound: It would be good to have some non diegetic music faintly in the background, however, so it is bearly heard or noticed. Maybe constant repetitions of a tap dripping or wind blowing.
The white noise is of huge significance throughout so it has to be loud in comparision to when she switches off the television.