Thriller Window Pane

1.  lighting
2. location
3. props
4. Costumes
5. camera work
6.Camera work
7. thriller conventions
7. thriller conventions
7. thriller conventions

opening credit research

Traffic Warden - Donald Rice




The opening credits for 'Traffic Warden' are creative and unconventional. Although it's not a thriller the laid back style would be appropriate to apply to our dream sequence.



Se7en - Credits Director: Kyle Cooper





Iconic thriller credits. Scratchy, ghosty feel. It could be applied to our sequence and fit in quite well as the daughter is dead. It would add to the feel that something is not right with the images of her playing.


Leon - Luc Besson





The actual credits are basic. I chose this example for the first footage of leon and a gang leader. All shots are close-ups. This gives a claustrophobic feel and the sense the this conversation is very private. The most interesting part is the use of emphasised diagetic sound. We aim to use a similar effect using a series of short close-ups with the diagetic sound of each action the father is doing emphasised.

This is the font we will be using for our thriller opening sequence. We found it on www.dafont.com called senza cuore, we tested it against our thriller title to see if it worked.

Props

Examples of the props that we will be using for the opening sequence.

Newspaper used in the morning scene when he is at the breakfast table.




Not the exact car, however this is an example of the situation which would be replicated with the car. When the character is going to work.


Keys which will be shown in the opening, as he unlocks and locks his house door.


A tie rack with an assortment of ties, this will show the repetition his days.


Cup of tea/coffee which is used in the morning scene with the paper.

One of the very significant props. Which lots of enthuses will be placed on it. It is the daughters main prop.

Costumes

Our daughter character will not wear this exact costume, the picture below represents an average young girls clothes.



This is the kind of clothing that our main character will be wear, abviously again not the exact costume as below but something similar.

Story Board & Shot list

Pictures of the story board and shot list







































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Test Footage

SONIC MOODBOARD

Locations of Filming

(it is a house now)

These are the two locations where we will be filming our opening sequence. The first part of the opening sequence will be shot in the park where the daughter character will be playing (dream sequence). The over half will be filmed at Rachel's house where the focus point is on the father character.

Planning the Shooting Stage

Before the Filming Day

• Choose relevant location and plan route around the setting.
• Check for permission if needed around the setting.
• Do a run through without camera to see if the setting is relevant to the story and how it would work with the filming.
• Make a date for filming.
• Choose and tell the actors went the date for filming.
• Choose costumes relevant to the opening sequence.
• Get props ready for the shooting date.
• Check weather report and if it could be a issues.

The Filming Day

• Check props and costumes are ready and available.
• Check we have the camera, tripod and other equipment if needed.
• Go to location and set up.
• Ask permission if anyone is at the location to warn that you will be filming.

Three areas we could inprove for my childrens film project.

edit test for our intro.

Here is just a simple effect for the thriller intro. Which includes our logo (however the font is wrong) and would be played before the opening sequence. This was made using 3 pictures and edited in Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10.

Character Analysis (Father)

The father character within our thriller 'Broken Silence' the father is suffering from the loss of his daughter (grieving) His grieve consists of him wanting things to be repaired and go back to normal as quickly as possible with a routine to keep him and his mind busy with no time to think/grieve causing him pain and anger. We show this within our thriller opening sequence by repeating this morning routine to show how he copes with life after the death of his daughter.

Character Analysis (Daughter)

The character of the daughter role within our thriller 'Broken Silence' has autism which is a spectrum disorder. This disorder consists of a broad range of symptoms such a difficulty with social communication this includes eye contact, conversations and taking another's perspective. It also effects the understanding and relating to other people and taking part in everyday family and social life. This disorder also makes it hard for suffers to make sense of places, events and people this can cause them considerable anxiety.


The daughter character suffers from autism and her way of understanding the world around her is to take photographs of everything she see's to relate back to the pictures.

Broken Silence: Script

Scene 1 Memory Dream (shrooms)

EXT

A girl is playing in a play park, picks up her camera and takes photos of random things. She runs towards us, stops and looks sad, then walks away. We hear a voice telling here to come back.

(We establish the significance of the camera and the importance of the relationship between the daughter and the man.)

Scene 2 A day in the life 


EXT & INT

A man wakes up in bed, has breakfast, goes to work, then comes back home. Next day he picks out a different tie, has breakfast, goes to work, then comes back home. He has the same routine everyday.
Its dinner and he breaks down. Supported by his arms on the table he cries, his wife tries to comfort him.

(Establishes that he is getting on with his life, despite the huge loss but there is still something missing)

Scene 3 Photographs 


INT


He his sitting in a darkly lit room at a desk. The desk is scattered with photographs and there are boxes on the floor. He is looking through the photographs which are photos which his daughter took. He specifically takes some photos and puts them in to an album.

Scene 4 


INT

Flash back. Inside an unknown room, it is dark and dreary. We see the girl walking around with her camera on her own in this room. She hears hurried male voices coming from the next room, she peeks around the door frame and takes a photo. The people inside are quiet as they suspect someone is there.

Why "thrillers" thrive

People go to the cinema to see there own life reflected on the screen. They want to experience thing in the cinema life which they are no able to do in real life. Things such as emotional disturbances. We are not able to experience these things becasue of what our civilization has done to keep everyone safe sheltered from the "shake ups" that we must have. So we are unable to get them first hand leaving the only possible way to get these "shake ups" in the cinema.

In a well made thriller or any movie, we are not just spectators, we participate in the film.
There is no harm in doing this becasue the spectator will always have a subconscious assurance of absolute safety.

Horror films are totally different to the thriller. They are extreme and use very wrong concepts to give the view a desired emotional jolt.
Horrors are bound to fail, becasue the majority of the public is, as a rule, healthy minded. And do not like these such things.

"A"thriller" must be wholehearted, the more exciting the better. And that is why the authentic "thriller" will live and thrive, and the "horror" film will die. "

Amar's talk (Good points)

Taking pictures of the location, so we can see the area of our filming. (digital storyboard)

Using google maps to show a Birdseye view of the location or the street view to show a surround with out going to the location.

Location recce

Planning times of shoots, To know when everyone is free and able to get there. 

Travel arrangements to get to the location. Times of the locations being open. etc.. 

Test shoots; get used to props, locations and shot types. 

Idea Pitch Feedback

Good detail of idea, need to solidify shot ideas as opposed to having several different ones.
- Story board, Shot list

Need to get permission from R.A.F Upwood to film on training grounds.




A more final idea, that we just thought of:

Scene 1.

SHOT: Morning, mans face asleep, alarm goes off, opens his eyes and wakes up. Non-diagetic soundtrack starts as his eyes open (still)

SHOT: Hand picking out tie (still)

SHOT: Hand holding newspaper at breakfast table. (still)

SHOT: Sip of coffee, close up (still)

SHOT: Coffee mug bang on table, close up (still)

SHOT: Key locking door (still)

SHOT: Inside car, in perspective of passenger seat, mans elbow on window sill, head resting on his hand waiting for traffic lights to change, looks up at traffic light (still)

SHOT: Perspective of just outside car, from drivers window of lights changing to green (still)

SHOT: Inside car, passenger seat, car accelerates away (still)

To Be Continued...

Brainstorming Thriller Opening Sequence Ideas

Words/ Ideas 

• Hit men
• Mobsters
• Gangsters
• Private Detective
• Mentally Unstable characters
• Highly Skilled thief's 
• Lossing Control.

Ideas 

1. 

     The titles / credits are hand written flickering on a projector zooming out slowly showing an 'over the shoulder shot' of a dark figure sitting in a chair watching a old black and white film (at this point the character is unknown). Once at the point of this (image below)

Theres a scream with a close up of a figure which is followed with a slamming of a door. (created with fast jump shots). The scene then changes to an alleyway 

Image taken from 'google images'

Where detectives are dark figure not showing there faces or any indication to who they are with blood on there hands with a close up of there hands jumping from each characters hands scrubbing there hands washing the blood off. This opening sequence is showing the convention of 'A protagonist who is systematically dis-empowered and drawn into a complex web of intrigue by the antagonist.' (Taken from the long road media thriller blog)

Idea 2.

Photographs - collection of seemingly random photographs

1. panning/close ups over photographs

2. still shot over fathers hands putting photos in an album/box

Story: mentally unstable daughter (who takes pictures of everything) commits suicide. Story of father trying to find out why by devoting all his time towards finding answers, finds it was murder because of the photographs she took and remembering vital information piecing the facts together finding that she was framed as suicide due to her condition.

Characters


Characters that are involved within the opening sequence would be the :-
.Father
.Teenage daughter (the dead one).

Characters that appear late in the thriller would be the :-
.Father
.Teenage Daughter
.Mother
.Sister

Crime thrillers

CRIME THRILLERS

• Various characters including gangs. Usual characters within gangs are the dopey sidekick and the eccentric. A duo usually has a dopey sidekick too. 
• Central topics: murder, kidnap, robbery, crime in general - usually involves police or special forces
• Narrative follows planning of crimes or execution of crimes - not always successful.
• The protagonists often have the qualities of the antagonist or is an outsider.
• Motivation is usually tragedy
• Lines between right and wrong are often blurred as protagonist often has antagonist qualities.