Film Association

This is the film association company I came up with and created for my Thriller movie.

I created this in Adobe After Effects, the same software I used to create my Purple Productions opening. It has become easier to use this software as I am now comfortable changing and using different effects. On this particular one, I used different transition edits to the Purple Productions page, and I used a distorted transition instead of a Jaws one.

Thriller Draft Edit

This is my first draft of my thriller. It does not have sound as I was unable to add sound today due to technical complications. I will add my music/sound as soon as I have access to Adobe Premiere Pro.

Production Company

I started to think about my production company that will appear at the start of my thriller, and began to work on Adobe After Effects in order to create a proffessional, sleek look. I wanted my text to move and do something on the page other than just having a boring, plain production company page.

In order to make my text move, I watched a youtube video online to help explain what to do, I was able to recreate the effect and by doing this I have created a better look than what I was hoping for. To do this, I chose different layers and added different effects to each, for the layer named 'purple' I added a glow to the word, accentuating the word and making it stand out, I then added the transition effect 'light wipe'. This gives the word this effect;

This effect carried on until the entire word is readable, then the word 'production' begins to appear.







I decided that I wanted 'Production' to be in a different colour, a purple colour as that is what the company is called. I also wanted this word to be the most dominant in the footage, therefore placed it underneath 'Purple'. 
In order to add a different transition to this word, I made sure I was on the right layer, and instead of chosing the same effect as the word 'Purple' had, I went for the transition called 'JAWS', this made the word come onto the page like teeth shutting together.

Editing

Today, I started editing my thriller together, I imported all my files into Adobe Premier Pro and got straight to work cutting and placing them together. At times, this became very difficult as getting to grips with the software became hard whilst editing tiny fragments of footage in order to make it look as if it was flashing back. I eventually got the hang of this however and I was successfully able to add all my footage, and edit it all together into a rough edit.

Candid images of Victim

Here are the images I took from the day of filming my victim in the forest, I have decided to use these images within my thriller as it will add depth and show the audience different perspectives of the victims wounds, both on printed out images and ones imported as an image over the top. 

Dialogue for Voicemail

'Hey Lara what time are you coming to the party cause its soooo boring without you and theres this guy thats starting to really creep me out, oh shit wait hes coming over, omG he's holding something, oh wait, OMG' 
This is going to be used in the back of the voice recording to make it sound realistic and like the character is at a party. 

Title Planning

Risk Assessment

Actors

This will be the actress I will be using for the character of the police women. She fits the role perfectly as she is exactly what I had in mind for solving this crime. Amy does A-level drama therefore has a feel for acting and cooperating well under conditions such as these. She works effectively and well with others, therefore is the perfect match for my character. Her role within the scene will be to look consumed by evidence in the case she is looking into, she has no dialogue within the scene, so does not need to worry about learning lines of dialect. She will have to portray confused facial signals however to portray mystery to the audience.


This will be the actress that will be portraying the victim. Jodie is the perfect match as she has long brown hair which is needed, as the evidence bag will contain brown hair. She is also comfortable with baring leg skin in footage which is what I need. Jodie will have to keep a straight face throughout the footage as she is a dead victim. I will apply suitable makeup to make her look morbid and like she is a victim of an awful crime. She also will not have any dialogue within the scene, however I will be recording voice overs to add over the top in the editing stage of her making srange whispering noises to make the whole piece much more professional and add depth.

Filming Schedule

Friday 11th - this is when I will be collecting the equipment I need from media, (this being the tripod). I will not be filming on this day as I want to film in the light, and once I have finished uploading things onto my blog on Friday, it will be too dark to film outside. Therefore I will use my time on Saturday and Sunday effectively to film my thriller. 

Saturday 12th - On this day, I will be filming the footage from the victims location, in this case in the forest and in an open space within. I will use my morning productively and prepare my actress for the role, this includes dressing her in the suitable attire and applying suitable makeup to make her look the way I want her to.

Sunday 13th - On Sunday I will be filming the police women footage. This will be taken inside. I will need to make sure I have printed out enough newspaper clippings and photograph of the scene. I could do this by making sure I have taken enough picture on Saturday and print them out before filming on Sunday.

Shot plans

There will be a number of different shots within my thriller, this will help to make my thriller different, diverse and help create tension. Here are a few different shot types I will be using within my thriller;

Long shots; 

• Jodie in the woods 
• Amy sat at the table 

Mid shots; 

• Amy doing police work at the table 
• Amy pinning information onto the board

Close ups;

• There will be a close up of both Jodie and Amys face, and also an extreme close up of their eyes too, this will be edited together so they flick between faces, adding mystery and suspense.
• There will be a close up of Amy's side profile when she is studying the evidence. There will also be an extreme close up of her side profile too.
• Close up of Amy sorting through photos and putting them into piles on the table 

Other shots;

- I will have multiple establishing shots, one of the woods and one of the newspapers on the table, these will be edited so the one of the woods is fast edited over the one of the newspapers, as well as the establishing shot of Jodie within the woods.

- There will be 2 eye line matches of the two character at the end of the scene

- I will include a low angle shot of Amy as the police women at the table. 

 - There will be shots from floor level, one of Jodie in the forest where you are able to see from her knees down. 

Prezi - PLANNING

Recce Shots

This is a location recce shot of where the huge pin board can be placed in the second half of my thriller. I decided that this is the most suitable place as it has a lot of room to film around, and is also the widest space available to me in the room where I will be filming.

 This location is a side view of the table I will be using for the police women's desk. A side profile shot may come in so I thought it might be better to add a side shot of the location.

This is one potential view of where the police women will sort through the evidence. I think this is a suitable place to film as in the background is the place where the pin board will be, so it will be visible in the background. This makes the thriller better as it may help keep the continuity and flow of the scene if you can see something related to the narrative in the background.






This is another angle of the location. From this side you have the backdrop of windows, which I find fitting for my narrative as I did not want any interruptions. Whilst filming, this area will be completely clear with the exception of props needed to create my thriller.

This is the location of the where my footage of the victim will take place. 

I think this is a suitable location for my thriller as it is an open space, with lots of trees to film with.

The image above is a shot of the floor, this could be useful in my piece as I have multiple shots of my character lying in the grass, or on the forest floor. 
The image to the left is another optional location shot, this location is also wide and fits my thriller well. 

Storyboard

 This is the first sheet of my story board, it contains multiple shot types and detailed information on what each separate segment will include.

This is my second sheet of story boarding my thriller, it includes a lot of flashback scenes, each that will be cut up to look jumpy and sinister.

My third story boarding sheet continues the story through another set of camera shots, as the scene progresses you see more of what the character is trying to solve.

This part of my story board is where the police women stands and starts to add images to the pin board, and where you start to see more of the victim.

As the scene approaches the end, the camera angles become much closer and will be edited tightly together. There will be a close up of the police women's face and then the victims, as well as a extreme close up of both the characters eyes.








This is the final sheet of my story board, as this is where my thriller will end. I have decided to end my thriller with the police women opening her eyes in bed, with beads of sweat on her forehead, signalling that all of the thriller I created was a dream.

This is a shot of me creating my story board.

Audience Research

I asked 25 people in my audience what they would like to see in a thriller opening scene. Here are the questions and results;

1) What would you rather see at the beginning of a thriller movie?
A - a beginning of a chase 
B - unsolved case 
C - Suspicious character

These results show that most people would like to see an unsolved case at the start of a thriller, when asked why they would prefer to see this, their response was that they have not seen that sort of thing in a while, and it would be most thrilling to watch as they do not know who or what the case is about, sparking narrative enigmas from the very beginning. 







2) Would you like there to be music straight away, or open up the scene without music and a different sound effect?

These results show that 18 out of 25 people I asked wanted to see a start with something other than music. For my thriller, I was thinking about opening my scene with a voicemail from the victim on the last night she was 'alive'. This will add to thriller conventions as it will put the audience on the edge of their seats awaiting the thicker plot.









3) What colour scheme would you like to see in a thriller movie?

Dull colours - 8 votes 
Vibrant colours - 3 votes 
A mixture of both - 14 votes

This shows that a lot of people like a mixture of colour within footage. This is helpful for me as my audience will not be put off by the colour scheme within the short film and can then concentrate on the narrative. I will not have to worry that much about filming with high or low key lighting, and natural colours produced will add depth to the piece.

4) Do you find my thriller idea engaging and would you continue to watch. 





My results show that people liked my idea for my thriller,however they said in order to keep watching the film they would have to first be hooked by the thriller first, and so cannot say for sure until after they have seen the opening credits. This being said, they found my initial ideas to be thoughtful and interesting. 


5) What do you associate with thrillers the most?
A - Creepy music 
B - Suspense 
C - A villain 

The replies I got for this question were relatively mixed, with just over half of the people saying they associate suspense with thrillers the most. However when I was asking this question, a lot of people found it difficult choosing just one option, therefore it might be a good idea to add a fragment of all into my thriller in order to please the audience widely.

Brainstorm

I designed a brainstorm containing my idea for my thriller. The brainstorm includes characters, potential sound choices, shot types, image choices, lighting, and titles. This helps me to get an overall drafted idea of what I will try to include in my piece. 

INITIAL IDEAS;

Potential settings;
-  Police office
- Home desk 
for the crime setting; 
- as you will not see extended clips from the crime, there is no need for a wide setting. So instead I will capture fragments of the crime, instead of specifically placing it in a certain place. 

Props; 
- Glass - from the crime 
- Sample of hair in a evidence bag 
- Images of 'police' tape 
- Newspapers - on the crime 
- Candid images of the girl 
SOUNDS include multiple news reports, and a voicemail left from the victim.
 
Narrative; 
My initial idea for my thriller includes a police women trying to solve a mysterious crime about the death of a girl, and all the attacks that followed. It is un-clear what happened to the victims, and what the motive of the crimes were, which is what the main character is trying to figure out. The police women will be sat at her desk that is covered in evidence she has collected, including images of the victim, evidence bags with hair inside, and newspaper clippings. At the end of the clip the police women will wake up in her bed, signifying that it was all a dream, which will conclude the clip. 
Amoungst the scene, there will be flashback images and footage of the victim and the crime scene, there will be shots in the forest, the victims body in the woods, broken glass, police tape and close up montage images of the victims injuries. 

Sound;
My sound will not only include non diegetic sound such as music, I would like to include sound such as multiple news reports of missing girl, a voicemail from the victim, and voice over footage of the victim heavy breathing or making strange noises that will add to the suspense and mystery.
  Costume; 
Police women can just be wearing normal clothes, preferably dark colours like blue, black or grey to set the tone of the thriller.
Flashback images of the crime, and print out images could hold part of the costume, therefore I would like the character to wear something where wounds are visable. Stereotypically, white gowns are used to show the innocence of the female victim, so I could use this as my costume. I could however dress my victim in something different.

Actors;
Amy Barber as the police women 
Jodie Allison as the victim    

PRODUCTION COMPANY - Purple Productions Presents....
 ASSOCIATED WITH - Media Manics