Filming Schedule - Miss Georgiou

Filming schedules are produced so that the group members know what exactly is happening in each frame. It states where and when each part of the film will be shot, so that the producers know exactly what must happen. It also allows you to make sure you know what to include such as iconography and the different costumes that are needed. In doing this, the filming is more organised and therefore is quickly done. This then saves time. Below is my filming schedule;

When filming, the filming schedule came into use as we followed most of what was on it. However, in some parts we didn't use it, i think this was due to lack of concentration. When we had filmed everything, we started editing, and when reviewing what we had done so far, we were asked to re film as the film looked too shaky. Therefore, we will film again and follow our filming schedule in order to create a great opening thriller sequence. When filming again, i will be able to concentrate more as we have hired new actors, who take drama as an a level and this will therefore make the film look better aswell as serious because those actors will take their role seriously. I have learnt to follow the filming schedule completely in order not to miss any key frames/camera angles out so that the audience can understand what is going on completely. When filming the first time, we did not include any additional shots, this was because it took so long to do, all we were thinking about was finishing it before it got too late. I am glad we are being given the chance to re film because i want to get the best grade that i can get.

I have learnt that the role of the filming schedule is significant when filming because it allows you to waste less time thinking about what you are doing next and you can just film each part quickly and efficiently.I have also learnt that you must always stick to your filming schedule in order to know where you are and what you need to do next. Next time, i will make sure that i definitely stick to the filming schedule because as mentioned, it will really help me to save time and know what i have to do next instead of guessing. I will also make sure that i follow it the schedule at all times so that i don't miss out any important scenes/shots. I have to make sure that i do this, so that i can give the audience what they want.

Opening Scene Narration - Miss Miller

When making the individual storyboards, i came up with the final ideas that i wanted to use within it by picturing and imagining exactly what i wanted and how i wanted it to happen. When visualizing it, it is a lot easier to think about what you want rather than just jotting it down on paper. Myself and my partner, Krista, came up with our final ideas within the group storyboard by combining hers as well as mine so that we felt as though we were a team and that most of our ideas were included. This made us happy as there wasn't anyone whose ideas were used more.

Our opening thriller sequence will begin with a combination of both canted angles and POV shots to show the character slowly waking up from his unconscious state. The first camera technique we will be using is the POV shot to show the hit man being held hostage, as well as looking around to attempt to understand where he is. The second camera angle we will be using is the canted angle to highlight the confusion of the character. The angle being canted shows them that he is not stable, much like the camera itself. Iconography within this scene is masking tape and rope tying hit man down. The use of this being shown from the canted angle will again show that he is confused, but it will also show the confusion of the character as he is tied up. This will be shown at the beginning of the sequence so that many questions are asked straight from the beginning. Within this frame, non digetic sound will be used to play the sinister music in the scene. The use of sinister music within this frame connotes that something bad is going to happen. It is almost like a warning. We will aim to use flashes as our editing style, the use of the flashing will be used when the opening credits come upon the screen. The flashing allows tension and excitement to build up. The lighting that we are using within our first frame as well as in most of the other frames is low key lighting. 

In the next frame, high angle shots will be used to show the hostage getting up and trying to adjust to his surroundings. Of course, the audience will see him untie himself first, as well as take the masking tape off of his mouth. The flashes will be present within this frame as it shows the tension and excitement building up.Within this frame, the use of sinister music will be used again to show the hostage attempting to get up.Iconography within this part remains the same because the frame hasn't changed, so no new characters have been introduced yet. Again, the lighting remains the same, low key lighting.

In the third frame, the audience will be shown the face of the hostage using close ups. The facial expression of the character will be fear as well as frustration and confusion because he is unaware of where he is. Within this frame, there is no iconography because the hostage has broken free for the masking tape as well as the rope as his frustrations allow him to break free. Again, the flashes will be present and these will be used for dramatic effect and the tension is built up as the flashes make it obvious that something is going to happen and it is leading up to it. The sound remains the same.

In the fourth frame, POV will be used from the hostage's perspective to show the antagonist walking in and address his hostage clutching an envelope comes up to the hostage and looks straight into his eyes menacingly before giving an evil laugh. Iconography is seen within this scene when the antagonist walks into the room, the mask that he wears is iconography as it is an object that when seen, will be focused on. Another element within this category is the envelope containing the money, photos and an address note. Within this frame, the flashing will still be present to continue the element of tension. In the fifth frame, the audience witness the antagonist telling his accomplice what exactly he needs to do for him and what his reward will be and this will be shown using a two shot. Within this frame, no new iconography is introduced. Again, non digetic sound also takes a main role within this scene because the use of sinister music will be present, it creates certain emotions for the viewers. Within the editing category, we have decided we would like to use a straight cut to join two scenes together to maintain continuity.

In the next frame, the audience see the man being paid and shown photographs of his victim as he agrees without hesitation to kill the antagonists wife. This will be shown with an over the shoulder shot. The iconography within this frame changes, the audience will now see an envelope containing money and photographs. The sound used within this piece is silence to create tension. As for editing, this part will be shot reverse shot, so it will be shown as a conversation is going on. The seventh frame contains many elements, the first of which is mid shot to show body language. The iconography within this frame is exactly the same, except for the fact that the audience can now see what is inside the envelope. For example, they will see an envelope containing money and photographs, house keys on key chain, knife, address written on note. In this part, the audience are introduced to the sound of the antagonist talking.

The next frame within my piece will be using shallow focus. Shallow focus is when you can only see the main subject of the shot, and the rest is blurry. This will be used to show the antagonist giving weapons the hit man should use to carry out his evil deed as well as the house keys in order to let himself into the home him and his wife share The sound that will be played is sinister music, as previously stated this allows tension to be built up. The use of the jump cut will be used when we edit because it allows one scene to go to another.

In the 9th frame, a long shot will be used to portray the hit man leaving the unknown location looking around to gather his bearings unsure of who and where he is. Again, sinister music will be played in the background to fear the audience. 

Within the 10th frame, mid shot will be used to focus upon the hitman as he decides to call a taxi that will take him to the murder location. Screaming will be played in the background.

In the next frame, the camera shot we will be using is close up. A close up is when the face of the character is zoomed in, often to see the emotion/expression that they are making. The iconography within this frame does change, it will now be the phone, this will be used to show the hitman calling a taxi which then takes him to the house. The lighting within this scene is high key lighting to portray a realistic setting. The sounds the audience will hear is silence, this creates and tension. The speech of the character will scare the audience as it will sound deep and sinister. 

In the 12th frame, POV will be used to show the hitman walking towards the house of the wife and antagonist's wife. The iconography changes again, the keys that the antagonist gave the hitman will now be shown as he is holding them in his hand, preparing to open the door. Sinister music will be played in the background. 

Within the next frame, POV will be used again to show the hitman entering the house of the antagonist and his wife. The iconography is again the keys as the hitman opens the door to the house. The sinister music will be building up in the background, much like the tension.

In the fourteenth frame, the audience will show the hitman sneak up to the wife who is cleaning the dishes in the house. This will be shown with an over the shoulder shot. 

In the 15th frame, long shot will be showing the whole seen that is going on as the hitman is behind woman and raises his knife behind her.. The iconography changes again, it will be a knife.

In the next frame, over the shoulder will be used to show the wife turning around and screaming as she drops the plate. Over the shoulder shows the viewers seeing the whole situation without the hitman knowing. This keeps it a secret from the hitman, almost like the antagonist and hitman hiding the killing from everyone. The iconography within this scene is the knife and plate, the use of both of these objects give the audience the elements of shock and suspense as they are waiting for the bad thing to happen. This frame will be a reaction shot because the viewers will see the expression of the wife as she turns around. The sounds that the audience will hear are the smashing of plates.

In the 17th frame, the zoom in shot will be used to show the hitman holding the knife in the air and grabbing the woman as he prepares to stab her. The iconography in this frame is the knife and this will be shown which will alarm the audience. Timings of shots will be used. Within the next frame, the zoom out shot will be used when the hitman stabs the woman multiple times. The screaming will be used as the sound that the audience hear, this will make them fearful as they cannot see what is happening to the woman but can connote that the hitman is killing her. In the next frame, shallow focus will be used to show the screaming stopping and the dead body being shown on the screen. The use of shallow focus will allow the audience to only be shown the body so that they can understand what has happened. The kuleshov effect will be used to show this. The 20th frame will show the hitman calling the antagonist to tell him that the deed has been done. This will be shown with a mid shot so that the audience can see the whole scene. The iconography within this frame is the phone, which is of course used to call the antagonist. The next frame will use over the shoulder shots to show the antagonist opening the door as he enters the home. The only iconography used within this frame are the keys of the antagonist, the music played will be closing music, this will connote to the audience that it is nearly the end. The editing that will be added will be a montage so the audience can see various images displayed upon the screen. The 22nd frame will show the hitman sitting on the stairs of the antagonists home as he is rethinking his actions. High angle will be used to show this. No iconography is used within this frame. The next frame will show a the hitman and the antagonist shaking hands as the hitman leaves. This will be shown with a two shot. The two shot will be used so that the audience can see the body language of both characters. Closing music will be heard again to show the audience that the sequence is coming to an end. The last frame will use a zoom in shot to show the face of the antagonist as he stands above the body of his dead wife and smiles. No iconography is used within this frame and the lighting is again low key. The editing we have decided to use within the last part is a fade out, this will be used to show the audience that the film has ended.

Explaining the opening scene narration has helped finalize my group's idea because we were able to agree with what would work best when filming the opening sequence. We were able to visualize as well as discuss our ideas so that most of our ideas were included within the piece. It has helped me understand that i need to use the group storyboards as well as this opening scene narration when filming so that i am able to create the perfect thriller sequence and so that no time is wasted trying to remember what needed to happen in each scene. 

Group Storyboard - Miss Miller

The purpose of a group storyboard is to allow all group members to put in some of their own ideas into the thriller sequence so that it is fair and they feel as though they are part of the film making. When each member created the individual storyboards, the ideas were varied for each person. Within the group storyboard, you include a range of ideas from everyone and put them into the same storyboard. Myself and Krista have looked at each of our individual storyboards and both agreed that there were some fantastic ideas from both. We decided on the best features of each one by working together and visualizing each frame to allow ourselves to understand if what we had wanted to do would work or not.

Myself and Krista have created a group storyboard in order to understand what we needed to do when producing our film. Creating the storyboard will allow us to stay on track when filming so that we don't fall behind. It will also help us not to get confused when we are in the filming process and can understand each frame well. We have included different frames from each other's storyboards so that the creativity was extended and varied, having just one persons ideas would be boring and would only allow that person to understand fully what they are doing. Having two people's ideas within is easier as each person can explain what they mean and it will allow the film to go smoother when being created.

Within storyboard frame number 1, my partner Krista and I both incorporated our ideas to come up with frames number 1 and 2. This is when the hitman wakes up in an unknown area unaware of where he is and who he is. This part was my idea. However, the idea that Krista had was for the man to be tied up and have masking tape on his face.  He wakes up tied up with masking tape on his mouth. Within this part of the storyboard, we had used mostly Krista's ideas for camera shots. I do not think this is unfair due to the fact that when we reviewed eachother's ideas, i believe that her ideas made more sense than mine did. I also noticed that we both had the same idea to use flashing within this part of the scene to add excitement and tension to the audience. Krista's ideas for sound were better when comparing hers to mine so we decided to use hers as they were various and imaginative.

Again, Krista's ideas were mostly used for the narrative in this part, however, my ideas were used when i explained in my storyboard that the hitman should be given money and an address note. The first frame hadn't even been created within my storyboard as i had started my second one showing the antagonist paying the hitman then the hitman agrees to kill the woman. We went with krista's idea because we both  believe that it will grip the audience more if we add on more detailed frames. I noticed that myself and Krista's storyboards were the same for the lighting category as we had both chosen to use low key lighting.

When i told my partner the idea of the hitman calling a taxi to get to the house of the female victim, she agreed as it allowed the audience to build up the tension as they know that the killing scene is coming up. My ideas of camera shots were used in frames 11 and 12 as they were the most useful when creating these types of scenes. The frames 9 and 10 were ideas from Krista. We both agreed that there wouldn't be a variety of editing within this scene. This will allow the audience to focus when watching as there will be nothing distracting them. Our ideas were different for the sound category as i had wanted the hitman leaving to have silence, however Krista wanted sinister music, and eventually i agreed with this because it will show the audience that he is becoming evil, the sinister music prepares them for what is to come.

When looking at storyboard page number 4, my idea of having POV as a camera angle was used because it would show the audience where he is. Mine and Kristas were both similar one frame number 13 as i had said that i would like sinister music to be played, Krista's idea was to have the music building up slowly, so we incorporated both of our ideas. Within frames 14 and 15, Krista's camera shot ideas were used as they made more sense to the story and the audience. We had both decided to use low key lighting within our storyboard as it is approaching a dark scene. The editing ideas were Krista's as i didn't write any down because i had no ideas for that category.


Krista's narrative idea was used within frame 17 as it shows the aggressiveness of the hitman within this scene. My idea was for the hitman to hold the knife high in the air. The use of screaming as a sound was included within both of our storyboards as it is necessary to show the fear and emotions of the female victim. Krista's idea for shallow focus was used for frame number 19 as it allows the audience to focus on the dead body, this shows the state of the female victim.

Within storyboard page number 6, which shows the last scene, low key was incorporated, which was both myself and my partners idea which we included on our own storyboards. It was Krista's idea to use screaming voices in frame number 22, this allows the audience to feel even more fear. The closing music was also Krista's idea to incorporate within the sound category for our opening sequence as connotes to the audience that it is almost the end. The use of montage editing in frame 21 was Krista's idea.

Overall, i think our storyboard is strong as it incorporates both of our ideas. We are both stronger at different categories, therefore making it easier for us to agree on which elements we should include in each frame. There is nothing i would change within the group storyboard as myself and Krista both got our ideas across and each person managed to state why the elements they chose should be used and so it was easier for each person to agree with what would look better. 

Risk Assessment - Miss Georgiou

Risk assessments are created and carried out during the planning stage. The purpose of creating a risk assessment is to identify potential risks and hazards that could occur when filming. In doing so, it allows moderate harm to target the actors and crew that are involved. It also allows you to decide if you have already done everything to make sure that potential harming is avoided and kept to a moderate level of fatality. You identify the risks and problems, and you evaluate how they can be solved or avoided.

During the planning stage of our thriller opening sequence, we carried out a risk assessment to evaluate the potential problems that could occur when creating out film so that no one was harmed. The risk assessment I created can be seen below;

As you can see, i have analysed all the potential risks/hazards that could occur if myself and Krista weren't careful with the way we filmed and set everything up when creating our opening sequence. Creating this risk assessment allowed me to really think about all the problems that I and my partner could face if we weren't being careful. Without completing this risk assessment, i believe that over half of these problems could have occured. I now know how i must stay safe when filming.

When filming our first piece, which we have been asked to re film, we encountered no major risks which is a good thing as we didn't waste any time. Our main scare was that someone would be injured with the breaking of the plate, the small parts could have cut someone badly. The only issue that we did face was that when the person was stabbing the woman with a knife, he cut her top open slightly, however, this didn't affect our film as the torn part was hidden away. When re filming, we will avoid this small issue by making sure the knife is not near the body as the character stabs her.

In conclusion, I have learnt that risk assessments are very useful to create when making a thriller sequence because they allow you to think about what could go wrong and if something bad does happen, you are able to  look back to your risk assessment table so you are aware of what you must do to fix the problem that you may face. Next time when we film, i would make sure that the camera is fully charged all the time, that way we do not have to stop filming due to the fact that we forgot to charge it the night before. Also, we need to make sure that we don't film when it is too light, because we agreed that there should be low key lighting during most of the scenes. This would allow time to be saved as we wouldn't have to edit the background colour.

Individual Storyboard - Miss Miller

Storyboards are used within the film industry to allow the director to share their ideas and thoughts onto paper so that everyone can visualize and understand what they mean and what they would hope for it to look like. They are used to help the planning take place so that everyone is on the same page that the person who made the storyboard is on. It can also be used as a checklist of all the things that the director would like to include within the film that they are creating. When it comes to production, the storyboards will make it much easier for the director to tell the staff what they need to do next. Storyboards also allow time to be saved due to the fact that once it is done, you may just look at it without having to think about them again.

When planning our group narrative, myself and my partner, Krista, each had to create storyboards for our ideas on how the film should look like from our points of view. The reason that this was necessary to do was so that once our ideas have been written down, we could explain them to each other in order to create a finalized storyboard that have our ideas incorporated in it, this is done so that we can make a brilliant opening thriller sequence. By creating my own individual storyboards, it will allow myself to really think about how this opening sequence should look from my own eyes. Once it is completed, i can go back over it to change or alter anything that i have written down. My storyboard is shown sheet by sheet, to show how i visualize the opening sequence to look like;

Within my first storyboard, i have made sure to include various camera angles so that the audience never gets bored of what they are watching upon the screen. The setting within this scene and the next one will be in an unknown area. This highlights the sense of confusion that the hostage/hitman is going through, the audience will never find out how he developed amnesia. This creates the element of mystery as the audience want answers but will never get them. This scene shows a man who wakes up in an unknown location and is asked to kill a woman in exchange for money.

On the second storyboard, i am showing that i would like this scene to have all low key lighting throughout so that it evokes a sense of darkness and evil. This represents the antagonist well because he is very evil as he wants his wife to be killed because she is cheating on him. Again, there will be a variety of camera angles that will be shown within this scene, this gives the audience different views, it makes it less boring for them as they have different ways of looking at the same thing. This scene shows the antagonist paying the hitman to kill his wife.

This next storyboard shows the hitman going outside after agreeing that he will kill the antagonist's wife. He calls a taxi to take him to the road but not infront of the house so that suspicions are not raised. He then walks up to the house. This scene will be a mostly high key lighting so show the natural light that is outside. The sounds will be varied, some of the parts will have no sound, therefore, building up the tension and some will include sinister music to allow the audience to connote that something bad will happen in this scene.

In the fourth storyboard, the scene changes to show that the hitman has now entered the house of the antagonist where his cheating wife is cleaning some plates. He slowly walks behind her grabbing the knife out of his pocket. The scene contains almost all the same camera shots, which are POV. This allows the audience to be filled in the same shoes as the hitman. It also builds up tension as he is about to stab her because the audience are waiting for it to happen. The lighting will remain the same as low key lighting is present throughout because the scene is dark and this helps to portray that.

This part of the storyboard shows the woman as she looks behind her to see her killer infront of her, she screams and the killer is holding a knife up infront of her. Shot reverse shot will be used to show the hitman holding up the knife as well as the woman screaming. Again, the whole scene consists of low key lighting, this helps to portray a dark, mysterious and evil scene. The audience feel terrified in this scene because they know something bad is about to happen. The last scene shows the woman being stabbed, this will be shown in a close up of the hitman and a stabbing sound effect will be played as his face is shown.

On this page, the next scene progresses, the woman falls on the floor, and the hitman holds up the bloody knife. This will mean that the kuleshov effect is taking place as the audience are able to connote that he is the one that stabbed the woman without actually seeing the stabbing happen. A variety of camera shots and angles are used such as high angle, close up, mid shot and low angle. These shots and angles allow the audience to view the scene is different ways therefore making it exciting and sinister at the same time.

 The last storyboard shows the scene where the antagonist has come home and the audience can see the hitman re thinking his decision to killing the wife. The antagonist tells him to leave and then walks over to the womans body, stands over it and smiles in a very sinister way. The sounds  that will mostly be used within the scene are silence; this makes the audience build up the tension as they are unaware of what is happening next. The other sound that is used is sinister music, this is used when the antagonist comes on the screen, therefore, connoting to the audience that he is sinister.

There are many elements that i kept the same when creating this storyboard. For example, i used a wide range of POV angles, this was done when the hitman and antagonist where doing different things. In thriller films, POV is mostly used to get the audience in the same place as the villain, for example, in the film Halloween, Michael Myers is often shown in the POV angle. The POV angle allows the viewers to feel as though they are the person, and this also makes them feel as if they are part of the sequence. They begin to imagine themselves in that position. Using this angle made it clear to the audience that both of the men were villains. Secondly, most of the shots were low key, i have chosen to use this because low key lighting is dark and mysterious, which evidently describes the opening sequence perfectly. Having low key lighting helps to create tension, so the audience feel as though something bad was going to happen. I used low key lighting when dark scenes where being shown, which was almost the whole piece.

When looking over my ideas, i noticed that there were a few problems with the storyboard i had created. Firstly, i am using silence a lot within my idea. Although it helps to build up the tension of the audience, the silence may also be boring when the audience really want to know what is going on within the scene. I need to change this so that more variety of sound effects are used so that the audience pay attention to what is happening on the screen. I am hoping that my partner will agree with some of my ideas on the storyboard such as using mostly low key lighting. This allows the audience to understand that darkness is around them and it also gives them clues that there is evil lurking. 

When listening to each others ideas, i am hoping that some of my ideas are changed for the better so our opening thriller sequence can be as perfect as possible in order to thrill the audience. I am hoping that my partner will also know what sound and editing skills we should use due to the fact that i am not very creative when it comes to these elements. When combining our ideas, our story should be even better than before. 

In conclusion, i think that creating individual storyboards was very helpful as it allowed us to think outside the box with our ideas and elaborate on them. It also helped me to gain a better understanding of what i would hope the sequence to look like. Storyboards make it easier when filming so that you don't have to keep trying to remember what your ideas were for a certain scene. It also makes it easier to explain and visualize my ideas and thoughts to my partner and that way it will be much easier to combine all of our ideas into a group storyboard. Creating a storyboard has allowed me to understand that i need to give more detail when explaining what i would like to happen within the sequence. It has also taught me that i need to think outside the box to create original ideas as to what the piece should look like. It takes time to create storyboards so it has shown me that i must be thorough with my ideas. I also need to keep checking over them to make sure that each frame fits perfectly with the one before, so that the audience are not left confused when watching the sequence.

Planning Characters - Miss Miller

The purpose of characters within a film is so that the narrative can be produced and be interesting. If there were no characters, there wouldn't be a narrative because the story couldn't progress and the audience would find it boring to watch. The characters are very important because the way they are presented to the viewers is the way that they will judged. For example, their clothing, the way they talk (attitude) and their background. Characters are introduced to the narrative so that the audience can form a bond to them and their emotions are heightened when something happens to them. If the characters are upset, the audience get upset because they feel sympathy for them. If the character is happy, the viewers automatically feel happy for them. It is as if the audience know the character themselves, but in reality, they don't.

Within our thriller opening sequence, there are 3 characters. The characters will be introduced below:

The first character i will be discussing is a male hostage/hitman named Mark. Within this opening sequence Mark will be around the age of 21, he will be White British. I have made Mark a male because this fits in well with conventions and how this is stereotypical when he kills the woman as men are made to look superior compared to women. As my age certificate is 15, i believe that Mark will appeal to my audience as he is still quite young himself, he is dressed as some teenagers dress, so they will be able to relate to him. Within the scene, Mark will be wearing a plain white shirt, which will have some stains and will be untucked, this will show that he is unprepared and scruffy looking. As he looks scruffy, i believe that this will show that he is confused and will then show the audience that he is not the real antagonist. He will also be wearing black trousers. The use of the black and white can show that he is bad and good at the same time, again, highlighting that he is not the real antagonist. There is no known relationship between Mark and the 'C'. The audience will first see him at the beginning of the narrative as he wakes up in an unknown location. The antagonist of the plot would like Mark to kill his wife. Mark agrees to do so after he is given photos and is promised money. However, if he fails to do the task, there will be 'serious consequences'. This will be shown on the screen with a series of flashes taking place, this will build up the excitement and tension. This character is included within the narrative to keep the audience gripped to their seats as they wonder whether he will actually do the deed or not. The viewers will see that the hitman has already developed amnesia and they will never find out how he developed it in the first place. He will be portrayed as a very quiet, violent and lonely man. He doesn't have many lines within the sequence and this helps to present him as mysterious to the audience. Mark will appeal to the audience even though he does murder the wife, he is very mysterious to them, they want to dig deeper into his life to see why he was so quick to agree to murdering the innocent woman. Once the deed has been done, the audience will not like Mark as they believe that the murder wasn't necessary.

The next character i will be talking about is C. Cole is the husband/antagonist of the opening sequence. He will be 25 within this piece. Cole is also White British. I have made C a mystery character so that the viewers can picture him the way they want to. I believe that this character fits in well with my age certificate of 15 because it allows the audience to really think deep, and let their imagination run wild, at 15 and above, teenagers are able to think creatively, therefore, they will really be able to think when watching my opening thriller sequence. This will then allow them to use their imaginations instead of just being given the character on screen. The clothing that 'C' is wearing will not be shown as this person is only shown on a text. The audience will never find out this information however, because 'C' texts Mark. He wants someone else to do his dirty work for him because he is scared he will be blamed for her murder. This character is included within the sequence to thrill the audience, as well as scare them, they will react negatively to him when he is first shown as a text because he is clearly the villain of the story. He will make the audience feel very uncomfortable and he will be the reason for all of the negative emotions that the viewers will release when he is seen as a text. He is portrayed as soulless and dangerous. The audience will not build a relationship with 'c' because he is not shown on the screen, however, they will fear him because they do not know what he is capable of doing, they know that he wants his wife killed, so the viewers feel as though he could do anything. C will not appeal to the audience as they are left wondering why he would want his wife dead, also, they presume that he is a man due to the way that he is talking and acting. This is conventional because the audience are used to seeing a male antagonist, therefore believing that C is male.

The wife of the antagonist is also the female victim within this opening sequence. Her name and age is unknown to the audience. She is also White British. I have made the wife young looking so that the younger viewers can like her, they will quickly feel sympathy for her even though they do not see much of her, also, they will feel empathy because they are the same age as her. I know that my viewers will be teenagers due to the fact that my age certificate is 15. So, this will attract that sort of age to watch my film. The wife will be wearing a plain white/cream top to highlight innocence, as well as jeans. This clothing will help to represent her as innocent and angelic because she is wearing what most people wear, highlighting that she is just a normal person. This character is included within the sequence because she is the female victim that no one thinks should die although what she did was wrong. As there is a female victim involved, it is conventional to the thriller genre, because female victims are almost always scene in a thriller film. She is only shown when the hitman kills her, aswell as the photos that the hitman is given. This character will appeal to the audience because she is the female victim. Automatically, the audience feel sorry for her, they feel sorry for her because she has just died in her own home, and they also feel sympathy due to the fact that she didn't deserve to die. As she is young looking, the younger viewers will take a liking to her, even though she doesn't have much screen time. Due to her dying, the audience automatically obtain an emotional attachment to her in her part within the clip, so the relationship that they have is weak because the audience do not see enough of her to gain a strong attachment. However, as she is normal looking, they begin to imagine themselves in the same position which makes them feel sympathy towards her. Within the thriller genre, it is almost always the female that is the victim, and therefore makes it easier to know who will be the victim when the hitman enters the house.

In conclusion, i believe that my characters will be very conventional because they are typically seen within the thriller genre. This will help me to create a successful sequence because i have included what people like to see within thriller films. Therefore, they will take a liking to it quickly. I also believe that my opening sequence will appeal to the audience as my audience will most likely be the same age as the characters. It is important to plan your characters so that you are able to picture exactly how they look and you are able to know what they should do to the audience when they see them on the screen.

Planning Opening Credits - Miss Georgiou

Opening credits are the credits that are shown at the beginning of a film that introduce the roles of the the cast as well as the other members who were apart of the making of the film. Normally, the opening credits show the director, writer and the main actors. However, since i am creating a short opening thriller sequence, i think i will have enough time to list all of the people that contributed as there were not as many as there would be if i were to have created a long film. The credits at the beginning are normally shown with some background music, and the opening of a scene. I think that this is done so that the audience can start to get into the mood of the film and are fully prepared to watch it. It is as if a 'foundation' of the movie is being built to help the audience gain knowledge of the what there is to expect within the film and this helps them to prepare. It sets the scene of the film so the viewers know exactly what is going on and where most of the film will be taking place. In a thriller film, the opening credits can present the setting that the film will be set, the audience will see this and it will help them to acknowledge that something bad will most probably happen here and that is a key scene that the viewers will eventually see again later on.

As i know, opening credits are important when creating an opening thriller sequence. I was asked to complete an analysis of the film 'Se7en' and had to break it down into four sections; Colours, Styles of Credits, Use of conventions and Order of appearance.

The first section i will be discussing is the use of colour within the film 'Se7en'. The colours that have been used the most within the opening credits of the movie is black. The use of the black is important is it can help the audience with clues as to what will most likely happen within the movie and will help them to understand what the film could be about later on. Firstly, the colour black represents a number of different things and certain emotions that can allow the audience to think and keep them gripped to their seats when watching the film. The colour black can represent the element of death and therefore, the audience can connote that something bad will happen and will be resulting in a number of deaths. This makes the audience kept at the edge of their seats when watching the opening sequence because they can predict things that will happen by using what they can see on the screen. Also, the use of black within the opening can show emptiness and this could be a way of describing a character within the film se7en, this can help viewers to make assumptions about what they will see and how the characters within the movie will be portrayed. Black is a colour of darkness and can show the audience that the film is scary and will most likely be scary. Also, the darkness from the beginning can represent a characters personality in the film and because the black is used for a while in the opening, it can show that the main character will have a dark streak to them that will be seen by the audience throughout. Another point i would like to make is that the picture shows two colours; black and white. Black and white are opposite colours and thinking of it in thriller prospects, the colour black represents evil and white represents goodness. Some characters within the film may dress up in black to show darkness and evil and if the characters wear white, it could represent purity and can show someone as being angelic. This is conventional because in a thriller, the elements of evil and goodness are shown throughout the film. The colours make the audience aware of the possibilities that could happen within the opening and so they are not left in the dark.

The next point I will be discussing within the 'Se7en' film is the style of credits that i could see when watching opening sequence of it. The first thing i noticed was that the writing shown is very child like. I thought this when i saw it because of the way the writing was displayed on the screen. The writing is very narrow and uneven, it isn't written neatly so this reminds me of how a child would write.This could therefore mean that there is a child involved within the story. Also, I can see some blurry writing where is says 'a film by'. This makes me believe that the element of confusion will be added to the story somehow. When looking at this, the audience will feel scared to watch more of the opening as well as want to watch more because of the sinister feel that it is giving off. This is conventional within the opening because children are generally involved within the story, and this will make the audience feel sorry for them. Also, from the look of the picture and the fonts, such as the blurry font used, i can see that this story will be a psychological thriller.

The third section i will be discussing is the use of conventions that the audience aswell as myself can see when watching the 'Se7en' opening credits. The first image that I saw displayed very quickly within the sequence was a photo of a woman being placed onto a black page. The photo could result in many things. Due to the expression that is placed on her face, i believe that she has been hurt. The emotion expressed upon her face is fear, the audience can see this in her eyes.  Another point to indicate that she may have already faced death is her body language and positioning. The audience and I can see that she is laying, and her head is facing forward. The person that took the image is in front of her in order to take the photo, and she is not looking at him, so this allows myself to believe that she is no longer living. My last point to support this theory is the colour that surrounds the photo. Black. As i have previously mentioned, black is the colour that is used to signify death to show the audience that the crime has already been committed. The colour shows darkness, this could represent her killer's personality as well as their soul. Black also means emptiness, which can show that the body of the woman is empty due to her losing her life. This is conventional because death is always used within thrillers and this is done to scare the audience. The photo also allows us to understand that she has already been killed, therefore, scaring the audience from the beginning of the film. This keeps the viewers gripped to their seats as well as making them feel terrified as to what they may see next. Another point i would like to add is that if this woman was the only one that died or that will die, then the person gluing it to the page wouldn't be keeping a photo of her on a blank page. Therefore i am lead to believe that the killer will kill again, in order to fill up the empty page. This is conventional to the thriller genre because generally, in thriller films, there are multiple victims within the story. This scares the audience and makes them think about what they would do if they were in the same position. This is a warning to the viewers to let them know that this woman will not be the only victim. Speaking of victims, the person in the photo is female, this is conventional because the women are usually the first to be killed, this shows them as inferior and weak to the killer. They are unable to defend themselves from the murderer, who is most likely a man.

The last section i will be discussing is the order of appearance in which the images are shown on the screen for the audience to see and connote what is happening and to also guess what will happen within the film based on what the images show them. The first and second image the audience can see that appears on the screen is the name of the production groups that created the film together. The allows the audience to think back to see if they know any films that have been created by them in the past. It also allows the production groups to gain recognition for what they have done to make the film a success. Also, in doing this, the groups become more known and when other films are created by them, the audience will know what they have produced and will want to watch the film. 

The next image that the audience are shown is the image of a drawing of hands showing who the film was produced by. The image of the hands is in complete grey with no colour. This can show the audience that the film is very dark and sinister due to the shades of black that were used. Also, the hands are in a position that you would imagine to show strangling. Strangling is very popular in the film genre, this therefore shows the audience that violence will be present within the film.

The next image the viewers can see is the name of the most important character within the film. This is the main character and is the person the audience will see the most. They are given recognition within the film to show and allow the audience to know what role they will be playing; clearly an important one. Also, by doing this and by hiring someone as famous as Brad Pitt, his fans will come to watch the film, therefore getting more views and more money for the film. If the film is liked by the fans, the more ratings you will receive and the producers as well as the stars will be more known worldwide.

The next image is shows the title of the film. This allows the audience to know what film they are watching as well as to think about why the film could be called 'Se7en'. Also, the blur on the title could show the audience that there will be the constant element of confusion and disorientation that will be present. This will allow the audience to be prepared for what is to come later on in the film.

The next image shown on the left shows the costumes designer getting recognition for their hard work when making the film. As the audience as well as i know, this is a very hard job as there are many costumes within films, so they deserve to be praised.

This is my idea for our myself and Krista's opening sequence title. I made sure that i used some of the conventional themes within my idea such as the colour of the word 'amnesia' as red. Red represents the blood and it is a clue to the audience that blood will be a constant theme within the thriller opening sequence. Using the colour red at the beginning of the sequence allows the audience to know that  there will be blood present throughout the opening.  The red on the word could also represent the anger of the antagonist as he goes on a murderous rampage to get his revenge on the killing of his wife. So this could represent to the viewers that something is coming and they are unaware. Another representation of the colour red is danger. Red is an alertive and bright colour which many see as a way of alerting danger to people. So, i have included red within the word 'Amnesia' to warn my viewers that something bad is going to happen during the sequence. Also, the second colour i have decided to use is the colour white. The colour white represents a number of things, for example, it is a colour that represents innocence. As the audience will find out, during our opening thriller sequence, innocence is used to show the female victim during the time that she is in her home and alive. She has done nothing to deserve being killed. Another thing i have noticed is that the colour white displayed upon a black background can show that it is bright. The brightness can show us that it is an important thing to watch out for. It shows the audience that they must stay alert at all times. One last point about the colour white is that the way it is displayed, it is quite small. However, the black background behind the writing is very large. Black represents darkness and evil and the white represents purity and innocence. So what the audience are shown is that the darkness and evil is bigger and more inferior than the purity and innocence. Therefore showing that the darkness over powers the purity and innocence, so, the antagonist and hitman over power the victim.

The sizes i have decided to use within my title are a variety of small sizes as well as large ones. For example, as seen in the picture above, i decided that the 'Spotlight Productions Presents' should be smaller than 'Amnesia'. I think this is simply because i wanted to emphasize the name of the film to allow the audience to think why it would be called this and who it could be upon. This allows the audience to think outside of the box as to the variety of possibilities that could occur within the thriller opening sequence. Giving the audience a title that seems very obvious is a good way to throw them off guard, for example, the viewers may believe it is about a girl who develops amnesia after she is kidnapped. However, it is about a man who is held hostage and already has forgotten who he is, therefore, has already developed amnesia. Giving the title such a simple name allows the audience to give their opinions and ideas about what the film will be about, this is done so that the element of shock, suspense, surprise and tension are present throughout the opening as they wouldn't have believed that the story line would be how it is. 

The fonts that i have displayed upon my titles are varied, this is because the fonts can mean different things. For example, i have decided that a smaller size for the 'Spotlight Productions Presents' would be good, the production would still gain recognition as the words are still largely visible. The name of the font i decided to use to make this credits page is 'Antique'.  I wanted the audience to catch their eye on 'Amnesia' the most. This was created using the font 'outline'. This is because it is is the main reason that the audience will begin to feel mystery. As previously mentioned, the word amnesia within a thriller could mean a variety of different ideas and story lines to the audience. So, some of the ideas they had could be right, however, our storyline is so unique that is most probably the wrong idea that they were thinking of. Therefore, this creates mystery aswell as tension because they want to know what is happening in the story that makes it have the name 'Amnesia'.

The order in which they appear on the screen is the title 'Spotlights Productions presents', then the title 'Amnesia'. I have presented it in this way to portray it the way that i have seen a variety of films use it. This gets the audience used to watch they are shown on the screen because this is the way that it is displayed in other movies that they have seen. Also, using the 'amnesia' title last, therefore makes it the last title that the audience remember before the start of the opening thriller sequence. This creates suspense as the audience will be kept gripped to the edge of their seats trying to figure out what will happen next.

In order to have good communication and teamwork skills, myself and my partner Krista were asked to look at each other's ideas and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each idea. This was done so that we could decide which one we would prefer to be our sequence credits page. Krista has decided that she would like to use this (pictures on right) as our thriller opening sequence credits page. The first strength i would like to point out is that the use of the 3D font (first picture) is very creative because it is very original and is rarely used within the thriller genre and this therefore makes it unique. the use of the 3D also gives a 'blurred' effect, therefore giving the element of confusion. Within the narrative, the hitman is held hostage and is confused about where he is, so the element of confusion is there. This gives the audience hints as to what the storyline could be about. The second picture shows the font and colour for 'Amnesia'. The use of the colour red makes the word stand out, making the audience notice it more. As the audience notice it more, it makes them remember it, and if they remember it, they will see that the hitman already has amnesia when the film starts.  Also, the colour red is effective when creating a thriller because red can represent many things of which the thriller genre is all about. For example, when i think of the colour red, i immediately think of anger, when the viewers watch the opening, they will see the emotion on the face of the antagonist. Red can also be used to symbolize blood, and as the audience watch more of the sequence, they will see that blood certainly makes its way into the opening. The use of the colour red could show the audience that the element of evil is involved within the plot. This allows the audience to begin to make their suspicions. Blood is conventional within the thriller genre because it shows what thrillers are all about. It is rare to not see blood within a thriller film, and this therefore makes it normal for it to be present. If it isn't present, the audience would be left surprised. My only weakness is that the colour red is often used within the thriller genre. Although the colour represents many things, i believe that the colour is used so often that the audience would be bored of it. It lacks originality. 

In conclusion, my partner and I have decided that we are going to use Krista's idea as we think it would be more professional to use. Also, even though it does seem basic, it is the best idea to use in order to create the most successful thriller sequence that we can. We have taken a wide range of inspiration from the opening credits of 'Se7en' and we will therefore include a variety of flashes within the opening to show different images. We will be using the flashing within the unknown location scene, it will show the encounter of the antagonist and the hit man as the hostage is paid to kill the antagonist's wife. I believe that this creates tension because the audience will be waiting for something bad to happen. This keeps the viewers engaged in what they see on the screen. Within the credits sequence, i believe that the credits should go in the following order; Production company name; I believe that the production company name should be the first title that comes up on the screen. This is because they deserve the most credit as they created the film altogether. Without them, there would be no opening sequence so they deserve to be first. After this, the name of the director(s) should be shown, this is because they helped the actors/actresses with their roles within the film and without them, the cast would most probably forget some of their lines. If they did forget some of their lines when filming, this would waste a lot of time and would make the editing process very slow as there would be alot of the clip to edit. This would then be followed by the name of the film. This allows the audience to know the name and begin to discuss why it could be called that. It allows their suspicions to grow further than they already have. Th element of shock, surprise, suspense and tension will be present when they find out why the name 'Amnesia' was given to the opening sequence. Once the opening has begun playing, the names actors will appear at the bottom followed by the rest of the team who was involved. I think that it is important to add the names of the actors within the credits page, this is because they deserve alot of credit as it can be hard to act and learn lines within a short amount of time. The team such as the costume designer, hair and makeup etc all deserve to be included within this page because although they may not have done the most important roles, they did big enough roles to show that if they weren't their to do their jobs, the film would have been very different.