Opening Scene Narration - Miss Miller

Opening Scene Narration

In our opening sequence, it starts with a long shot of Chloe walking down a road passing a telephone box with a man inside looking suspicious. The opening credits appear from the start of this first shot and a dim filter is also evident from the very start which is present throughout the whole sequence. Chloe is them seen in another long shot, this time walking towards the camera rather than sideways on. She stops as she realises that her phone is ringing and an over the shoulder shot is evident to demonstrate that it is her mum. It is clear that the conversation is about how Chloe is getting home as Chloe says that she is on her way home just about to take a short cut through the forest. After this, she puts the phone down and opens the gate leading into the forest, shutting it cause the diegetic sound of the gate be heard. Chloe is shown in panning shot walking gradually into the forest. She is then shown to spot something and with the use of an over the shoulder shot and close up, it is clear that she has spotted a CCTV image of herself pinned to a tree. From realising that the picture is definitely herself, in a medium shot her emotions show fear as she grabs the picture off of the post and scrunches it up. As Chloe walks out of the shot, Marius the antagonist has appeared behind her with herself unaware of his presence. When Marius is shown there is a short, piercing sound effect to emphasise his presence. There is then a medium shot of Chloe, side on, throwing the scrunched up picture in slow motion. The medium shot is then returned and as she looks around anxiously, Marius is no longer where he was a few moments before she threw the picture. Despite the weird event that has just occurs, she believes that the best thing to do is get home as soon as possible - so she carries on walking. She walks faster and faster as the night is fast darkening, as well as the fact that she is quite scared and confused at this point. There is a long shot of Chloe walking through the forest which progresses to a point of view shot from Marius' perspective with another sound effect which symbolises that it is him. Then a close up, high angle shot of Chloe's feet still walking through. Chloe hears something and so stops, looking around anxiously, shown by extreme close up shots of her face. As she begins to walk faster she notices someone standing in the distance dressed in black - Marius. His presence makes her think of the past events that have just occurred - her discovering the picture and the noises and so this is displayed through the use of a fast paces, flashing montage. When Chloe finally comes face-to-face with Marius there is a medium shot/point of view shot shown of her screaming at the camera. Chloe then turns and runs in panic and is shown running throughout the use of point of view shots, high angle shots and medium shots. Marius is show running after her through point of view shots of his own and Chloe is seen in-front of him, screaming in terror. Unluckily, Chloe trips and falls right in-front of Marius and it is clear that he is holding a knife. Marius gets closer and closer to Chloe until a sharp blackout occurs. Chloe is show running again but slightly stressed due to the fact that she has hurt her arm and we guess tis is from Marius but we are unsure as to how she has got away. She gradually runs our of energy and finds herself giving up as she begins to feel faint. A heartbeat is heard as many jerky, blurry shot movements are shown to demonstrate her disorientated emotions at this point and a point of view shot then follows as she reveals what is under her sleeve. It is evident that she has been deeply wounded by a knife cut and not she looks even more lost. Chloe is shown in a medium shot to be holding onto a tree until focus changes to her hand which lets go of the tree suggesting that she has fainted. A blackout is then evident. Not long after the blackout, a point of view shot from Chloe's perspective shows her obviously waking up but the unexpected appearance of Marius leans over her. Another blackout then occurs to symbolise the end of the sequence.

Risk Assessment - Miss Georgiou

Risk Assessment

Risks are important to consider before filming as there could be serious consequences involved. For example, if someone get's seriously hurt as they were unaware of the risk that caused them the situation that they are in, it is down to the group's assessment and this could lead someone going to hospital if very bad. As well as this, if someone is injured like an actor for example, this could consequent the whole sequence as depending on the extreme of their injury, they may not be able to be included in the sequence. Therefore, risks need to be outlined and assessed so that as few of possible injuries are evident as possible. 

The risk assessment will assist us with filming as it will remind us to be careful for certain risks such as the tripod for example. The tripod is quite large with legs that could easily be cause for harm, eg, tripping over. Having the risk assessment allows for each member of the group and any others involved to be as safe as possible and well reminded of what could be a risk.

Whilst filming we didn't encounter any other risks that exclude the ones listed already. This shows that with our risk assessment, we were quite successful in our plan as no other risks were present.

Filming Schedule - Miss Georgiou

Filming Schedule

A filming schedule is a table that states when, where and essentially how each shot in a production will be filmed. It is important to have when creating a film sequence as it ensures organisation and certainty in what is due to happen and when. Filming is also done in specific time brackets and it makes it easier to film as it is clear what has been filmed already, what needs to be filmed and any changes that may have to be made. Furthermore, it allows group members to be prepared with what needs to be brought to the location of filming, for example, iconography. It's also easy to use if we have to re-film certain shots for any particular reason so we are aware of what the shot is, who it features and what we will need to film it. Therefore, this makes filming a lot more easier and more time efficient so that no time is carelessly wasted. 

We have followed our filming schedule when filming, however, just a few of the dates we had originally planned for certain shots to be filmed had to be changed. This was due to difficulty in getting the group all free to film at the same time and so we had to substitute other days in for these particular shots. Therefore, changes had to be made, however, the shots and all filming was still completed successfully. Next time we will ensure that this does not happen by finalising dates on which group members can all attend. This will cause a less of delay to our filming and a more productive day of filming. Further reason as to why some of our filming schedule was not followed was because our narrative changed due to lack of availability of actors. The first few shots had to be changed as they were part of the original narrative that we had come up with, not the newer one where Chloe's friends are not included. These shots were then changed to have different content with Chloe on the phone to her mum so, this changed the filming schedule. Next time, we will make sure to finalise our narrative and who will be available at certain times to ensure no time is wasted during our production. 

Production Roles - Miss Miller

Production Roles

It is important that people are allocated specific roles when creating a film as this allows the individuals to focus on their role, putting in the best possible efforts. This improves the film as each role is getting the amount of attention and dedication it needs. Also, having allocated roles leaves less stress on external people as they do not have to worry about jobs that are already covered. The main roles in which are necessary to be allocated for creating a film are Producers, Directors, Actors, Directors of Photography, Music Producers, Screenplay Writers, MES Co-ordinators and Editors.

We decided the allocation of different roles through the strengths of each individual. We each were allocated roles we were comfortable with and feel could succeed and bring a lot to the sequence in which we are making. 

The role of the Producer was allocated to Alfie Harris. We found that Alfie is very organised, not just personally but with organising other people and situations in general. He was comfortable in having this role and believed that he would be the best person for the job from his experience from taking Media at GCSE. He has ensured that all elements of our film are correct for example the setting, and he has made sure that everything has gone smoothly and on time. Filming is made easier having Alfie as the Producer as it relieves the pressure from me and Danny as this role is covered and we don't feel the need to worry about it. Also it keeps filming easy and quick to do as everything is already ready and organised before we have filmed. As a producer, Alfie was good in his role and there isn't any errors that we could improve him on for the future.

The Director has been allocated to Danny Wheeler. This is because Danny has a clear view of what we want to specifically do and create in each scene and so, we have found this the best job for him. With this clear vision, we are confident that Danny has ensured that each scene will have created the atmosphere we intend to create and the actors are positioned correctly in order to create the most conventional and successful opening thriller sequence possible. Danny having the role of the Director makes filming a lot more easier for the rest of us as, his clear vision makes filming quick and easy as well as successful. Therefore, this also helps save time and allows us more time for editing and further filming if needed. Some shots however, had to be re-filmed due to the time of day in which we were filming and the shots resulted in being too dark. Therefore, next time the producer will make sure that this isn't a possible problem as a different time of day will be chosen.

All of us, (Amy Sowerby, Danny Wheeler and Alfie Harris) are the Actors in our sequence. We chose ourselves for the actors as it would make filming easy from the way we can be certain and dependant on for filming at all times. This saves having to pressure someone to be available to film at times others may not be able to, so having us all available ensures that filming can get done quickly. Furthermore, we all understand each character and know how we want them to be portrayed on-screen, so knowing this allows us to develop our character to what we intend more easily as we understand the background of each character. 

The Director's of Photography are Danny Wheeler and Alfie Harris. We decided for this role to be allocated to them as they have a passion for photography and filming. Furthermore, as I am in the majority of the shots, it would make sense for the other group members to film. Their job is to film the whole sequence, ensuring that we are getting the shots we want. To get the certain angles and shots that we want, having two people makes it easier and more achievable as some shots may be difficult for a person alone to film, a high angle shot for example. Danny and Alfie also work well together, so it was certain that the filming would be completed to a good standard and to the best of their ability. Because of the success of the shots, there wouldn't be anything to improve on. As a group, we were happy with how the shots turned out and so choosing Danny and Alfie for the Director's of Photography was a good decision.

I have been allocated the role of the Music Producer. This is because we found that I had a general knowledge of music from studying it at GCSE and also for A Level. Having worked with different genres and styles of music, finding music for a thriller may not be too difficult. For my role, I have found different sound effects and soundtracks that will compliment the scenes within our film. I have then presented them to the other group members and discussed which sounds would work best, creating the most impact and being most conventional to the thriller genre. Having this role will be easier for filming and editing as it relieves the stress for other group members to feel the need to have to look for different uses of sound. It allows other members to focus more deeply on their own roles and make them as successful as possible. As well as this, if we notice a shot may not create tension, knowing that sound will be under it relieves the pressure of creating a sound-filled shot.

Danny Wheeler was allocated the role of the Screenplay Writer. He has a passion for English and is a creative writer, so we believed that this role would suit him more than any of us. Danny also seemed confident that this role would suit him and that he would make a good job of the role too. He has written the script for the sequence, even though there isn't much dialogue, what he has created adds to the suspense that we want our audience to feel. From having this, it creates a stronger sequence that is more conventional to the thriller genre, making our sequence also more successful. This makes filming a lot more easier as it is clear what the actors need to say and do, creating a lack of time wasting.

The MES (Mise-en-scene) Coordinator was allocated to Alfie Harris. He was allocated this role from the wide variation of ideas in which he presented to the group on the different elements within mise-en-scene. We believed that as a group we favoured his ideas and the innovative aspects of them and so believed that Alfie having this particular role would be suitable. Alfie has therefore made decisions on costume, hair and makeup for example as well as the other elements of mise-en-scene. Him having this role makes it easier to film as it is organised what should and shouldn't be in shot and what certain elements should look like.

The Editor role has been allocated to myself. I enjoy editing and have had past experience from editing sequences for Media in GCSE. Because of this, I am more familiar and knowing of how to work Final Cut Pro therefore making it a lot quicker and easier for our group to edit. Furthermore, editing can be done successfully from the awareness of the editing programme and the creative nature within them. Having an individual for the editor makes it easier to edit as it is less time consuming for other group members as they can focus on their other allocated roles. It makes editing easier as it allows focus and concentration solely on this role allowing successful editing to take place and therefore a successful thriller sequence to be created. Also, it makes editing easier and quicker due to the fact that not all group members may be available all at once and so having one person edit means that people do not have to be waited on.

Each person was successful in their allocated role as each individual was allocated an even number of roles so that stress is not brought upon one main individual. However, some filming was not successful as our shots were filmed at a later time of day resulting in shots that are too dark and even editing was unable to amend this. Therefore, the director should have thought about this and analysed the issues that may arise. This is however, the only fault that has risen to us as a group and so, having the particular individuals chosen for the specific roles has proven to be a decision well-made. If we were to do this again, the roles would have the same people doing them as this has been a successful result with as few errors as possible. 

Group Storyboard - Miss Miller

Group Storyboard

The purpose of a group storyboard it that it shows the development of our individual storyboards and the final decision made. We looked at each of our individual storyboards and decided what we liked from each one and what parts we were to take and insert into the final group storyboard. Storyboards that demonstrated a better idea of what we wanted to portray were very much inspiration for our final group storyboard.

We have created a group storyboard to ensure that we have a final idea and decision for what we are doing. This makes it easier for us when filming as we have a clear structure of what needs to be shot and in chronological order too. We took many of our individual ideas and put them into our group storyboard as well as developing group ideas too.  Different elements have been taken from each of our storyboards. Not only from our own individual storyboards, but we have also taken inspiration from other thriller films too. The use of low-key lighting for example was inspired by 'Strangers' and 'Shutter Island' as we really liked the way it helped create a tense and eerie atmosphere. You can clearly see in our storyboard, we have noted our lighting as low-key throughout most of it and this is because these parts are the ones where we want suspense to be created and elements of shock also.

The use of a dim filter was a also a developed idea from the way we all wanted to have low-key lighting and having a dim filter ensures this. This creates enigma and we all agreed on this idea that the dim filter would very much help determine the atmosphere of the scene to more of what we intended. We found this element restricts view creating more suspense, surprise and shock making it more conventional to the thriller genre. This is why we thought it would be appropriate to use throughout our sequence. As well as this, filming was made easier to complete as it didn't matter as much to depend on natural lighting for our shots as a filter would correct the lighting to exactly how we would want it to be. A dim filter is used in most thrillers for example in 'Saw', and so it just contributes to the conventionality of a sequence to the thriller genre, as well as giving the scene a more eerie look. Knowing that using a dim filter was sticking to the thriller genre made us even more confident in including it into our sequence. The storyboard demonstrates our input of this filter and so when it comes to editing, it is clear which shots need the dim filter as we have noted it down.

Point of view shots, for example in frame 7, were included in our group storyboard. This was an idea from me and Danny as we thought it would create more suspense as the audience get to see the scene from the antagonist's perspective however, not actually know the identity of them. Through the use of a point of view shot, especially in the way in which we are using them, the audience are also able to see other characters from a specific character's point of view. This builds a relationship with this character as they may feel worried for them and want to help them. The way suspense, surprise and shock are created also makes it conventional to the thriller genre. We made sure to note these down in our group storyboard to ensure that we knew what we were filming as point of view shots can sometimes be difficult to draw. Having them written in our group storyboard also allows us to not overuse them as the structure is clear and straightforward which allows us to check for accidental repeated shots. In order for point of view shots to be successful, they shouldn't be overused as they become common and do not have as much of an suspenseful impact. Therefore having them noted in our group storyboard allows us to prevent this from occurring, benefitting our sequence when it comes to editing.

A montage in our group storyboard (frame 23) was an idea of Alfie's, but we have also taken inspiration from a clip from 'Saw 4' which uses a montage to emphasise particular images in the shot. This creates suspense and tension from the images being juxtaposed together in a fast tempo movement. Therefore, this has more of an impact on the audience as they have to pay more attention to what's going on on-screen, keeping them gripped and captivated, as well as intrigued. This is conventional to the thriller genre as suspense is created and also a climax for a shocking, surprising moment to occur. In 'Saw 4', the montage uses flashes to separate the various shots that are used as the content. We really liked this effect as we found it was evident that it was a montage, keeping the rest of the scene and narrative clear and understandable. It also gave the montage a supernatural feel as using flashes and fast paced shots together is unnatural but also gripping. This is what we intend to create and so we will do this with our sequence in our montage. It was difficult however, to display the exact shots that we wanted in our montage onto our group storyboard as it was basically the previous shots we had already used. Though, we decided to still ensure we left a frame to make note of the montage's existence to make sure that we didn't forget to include it.

I think our storyboard is organised and structured in an efficient way. We discussed each other's individual storyboard ideas to incorporate every group member's ideas making compromises to ensure that each individual idea is taken into account. As a group, we are happy with our group storyboard as it is clear, understandable and easy to work with. It not only makes filming easy, but also editing as it is clear what needs filters, particular sound and lighting adjustments, etc. We have also made clear the particular shot that will be filmed for each frame and so from doing it so accurately, it allows us to have a rough estimate of how long our sequence will be, if we are reaching the time limit or if we need to film more. Our group storyboard has inspirations from other successful thrillers that already exist, such as the ones already mentioned and so this makes us confident that ours is conventional to the thriller genre. Having a clear group storyboard saves time as messiness would determine level of understandability which would take up more time working out what goes where and how. Overall I think our storyboard is organised, successful and will make our filming easy and not time efficient. 

This is our group storyboard, consisting of 37 frames: