Group Meetings

Introduction

The purpose of group meetings is so that everyone in the group knows what they need to do and also so everyone knows what is happening at that time. They are essential to carry out so that no one feels left out of the loop and so that no one misses anything that they need to know. The group meetings which took place in my group helped us decide what was going to happen in our thriller sequence and what everyone's job roles were. They helped us construct our production as we decided on things like costumes and camera angles which were going to be used during our thriller opening sequence. The strengths of the group meetings were that everyone in the group could give their opinions and ideas. This meant that we were able to choose the best ideas out of everyone's for our thriller sequence. Another strength was that it enabled our group to be able to come together and discuss what we have done and what we are going to do. This meant that we would all know what needs improving or changing.

Conclusion

From carrying out group meetings, I have learnt that they are important because they enable all the group to give to their opinion and get involved with what is happening. I think my group did work well together because we listened to each other and all had a say in what was going to happen with our thriller opening sequence.

Production Roles

Introduction

People need to be allocated to specific roles because it is not possible for one person to create and make a film on their own so different people are needed for each job. Also, everyone needs to put in their own ideas and opinions so that they can make the film as good as possible. Finally, it's also so they can meet new people and work as a team so that the film is as conventional to the genre as it can be making it a team effort.

The production roles are:

• Producers - this role means that they are in charge of overseeing everything and making sure everything is right. They also choose the actors and make sure everyone is doing the right job.
• Director - this role means that they look after the actors and crew members to make sure they are doing their job properly. They also direct what is happening on set so that it is the most conventional that it can be.
• Actors - this role means that they are the ones in which act to make the characters on the set and are the people that the audience watch during the film.
• Director of photography - this role means that they are in charge of the cameras and which angles the scenes are shot at.
• Mise-en-scene co-ordinator - this role means that they are in charge of all the mise-en-scene aspects to the film. This includes the hair, make-up and costumes.
• Editors - this role means that they have to cut and add in the techniques like fading to black to make the film as smooth as possible. 
• Music producers - this role means that they choose the best sounds and music to put into the film.
• Screenplay writer - this role means that they write the script in which will be used during the film and they also have to make sure that what the characters say makes sense to who they are.

We decided who would do each role by thinking about what everyone is good at and what they are most interested. Another way we thought about who was going to do each role was by choosing who suits and knows that type of role the best. Due to their only being three of us in our group, we had to give people more than one role, otherwise our preparation and filming would not be organised well. By thinking about who should do each role, we could make sure everyone felt comfortable in what we thought they would be best at.

I have been put down as a producer, director of photography, editor and screenplay writer. I was chose to be a producer because we felt that I was good at organisation so knew who was doing what and where they should be. Also, we felt that I had fairly good leadership skills so if someone was doing something wrong then I could tell them and make them do something else. The reason that I was put as director of photography was because I felt comfortable doing this job role. I believed that I had experience with cameras before and knew how they worked so thought that I would be good doing this job. Although all of my group are editors and Leo is the main editor, we thought that I should be included in this as I am good at thinking of conventional ideas to the thriller genre so know what effects and techniques we can add to our sequence to make it better. This is also a reason why I have been chosen as one of the screenplay writers.

Layla has been put down as the director, editor and a screenplay writer. We thought that she should be a director because she is a good leader and knows when someone needs to be told to do something else. She also is good with organisation skills so can make sure everything is happening right on set. This is also good because she can make sure we have all the props prepared on set before filming. We decided that she should help with the editing as well because she is good at thinking of conventional ideas and we thought she could be good at doing the opening credits. This is because she will know what looks the best for the thriller genre. This was also the reason behind her being part of the screenplay writing.

Leo has been put down as a producer, actor, mis-en-scene co-ordinator, editor, music producer and screenplay writer. We chose Leo to be the co-producer as we felt he has some leadership skills but not many so thought that if he was the co-producer, he wouldn't have to look after everyone as much as the producer. We chose him to be an actor as we felt that because he is male, he has the right look for an antagonist. Also, we believed that he would be able to act well and do whatever he is asked to do. Leo was chosen as the mes-en-scene co-ordinator, an editor and screen play because he is very creative and is good at coming up with ideas. He is also an editor because he is good with technology so we thought that if he was the main editor then he would know how to work the programme properly. Finally, Leo was chosen to be the music producer as we thought he would be good at finding the correct sounds we need in our sequence and he ill be able to find good websites to get them from.

Conclusion

Each person was very good at sticking to their allocated role as no one intervened in what everyone else was doing. In the end, we thought that Leo had taken on too much and I thought that I would be better at being the music producer so I took on this role and found the right sounds needed. I think that we should have changed some of the roles so that they weren't shared because this got a bit confusing at times. For example, we found it difficult to have a director, producer and co-producer as they all seemed to do similar jobs so we found it hard to differentiate them from each other.

Filming schedule

A filming schedule is important to have because it tells all group members when they are going to be filming and what props need to be on set. It also tells all group members if they are needed and what they are going to doing so that they are prepared and ready to start filming.

We did not always follow the schedule when filming. For example, we weren't able to film on the 23rd November as Leo was ill meaning he was unable to act. As a result we had to re-shedule and film on a different date. Also, we were unable to get the radio in which we needed in time for that day of filming. This radio is necessary to have in this scene because the antagonist needs to turn it on and is also creates the non-diegetic sound used. We also had to re film the scene with the locker because we realised that Rhiannon had her hair the wrong way so it didn't match the rest of the scene. Also, a teacher was waving his hands in the background making it look less realistic. We also had to re film the scene when Rhiannon walks out of the school because she is wearing a different skirt to when she gets killed and also has her hair down when it needs to be tied back.

In addition, we had to film extra scenes like when she is in the classroom and she finds the note. We did this because we felt that we needed to show her finding the note instead of just looking in her bag. We thought that if she found it whilst getting her book out in a lesson, it would look much more realistic. Another shot we added was when the antagonist knocks on the door and walks in to the room where the victim is laying. This was done as a panning shot to show him walking towards the victim. We were able to show that he is much more dominant and she is only weak.

I have learnt that a filming schedule doesn't always go to plan because sometimes people can become ill or are unable to attend a certain time. I also learnt that to make the film make more sense, you have to add in more scenes or even do a different shot to make the scene more conventional to the genre.

Opening Scene Narration

Introduction

To come up with our final ideas for our group storyboard, we first had to make individual story boards. This was so we could all show how we felt the opening sequence would go and this also helped us visualise our sequence more. After, we chose the best ideas from everyones individual storyboards and put them together to create a group storyboard.

The first shot is a close-up of the antagonist turning on the radio about girls going missing in the local area. This shot will have a radio voice over as the sound so that it is non-diegetic. As the location is in the antagonists bedroom, the lighting will be high key lighting. The iconography in this scene will just be the radio and the only actor is the antagonist. The scene then goes into an over the shoulder shot also in the antagonists bedroom where he is getting ready in the mirror. The iconography in this scene is the clown mask to hide the antagonists identity and also, the photos go females placed around the mirror. In this shot, there will be high key lighting and a straight cut will also be used during this too. There will be non-diegetic sound as the radio is still playing in the background whilst he is getting ready. From this over the shoulder shot, it will go into an extreme close-up of a picture of his next victim. The editing in the shot will be when it zooms into the picture and fades to black so it can turn into a flashback. The iconography here will be the picture of the victim as this tells the audience who it is. The lighting will be low key and there will be silence in the room. This shot will then use the straight cut to go into a long shot of the young victim in school as the clown places a note in her bag. The iconography here is her bag and the note. The lighting will be high-key because she is in school and the will be suspenseful music as he goes to place the note in her bag. The shot will then fade out and zoom out into the next scene. When it goes into the next shot, it will be an extreme close-up of the picture of the victim in the antagonists hand. This will be back in the antagonists bedroom with high key lighting. The iconography here is only of the picture of the victim. There will be off screen sound here as the radio is playing in the background and it will then zoom out into an over the shoulder shot. This is where the antagonist puts the picture back up on the mirror. There will be high key lighting here and the iconography is the radio and the pictures of all the females on his mirror. This shot will still have the radio in the background and we will use a wipe cut to take it into the next shot. This shot is also an over the shoulder shot but of the antagonist walking out the front door with a knife. The lighting will be high key and the iconography will be of the knife which tells the audience that will be his weapon. We will use non-diegetic sound here as there is suspenseful music to build up tension for the audience. From here, linking of shots will be used.

The next shot is a close-up of the victims bag as she finds the note. In this shot, the iconography will be of the bag and the note and there will be high key lighting as she is still as school. There will be silence as she finds the note and then a straight cut used to go into the next shot. This will also be a close-up but of the note itself telling the girl to meet her secret admirer down the alley whom she doesn't know is actually someone that wants to kill her. There will be high key lighting and the iconography will only be of the note. As she reads this note, there will be silence as this creates tension for the audience. From here it will zoom in to show that it is coming out of the flashback. This will go into a long shot of the victim towards the alley. This scene will show the first part of the low key lighting with conventional sounds to what the audience would expect to hear. The iconography here will just be of the bag. The next shot will also be a long shot but of the victim walking through the alley way ready to meet the antagonist. Here, there will be low key lighting with non-diegetic tension music in the background. The iconography here will be the photos of the victim hung up along the fence. The editing in this scene will be slow paced. From here, the long shot goes into a high angle where the victim notices the photos of herself and goes to look at one. This will also have slow paced editing with suspenseful music and low key lighting which all create suspense for the audience. The iconography will be of the photos. As the victim picks up this photo, the camera goes into a close-up of it to show the audience what it is. The lighting will still be low key and the only iconography will be of the photo. Here, the suspenseful music will carry on as it creates tension for the audience. As this tells the victim that someone is after her, the camera goes into a mid shot again to show the antagonist hiding then grabbing the victim from behind. Again, low key lighting and iconography of the photos will be used whilst suspenseful music carries on in the background. Next, the camera shows the reaction shot of the victim with low key lighting. The only sound here is diegetic sound of the girl crying. The shot then fades out and fades in to a high angle of the victim laying in the corner of a dark room. The iconography here, is of the rope which she is tied up in and the lighting is low key. There is diegetic sound here of the victim breathing heavily as she wakes up.

The camera then zooms in to the victims face to do a close-up as she wakes up. This shot is silent with low key lighting. To show the kuleshov effect, the camera does a point of view shot of the antagonist stood with a knife. This shot will have contrapuntal sound of clown type music and low key lighting. To carry the kuleshov effect on, the next shot is of the victim screaming and crying after being stabbed. This will be a close-up and also a reaction shot. The sound will be suspenseful music and the lighting will still be low key. As the kuleshov effect keeps going, the next shot is a shallow focus of the antagonist holding the knife with blood on. The sound will then go back to the contrapuntal sound of clown type music. The iconography is of the knife and the lighting is still low key. From here, the camera goes into a mid shot which then zooms in on the victim laying dead on the floor with blood surrounding her. The lighting will then go from low key into high key to show that she is now dead. The sound here is of the clown laughing in the background and the iconography is of the blood. The final shot is a long shot of the antagonist walking off with the knife covered in blood to show he doesn't care about what he just did. This shot will be slow edited and there will be silence. The lighting will go back to low key and the only iconography here is of the knife covered in blood.

Conclusion

This has helped finalise our groups idea because we now know what we are going to film and where we need to go to do it. We also know what props we need to use in each scene so this helps us to be organised and stay prepared.

Group Storyboards

Introduction

The purpose of group storyboards is so that all the group can visualise what is going to happen in the sequence and know exactly how everything will run. We looked at all the groups individual storyboards by putting them together and looking at how everyone could visualise the scenes separately. Then we chose the best scenes and ideas from each of the storyboards to create one group storyboard.

The reason we have made a group storyboard is so that we can all visually see what is going to happen in our opening sequence and also, what micro-elements will be used during each scene. We have included elements from all the group members individual storyboards so that everyone's ideas are used and it makes it fair to everyone in the group.

For example, from Layla's individual storyboard, we have used the idea of having a long shot whilst the victim is walking down the street to the alley. We thought this was good because we are able to show where the girl is going and also that she looks really nervous as she is walking slowly. We also used the idea of having a mid shot when the victim is dead, lying on the floor covered in blood. We used this idea because we thought that by having a mid shot, it shows how the victim is on her own and is lonely. This will help the audience build a relationship with the victim as they feel sorry for her.

From Leo's individual storyboard, we used the idea of having an over the shoulder shot when the antagonist is getting ready in the mirror. We thought that this was god as we can show how he puts on the mask to hide his identity. This is conventional to the thriller genre as it creates an enigma which keeps the audience engaged because they don't know who he is or what he will do. A second idea we have taken from Leo's is by having an extreme close-up of the photo of the young girl which then zooms into the photo. We liked this idea because it shows the audience whose life they're going to be watching and also gives them an idea of how she is only young and innocent. This also tells the audience that the antagonist knows who she is and has been watching her in the past. This is conventional to the thriller genre because the audience build up a negative relationship with the antagonist.

From my individual storyboard, we used the idea of using a long shot when the victim is walking down the alley. My group liked this idea because it clearly shows the location in which she is and the audience are also able to see all of the photos hung up of the girl. This creates tension for the audience because they feel sorry for the young girl and they are scared of what's going to happen to her. A second idea in which we took from my storyboard was the idea of using slow editing as the antagonist walks out of the dark room. We liked this idea as it shows that he doesn't care about what he is just done to the girl and knows that he won't get caught. This is conventional to the thriller genre because it creates tension for the audience keeping them engaged.

Evaluation

I think our storyboard is good because I think that it is conventional to the thriller genre as it creates shock, suspense and surprise. To incorporate each others ideas, we used the most conventional ideas from each of our individual storyboards. By doing this, it has made our sequence a lot more conventional to the thriller genre.

Risk Assessment

Introduction

The purpose of a risk assessment is so that all of the group members know the hazards which is useful as it means we can plan around them so the risks don't take place. It also means that when filming we can take more care of our surroundings and what is happening. It is important to do a risk assessment because it means we can ensure that all the crew/actors are aware of the risks and we can think of ways in which we can prevent them from happening. It is also important because it means that we can consider and have a back up plan in case anything does go wrong whilst filming.

During our filming, we did not encounter any risks. This is because we had planned the risk assessment in so much detail so we knew to be careful. Therefore, this also meant we knew what we had to look out for and do so the risks wouldn't occur. Also, we used our group story board to work out what the risks were meaning that we could make sure no one was hurt and nothing got damaged. By using the group storyboard, we could see what we would be using during filming to work out what the major risks would be.

The role of a risk assessment is important as it helps us keep ourselves safe and out of harm. This means that we can remember to keep a look out for anything that could put is in danger whilst filming. I also learnt that if risk assessments have been done in detail then no one will be harmed and they also know what the risks are so can be more aware of things happening around them. By having a detailed risk assessment, it means that everyone can see the reasons behind why they are risks and why they have to be careful.

Planning opening credits

Introduction

The purpose of having opening credits in films is so that the audience can find out information about the film. For example, they know the actors and the producer. It also shows the directors style of film making so the audience then know what to expect from the rest of the film. The opening credits introduce the narrative by the font and movement of peoples names. The font is usually bold and red for a thriller as this shows blood and danger. Finally, the audience have expectations of a film company so know what to expect in the film.

Analysis of Se7en's opening credits sequence:

The opening credits sequence to Se7en was very conventional to the thriller genre. One reason for this is because of the colours they decided to use. These were white, black and red. The use of white showed the victim as it symbolises innocence and purity. The black showed mystery which foreshadows a hidden identity which is conventional as it keeps the audience engaged. Lastly, red connotes blood, danger and anger which are all used in the film making it a conventional colour to use. A second reason for it to be conventional is because of the font used. It is jaggered which shows the audience the mind of the killer being unstable. Also, the tense music builds up suspense for the audience making them want to know what is going to happen. The objects which are shown in the opening credits sequence are sharp like the screw. These foreshadow the weapons used in the film. The photos shown during the sequence could tell the audience who the antagonists victims are so that may be his hit list. Finally, the order of appearance is the order to be expected in a film as it starts with the production company and ends with the director.

Group member: Samara Stevenson

I ensured that my design followed the conventions of a thriller because, firstly, I used red, black and white. The red shows blood and danger which tells the audience that something bad is going to happen. The black shows the mystery of the antagonist as he has a hidden identity making the audience question who he really is keeping them engaged. The white symbolises the victim as they are innocent which is conventional because the audience feel sorry for them. The font text I used was 'Birch Std' which I think is conventional to the thriller genre because each point on the letters is sharp which shows the murder weapon the antagonist uses. This foreshadows the knife in which the antagonist kills the female victim with. By the production name being smaller and in the corner ad the film title being bigger and in the middle, it shows how it is more important and dominant just like the antagonist is to his victim. I think that because all the words used in the opening credits sequence are jaggered, it shows how mentally unstable the antagonist is. It also tells the audience that he won't care what he does and will just go ahead with killing people without thinking first.

Strengths: By using the glow effect, it makes this design stand out more which brings the title out more against the black background. Also, by using these dark colours, it is conventional to the thriller genre because it symbolises mystery and death which are both used in our sequence.

Weaknesses: The red could be brighter so that it contrasts more with the black background which would represents more danger and blood. Also, the font of 'Birch Std' is unconventional because it is not showing the unstableness of the antagonist and it doesn't foreshadow the dangerous weapons used.

Group member: Layla Boudaboussa

Strengths: This design is conventional to the thriller genre because by using the colour red in the title, it conveys death, blood and anger. By using a black background, it represents the antagonist by showing he is bigger, dominant and has more power over the victim. The white writing represents the victim as it shows purity and innocence. The idea of having a red, spotty font foreshadows a clown as this is a popular outfit worn by clowns and we are going to have one in our thriller.

Weaknesses: I think that the name of the production company should be in more of a bright red rather than a white so that it stands out better and matches with the titles shadow. This would also stand out more against the title and the opening credits with a red colour.

Group member: Leo Ly

Strengths: I think that by having a white title, it shows the innocent victim and the black shows the darkness of the antagonist. This is conventional because it tells the audience that something bad is going to happen to the victim. Also, by using the colour red is shows danger and blood which is conventional to the thriller genre.

Weaknesses: The colour red should be brighter to show more blood and danger. This would also make it more conventional to the thriller genre as the audience know something bad is going to happen. I also think that the title of the thriller should be in red and the name of the production company should be in white as this will make the name stand out more to foreshadow what's going to happen with the idea of blood from the colour red.

Summary

We will work mainly with Leo's design because it is the one most conventional to the thriller genre. One reason for this is because of the glow effect which he has used as it stands out and helps show the innocence of the victim. We also chose this because the font used is very conventional to the thriller genre as it is creepy. As mine and Layla's opening credits are conventional to the thriller genre, we will also use some ideas from these. For example, from Layla's we will use the shadow effect in the background as it represents blood and the victim in the background. This is conventional to the thriller genre as it tells the audience that something bad is going to happen creating tension. From mine, we will use the idea of having the title larger than the rest of the credits as it makes it stand out and show this is the most important part of the credits. This also shows how the antagonist is more important and dominant than the victim.

The order that the opening credits will go in are:

Production company - Peach tree productions

Director - Layla

Actors - Leo and Rhiannon

Title of film - The Clown

Actors continued 

Casting - Fred

Music - Charles

Costumes - Sarah

Editors - Leo, Layla, Samara

Camera operator - Samara

Co-producer - Leo

Producer - Samara

Writers - Leo, Layla, Samara