First Day of Filming (by Becky, Jess and Jodie)

First Day of Filming

 On our first day of filming, we based ourselves in the grounds of the college. Firstly, we had to get permission to film in the reception area, as it is the main access to the building and health and safety issues may occur:

• Tripping over equipment
• Heavy doors slamming
• Overcrowding

Becky and Jess setting up equipment

Becky preparing the camera

Becky controlling the camerawork

                                        

Our First Location

Things we had to change:

- Due to the fact that none of our cast or crew had access to a car, we had to re-think our original plan. Therefore, we decided to film more scenes of the female character leaving college, with techniques, such as match on action. 

- When it comes to us filming at our new location, where we see the character leaving the car, we will have access to a vehicle. 

Lights, Camera, Action!

    Problems we had:

- Background noise; talking, phone ringing, doors slamming etc.

- Due to the new electronic barriers in reception, we had to constantly swipe ourselves through each side, depending on the position that we wanted to film. 

- When we went to film outside, it was raining!

Jess getting into her role

Our second location

 Things that went well:

- We managed to collect lots of footage, which will become useful when it comes to us editing the film.

- Camerawork was successful. We managed to get successful shots at interesting angles, including the use of the pan and tilt in camera movement. 

- Although it was hard work, we had fun at the same time.

 

Where to next?

After a successful first day of filming, we are intending to continue onto our new location of the house containing the cellar. This location is a key part of our thriller opening, as it is where the mystery and tension build up, as we meet the most dramatic point of the film. 

Next film day: 

Saturday 2nd March 2013

Roles for Thriller Opening (By Becky)

List of Roles

Cast

Female Character               Jess Brayne

Male Character                  Greg Littlejohn

Mysterious Body                Becky Fermer

Crew

Lighting                           Jodie Cruttenden

Camerawork                   Jodie Cruttenden

Setting/prop set up          Becky Fermer, Jess Brayne, Jodie Cruttenden

Photo shoots                   Becky Fermer

Equipment Supervisor     Jess Brayne

Editing and Production    Jess Brayne, Becky Fermer, Jodie Cruttenden

Health and safety (Jodie)

In order for our Thriller opening to run smoothly we need to consider aspects of Health and Safety. The first thing we need to be aware of is the lighting. The lights are extremely bright so we cannot look at the light, we also need to have at least one sandbag to weigh the light stands down so they don't fall over and tape to cover the wires so we don't trip over the wires. Secondly, the cellar steps are quite slippery so we need to be aware about this when walking down the steps. It's also dark in the cellar so have to be extra careful. One of the props we are going to use is a knife, knives are sharp so the male character will have to make sure he doesn't cut himself.

Prop research (by Jodie)

The props that we have decided to use in our two minute Thriller opening are...

• Tools/Knives

We have decided to use knives as one of our props because it will be used when the man is sharpening the knives/tools. This will then create a tense mood, the audience will be asking themselves, what is going to happen? Which is suspense.  

• Car

For our thriller to work we also need the use of a car, which we have got one to use. The car is a very useful prop as it allows us to get one of our characters from her workplace to her house, where the man is. You realise they are going to meet when the girl pulls up onto her driveway.

• Kettle   

The kettle is used in the thriller opening when the characters turns the kettle on. I think this is a good choice of prop to use because all of the suspense from the crosscutting, turning the kettle on will bring some 'normalization' for the moment.

• Sheets

The sheets will be used to cover objects in the cellar that we don't want the audience to see.

• Chair

The girl will be sitting on the chair whilst she is tied to it. This will create some distress to the audience because they will want to know why is she being gagged as she appears to be an innocent character. Any chair will do, preferably an old one. 

• Rope

The rope is going to be used to tie the girls feet and hands to the chair. We need to ensure we get some rope which looks strong enough to tie a girl down.

• Blanket

To cover the girls body in the cellar with.

Animatic (without sound) by Jodie, Jess and Becky

Storyboard photos and annotations (by Becky Fermer)

Storyboard Photos and Annotations 

Low angle, close-up shot.
5 seconds

Man unlocks the cellar door, although his character is not revealed to the viewer. The character will be wearing dark, black clothing and gloves, in order to enhance his suspicious character.

Eye level, long shot.
5 seconds

Girl leaving her workplace in a different shop, in order to manipulate time. 

Eye level, long shot
5 seconds

Girl getting into her car and preparing to head for home.

Eye level, medium shot.
3 seconds

Male character covers up bits of furniture and objects with old rags and sheets. This shot is designed to make the audience question what he is doing.

Low angle, long shot
5 seconds

Female character drives down the road in her car. 

Eye level, medium shot
3 seconds

Another shot of the male character, covering up furniture.

Very low angle, long shot
5 seconds

Girl's car pulls up onto her driveway. This starts to raise suspense, as it appears that the two characters are going to meet.

Eye level, medium shot
3 seconds

Another shot of the male character throwing sheets over objects.

Eye level, long shot
5 seconds

Girl gets out of the car. We see the house in the background.

Low angle, long shot
3 seconds

We see the man in his context, the cellar. A chair with ropes is placed in the middle of the room.

Eye level, close-up
2 seconds

A close up shot of the man strapping ropes to the chair. This raises questions to the viewer. What and why is he doing this? 

Eye level, long shot
5 seconds

Girl walks up to the house and opens the door. (Match on action)

Eye level, close up
3 seconds

Following on from the previous shot, we see the girl opening the door. (Match on action)

Eye level, close up
5 seconds

Man sharpening knives and tools. This produces suspicion and a tense mood. Somethings not quite right.

Eye level, medium close up
3 seconds

Girl puts the kettle on. 

Low angle, close-up
5 seconds

Man walks up the stairs and out of the cellar. 

Low angle, close up
3 seconds

Man puts chloroform on a cloth. 

Low angle, medium shot
3 seconds

Girl walks into the living room, her facial expression looks shocked. (Eye line match)

High angle, long shot (slow pan from left to right around the room)
5 seconds

We see a body under a blanket in the middle of the lounge floor. (eye line match from the previous shot)

Low angle, long shot (Slow tilt up from the floor, to the girl)
5 seconds

We see the girl's body language and facial expression, in response to the mystery that lies beneath the blanket. The audience are faced with questions; who is it? what's going on?

OTS, close up
3 seconds

Girl lifts up blanket to see who it is. Tense music builds up suspense.

Eye level, close up
5 seconds

Girls is suddenly gagged with a cloth.

Fade to black
3 seconds

Low angle, close up
2 seconds

Close up shot of the girl's hands being tied up.

Low angle, close up
2 seconds

Close up of the girls legs being tied up.

Eye level, medium close up
3 seconds

We see the girl being gagged. The familiar setting of the cellar is reintroduced.

Eye level, close up
3 seconds

We see the man pick up his tools.

Eye level, close up
3 seconds

Another shot of the terrified girl is shown.

High angle, close up
3 seconds

Man reaches for his keys.

Eye level, medium close up
3 seconds

Another shot of the girl, but we see the mans figure in the background behind her.

Very low angle, medium close up
5 seconds

Close up shot of the man's footsteps walking up the stairs.

Low angle, extreme long shot
3 seconds

Man is a silhouette at the top of the stairs. We see his leaving the room.

Eye level, close up
5 seconds

Another shot of the terrified girl. We hear the sound of the door being slammed and a straight cut to black.

Cut to black
5 seconds

Black screen 
5 seconds

Working title of 'Cellar' appears on screen.

Synopsis of Thriller Film (by Becky Fermer)

Film Synopsis

Duration: 2 mins 6 seconds

The overall summary of our thriller opening is to build up tension and suspense in which we want our film to impose. We start off with an editing technique of crosscutting, between two characters and locations, in order to create anticipation. Our male character is a mysterious person, whose identity is never revealed throughout the entire film opening. The viewer is only able to see close-ups of his hands and shots of him from behind. This was inspired from one of our research thriller openings “The Usual Suspects”. We felt that this set dark and curious impressions on the viewer.

The Usual Suspects Opening Scene

• There is series of cross-cutting between the two characters at the beginning, where we see the female character leaving her workplace, getting into her car and driving off to her house. Meanwhile, in a different location and time, we see the male character preparing a strange and isolated room, equipped with pieces of ropes, knives and torn sheets, presenting the viewers with a series of wondering questions. What is he doing? Who is he? Why is he there?

Example of Cross-cutting editing in The Silence of the Lambs

•  The two characters finally meet, when the female returns to her house, to find a body in the middle of her lounge floor. However, the viewer never gets to see who it is, as the body is hidden under a blanket, before our female character is gagged with chloroform.



Close-up of Kaiser ("The Usual Suspects") who's character
is never revealed throughout the entire opening.



•  Following on from this, we see a fade to black, leading to her waking up in the room in which the audience are familiar with from the beginning. This results in the viewer suspecting that the man is up to something, and wondering what the female has to do with any of it.

The final shots are close-up frames of the girl being tied to a chair, before being gagged. The film ends on a cliff-hanger, where we see a tracking shot of the male’s footsteps walking up the stairs, in order to leave the room. We then cut back to the female character again, whose body language appears scared and horrified for her life. The lights then turn off, as we hear an off-screen sound of the door slamming, to reinforce the man leaving the room. As this shot ends, we cut straight to black, before our title “Cellar” appears on screen.