Inspired ideas - Thomas Herd

From our research on examples of thriller film. We discovered a scene in 'Let the right one in', involving a murder in a swimming pool. As we approves access to film at the Dolphin leisure centre, we have decided to take that idea and slightly alter it because we are not allowed to have fake blood in the pool. We how we decided to create a drowning. 

Continuity errors & more fotage - John Swift

We have already visited Gatwick Airport and been in the hangers to where we were going to film, However there was strict health and safety conditions which made this difficult to capture footage, we have decided that Harry can re-visit the airport with his dad where he can capture some more footage of inside the hanger on a later date as the hanger is a great location with very good Mise en scene.

There may be a few possible continuity errors as we are filming at the Airport hanger on two different days. Here are some things we will have to take into consideration:  It was raining hard on the first when we visited the airport, the lighting might be different if the lights are set up in different places, the clothing of the characters along with their hair and make-up may have changed. We are hoping there will be planes being repaired in the hanger, in order to make the setting more impressive.

Filming problems - Thomas Herd

One of our ideas was to create a graphic match between a character walking through a puddle moving on to a shot of another character getting drowned. This was a problem as when we were filming the first shot, it was sunny and therefore, there were no puddles and this wasn't possible.

Dolphin Leisure Centre - Filming times Confirmed - John Swift

We will be able to film at the Dolphin Leisure Centre on the following times as the Pools will be empty and the centre will be quiet. I have confirmed these times with the Duty Managers and they are more than happy for us to film in any of the pools.

Times

Sunday the 2nd after 8pm to 22pm

Wednesday the 5th after 9:30pm to 23:15pm

As Tom Corbett is unable to film on sunday, I believe wednesday will be the best day to film which leaves us enough time before Friday to upload the footage to meet the deadline.

Filming - Harry

One of our actors , Nigel - 

Filming - Harry

Tom filming at gatwick

Filming - Harry

Took tom about 6 hours to set this up.

Filming - Harry

Here is the room we decided to film in.

Filming - Harry

Setting up the shoulder holder camera holder

Idea - Harry

We had some good places to film, but due to timings and access we chose not to use the planes as if we need to refilm we may not have the same access

Lighting Decisions - John Swift

Dolphin leisure Centre
We have decided that we can use external lighting for any dry-side filming at the Dolphin leisure centre, using Low key lighting to whenever we can to create Enigma and suspense. however, some places such as the swimming pool will be very hard to light just using LED's therefore we have come to the conclusion that we will keep the main lights on in the room then dim it through post production editing.

there are also windows at the Dolphin leisure centre so we can make use of the natural lighting allowing the character to also be aware of the time of day.

The Airport Hanger
in the airport hanger we can make the best use of low key lighting, this will help us to set the mood and create emotion, allowing the viewers to see certain traits of the characters and try to make out whether the person on screen is a protagonist or antagonist.

we can use lighting to create a lot of shadows at the airport which can be used to show the power that a character has, and also to help distinguish who is the antagonist.

we want the lighting to be invisible to the viewer, and adapt to fit the three point lighting rule. however if we reduce the fill lights it will create shadows on certain sides of the characters face creating mood. we can use one high key light and a reflector to create this effect as well.

The Train Station
Once again we will have to use external lighting such as LED's as there will be no places to plug in the lights whilst filming outside the train station. we will be using low key lighting to create enigma and add to the atmosphere.

there will be some natural lighting as we will be filming outside. However, we must still use external lighting to ensure the scene is will lit and can use them to create shadows.

BBFC ratings-lowdown- Tom Corbett

Depending on the film it has to have different ratings which look at the content and then determine the film's rating. Judging on our film, I can guess that we will be using a '15' or '18' rating. Here is what they encompass:
- strong violence -frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***') 

-portrayals of sexual activity-strong verbal references to sex  

-sexual nudity-brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence 

-discriminatory language or behavior

-drug taking

And an '18' film's content:-very strong violence

-frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***') and / or very strong language (e.g. ‘c***’)

-strong portrayals of sexual activity
-scenes of sexual violence
-strong horror
-strong blood and gore
-real sex (in some circumstances)
-discriminatory language and behaviour

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/

Storyboard - Harry

Here is me talking about our storyboard and how we will film it. it will not be the exactly the same as we film but gives us a guideline to how we film. Harry

Health and Safety - Gatwick Airport - Thomas Herd

While filming at Gatwick, we had to follow by a number of safety rules and also wear protective clothing, which is displayed below.

Synopsis - Thomas Herd

An engineer, Andy, worked at Gatwick Airport, however his life changed when he turned to his old mate, Tony. Together, they became hit men in the city of Brighton. They have been doing this for over 20 years undiscovered. However, there time is about to run out, as they take it one step too far, in what will be their last mission. Consequently, one of the biggest 'wanted' chases took place across the streets of Brighton, as Andy and Tony tried to escape, but the end was coming.

Props - Harry

Props

As we intend to use many natural surroundings and objects to play a part in the thriller opening means will have very little props to rely on to use in our thriller opening. Main things being clothing, as an actor is going under water it will be appropriate to use clothes that either will not be damaged or are no longer in use. Another being the the mobile to use when we take the shot in town to link both the scenes together. That is pretty much all to cover on our props as we a limiting the props and objects we use during filming as it really keeps the enigma flowing to create the intensity on what may happen next without creating an omniscience audience meaning they know to much more than the characters. Harry

Script - Harry

Script and Stage Directions by Harry

In our thriller opening, we have decided to have no dialogue. this because we think it will add enigma to the opening. creating even more suspense on characters and making them more unidentifiable. we also decided this because syncing speech of a phone  call at two different locations can cause problems when editing and make it look very unprofessional. although, stage directions will still be used. but as we have only visited one locations of were we shall be filming it is hard to tell exactly what lighting, stage directions and camera angles we are going to need. So as we film in our different locations we will take notes on stage directions and where characters and camera men shall be placed and how the light will be used effectively, especially when we film underwater in the dark.

Pools at the Dolphin Leisure centre - John Swift

Main Pool

here we can see the main pool shallowest point : 1 meter deepest : 1.8 meters

 Teaching Pool

here we can see the teaching pool, 1 meter depth all round.

 Health Suite Pool

here we can see the health suite pool which is 1.4 meters at all points. oh, and a Jacuzzi ;D

We Could Also Film Behind the Boom

we could also film behind the boom where we are least likely to get disrupted. 1 meter to 1.4 meters.

Location Survey - Dolphin Leisure Centre - John Swift

Location to be Surveyed: The Dolphin Leisure Centre
Addresses: Pasture Hill Rd, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 
Tel:01444 457337
e-mail: thedolphin@freedomleisure.com
Contact Name: Paul Booker Duty Manager

Directions to location:



Hayward's Heath, just off the same road the college is on.







Nearest Hospital: Princess Royal
Nearest Police station: Haywards Heath
Local Taxi Firm: Roadrunners
Buslink: MetroBus

What technical facilities are there?

There are power sockets on poolside so we would be able to set up lights if required, we can place items in cupboards on poolside or in lockers, there is a lot of space and different areas where we can shoot.

Environmental factors that may affect the location:

there will be cleaners which will need to walk through past the main pool and health suite which could get in the way of filming in certain locations. also the teaching pool is very open and exposed to the cafe. the pool and changing rooms will close around 7.45pm depending on the day.

Health & Safety regulations to be considered:

there are a number of hazards to consider whilst filming at this location. the main one being that the floor is slippery when wet on poolside therefore we must be careful not to slip over.
there is also the risk of downing in the pool as the water is deep is 1.8 meters at the deepest point of the main pool where we are likely to be filming.

there are first aid kits situated on poolside the main one being underneath the lifeguard chair.
there are 4 pool alarms which can be pressed if any serious accident takes place, staff will be there within seconds of this being pressed.

follow the standard rules of a swimming pool, being sensible. finally we must consider the Equipment and using it if we are wet. we shouldn't be plugging in lights if we are wet so we must ensure we are dry. be careful not to trip over any wires.

Possible location- The Prince Regnet- Tom C

One of the locations we would  hopefully film in would be the Dolphin in Haywards Heath. However, it is local and a little well known, and we would like to use a more interesting place. The  Prince Regent is located in Brighton, and we feel that it is a good shooting location. It is also a public centre, so filming permission would not be much of a problem.

 

 

Underwater camera - Harry

We plan to have a shot in the swimming pool and we have access to an underwater camera.

Shutter Island - John Swift

The first things we see is an extreme long shot, the viewer is unaware of the location until some of the mist clears and we see the ocean and boat appear, this helps to build enigma. We can hear a sound of a trumpet in the background playing a single now every few seconds this has been done to also help build suspense.

We then go on to see a shot of the main character leaning over feeling sick. We can tell he is on the boat as we can hear metal  chains clanking together aswell as the sea and hum from the engine.

We still have no idea why the character Is being sick as he says “pull yourself together” talking to himself in the mirror, the close up of his face allows the viewer to see his facial expressions. From this we can see he is feeling ill because of the sweat on his face.

a close up of the the sink helps build on this image of him being sick, from where we are then taken to a close-up of the characters face again.

We are then taken outside where a long-shot has been used to show the charaters body movement as he staggers across to another male charater grabbing on to a metal post and then railing, once again this tells us he has a fear of water.

Both charaters are dressed in formal clothing wearuing suits and hats, this tells us that they are of a high social level. When the second male asks if the other has a partner, he looks deep in thought after saying he did, but not any more.

A sound bridge is then used and strats playing opera music, we are  then taken to a scene where his partner is putting his tie on, all of the sound of this sequence has been wiped off apart from the opera music, this really helps to show the importance of this woman to him, and link it to what he was talking about. A cashing of a wave is then used as a sound bridge to take us back to them tewo characters on the boat.

Pulp fiction - John Swift

The first thing that we see is a two shot of the couple sitting at a table in the restaurant, we can tell it is a restaurant because of the style of table they are sitting at looks similar to one you would find in a generic restaurant not very upper-class. From what the couple are wearing we can tell that they are not of a high social level, especially by the language they are using and talking a lot of slang.

The rate of shots per second is low and the camera seems to be placed on a tripod to keep it stable. Both of the characters have a slight shadow over them which may have been used to create enigma.

We can tell by the male characters body language of him lighting a cigarette and having his feet on the chair that the restaurant is not an expensive one therefore the characters probably don’t have much money.

When we see the female from the males POV shot we can see that a shadow has been casted over half of the females face, this helps to create enigma as portrays that there might be things that we don’t know about this character.

Unlike the other thrillers no soundtrack has been overlaid of non-diegetic music. All we can hear is sounds of the restaurant quietly in the background, but out attention is drawn mainly to the sound of the two characters taking.

 A low angle shot has been used when we see the waitress with the jug of coffee; this creates the image that the two male and female characters are lower than her. After all we know they are robbers and she has a proper job.

Drive - John Swift

We start of by seeing a close up of a map on a table with a pen and a vase, instantly we know that this character is very organised and precise as he is talking on the phone to someone saying if they’re a minute late they are on their own.

We don’t see the characters face but instead the camera pans around the room allowing the viewer to see the location and creating enigma as we don’t know who the character is.

There is a red light flashing in the window which is iconic for danger, this is because red is used on things such as danger signs, blood etc.

Shadowing has been used to build atmosphere used on the character and other object in the room such as the bag, this all helps to make the scene more mysterious and point the viewers’ attention to the more important object such as the bag.

The repetative upbeat drum in the music creates suspense and anxiety as we know that the character is planning something bad, and the large bag is iconic for a robbery.

We are then taken to a shot of the character inside the car; showing has once again been used to create a mysterious mood and a sound bridge of the upbeat music is used to link the two scenes together.

The character then arrives at a garage where a long shot is used to show the character meeting up with another to get a car, the second character talks to the main character telling him about the car, but he doesn’t reply, he doesn’t even say thankyou when he gets given the keys, his body language shows that he is confident however this has been done to create enigma.

Tink Tailor - John Swift

The first shot that we see is a close-up of a male character leaning over with his ear up against a door trying to listen in. We do not know the location of where the character is which creates enigma straight away.

Another male character then opens the door; we hear a loud creek which could have been created using a Foley and the sound has been magnified as it greatly stands out from the quiet music playing inside the room.

We are then taken to a long shot of the room that the two characters are walking into, this allows the viewer to see the room is the second characters house and possibly used as his office as well. 

Both characters are wearing suits which shows they have a high social status, one of the characters is also wearing gloves which is iconic for a detective to be wearing. The music can’t be heard from this room, but instead an eerie non-diegetic background track has been added to help build suspense. We can also hear from the characters accent that they speak good English.

When one of the main characters is talking about how he wants the second character to go and help him get information from someone, an ELS is then shown to tell the viewer what the location of where the information might be looks like.

The sound is increased a lot at this point and a more upbeat track is played which creates helps to a feeling of anxiety and keeps the viewer intrigued as they do not know why this location is so important.

Thriller Openings (Hurt Locker) - Thomas Herd

Hurt Locker

The beginning shot at the start (right) is shown as very distorted as they have made the shot handheld. This might put confusion into the audience's mind as to what is going on. Also, the additional use of high key lighting outside makes the shot even brighter to the audience and therefore, helps the effect of confusion. The shots continue to be hand held throughout the opening two minutes to stress the importance of their panicking 

Along with the type of camera shots, diegetic sound of a panicked street starts straight away. The shouting and screaming makes the audience start to feel for the characters and worry about them, this makes them more involved and engaged. 

At 1:23 the noise begin to die down as the director nows the audience to feel the tension while they are trying to stop the bomb. The non-diegetic sound of the heart beats are to enhance this and build the atmosphere and then stop to have parts of silence during the scene. Silence can be a very important part as you don't always need sound to create suspense as silence does this, a lot of the time.

Thriller openings (Kill Bill) - Thomas Herd

Kill Bill

The diegetic sound can be heard even before the audience sees the first shot displayed. When this this happens they would be asking immediate questions; who is this person? why is she like this? This questions are never answered in the first two minutes of the film to make sure the audience are on the edge of their seats.

The first footstep the audience hears, is 5 seconds in, this doesn't give the audience time to think and therefore, the are already asking more questions. The continuous close up of her face is so the audience can always see her emotions. 

The feet of the man are the only part of his body that we see in the opening scene and this makes much more of a mysterious character as we don't know much about him.

The lack of non-diegetic sound creates a lot of atmosphere and therefore, when the gun shot comes, it will be significantly more effective and dramatic as the audience will not see it coming. 

Thriller opening (Face Off) - Thomas Herd

Face Off

I like the way the director has chosen to play joyful non-diegetic music along with the happy shots of the Father and his child because it then creates more of a shock when the man takes his cover off his gun. They made the child's laughter a lot louder than it wold have been because it is so significant, for the reasons that it will make it more sinister. 

Additionally, the have also increased the sound of him taking the cover off his gun to show significance of contrast between what is happening, and what is just about to happen. Also, the non-diegetic sound changes, as it becomes darker and a much deeper sound along with the lighting, which turns from high key, to low key.

From the close up (right) the music then smoothly changes again back to lighter and happier. The shots become longer in time and distance as they are definitely spending their last minutes together. One non-diegetic gun shot sound foreshadows what is about to happen so the interchangeable sound turns back deep and deep along with the lights also changing.

Again, they have altered the sound of his gun shot and the bullet entering his back as it is very significant and it was also shock the audience more intensely. In addition, the camera shot is a big close up of him pulling the trigger as it makes it more powerful. After the impact of the bullet, the silence begins as it will have an impact on the audience.


The interchangeable sound and lighting in quick succession, always keeps the audience on the edge of their seats which is simply the idea of a thriller.

Lighting Theory - Thomas Herd

The most important piece of information to remember in terms of lighting, is that every shot we do, we must light it - even if it is outside.

Three Point Lighting System

There are three different lights which light up the scene are used for different reasons (shown in the diagram to the right). Therefore they are called different names; Key, Fill and Back light. This system is the most used to light up a scene because you can use it for many different effects.

There are two examples of this; 'high key' and 'low key' lighting. They are used for different genres. As we are producing a thriller, our lighting will be 'low key' because this tends to create atmosphere and tension in scenes as it has been used in many different thriller in the past.

In contrast, 'high key' lighting will be more likely to be seen in musicals, comedies and teen movies. This is because they are more likely to be 'happier' movies and therefore, they don't need to create that tension that thrillers need to.

As the diagram on the left shows, if there are two people in the scene - like an interview - the light will obviously show up both characters, however if used well, it can represent different things such as one character having more significance or power over the other character. This can help give the audience more detail about that specific character or their relationships.

The Usual Suspect Analysis - Thomas Herd

By watching the first two minutes of the film, I can see that the director has included many iconic features to set the tone for the rest of the film.

Firstly, we see several matches being lit in a big close up shot, this immediately puts danger in the audience's mind because fire is very iconic to danger. Furthermore, fire is a key part of this first scene as you can almost see it in every shot throughout the first two minutes of the film signifying that it is of major importance at the start of the thriller.

Another aspect of mise-en-scene that has been used is lighting. The low key lighting that is also iconic to thrillers, is used. This addition helps the creation of suspense and tension because we can't always see the whole face of the character sitting down.

In addition to that, the camera shots and angles have been chosen carefully so the audience never see the of the other character. This makes the audience asks questions about the type of character he is which makes him more mysterious and unpredictable about what he is going to do next. I also like the close up shot of the man standing up, looking at his watch, because this signifies to the other character and the audience that he time is nearly up. Therefore, when he raises his gun we know what is about to happen so the director doesn't need to show us everything. This means in the next shot of the buildings, it makes it more effective which is why I like that you don't see him getting shot.

Along with lighting, there is only diegetic sound for the first 30 seconds, this is to continue the uncertainty , which mainly consists of the fire burning in the background, this continues uncertainty amongst the audience and puts them on the edge of their seats. which continues