Editing- Fast cutting & Colour enhancing

-A technique I have discovered while editing is fast cut editing alongside with increasing brightness and contrast on shots. This makes my film more unsettling for the viewer which suits the convention of the story, scenes and shots being disturbing like the techniques used in Silence of the Lambs-one psychological thrillers I took inspiration from.
-I used Photoshop to enhance the contrast in this screenshot and also the brightness of it to make this shot look sickening and bold. After this I overlapped this with the film clip so it looked as if this character is even more deluded because the fractured structure of the film connotes the loose strings in the main characters mind. Enhancing the colours in these shots makes his facial features and the streak of blood on his face stand out even more which draws the audience's attention to this.

Soundtrack

-I've chosen one track I am going to take inspiration from when choosing the non-copyrighted music for my opening scene- Dream is Collapsing by Hans Zimmer from Inception. This song has the perfect sounds in it varying from the dominating piano chords to the discordant violin sequences. It also creates the perfect dramatic atmosphere for the film and the matching sounds runs parallel with significant instances on which enhances the impact of these actions onscreen.

-I may use the Garage-band software to create the soundtrack so I can adapt it to my liking to perfectly match the picture onscreen. For example I could play loud piano chords over the shots where the victim is being killed brutally by this formidable man. By importing the song into Adobe Premiere I can also edit the volume on just the songs layer and other layers of sound to heighten the volume of other diegetic and non-diegteic sounds making the scene more realistic and professional. This'll also allow me to make certain parts of the filming stand out more so it has the effect of the audience that I intend.

Independent Production Company logo

-This design for my production company logo is meant to create an illusion 

portraying the psychological thriller genre that the company is known for.

Photographic Documentation of Actors

Ryan Banner- as the victim

-The look of this actor is an ideal victim look because he seems like an
 innocent young man who is the perfect victim for the main character to kill.

Andy Toward- as the killer

-As I want the murderer in my film to be just an average looking man I chose this
actor to portray him. His big frame makes him look more powerful and dominating in
the scene- this clearly tells the audience that he is the main character 

Social Group Representation

     -I'm portraying the main character in my opening scene as a deranged serial killer however the mise en scene in most of the shots imply that he is a working tradesman. I chose to characterise the serial killer as a tradesman to tell the audience that he is just an average man however he also has a deluded murder's personality. 

     -Shots in the scene will show his possessions and tools to imply that he is a manual worker. For example tools will be in the background of the shot in the shed. Also in this shot the daunting sounds matching the picture of the main character using a drill as a weapon of torture- along side with the selection of tools in the background, this shows the audience that this man has the equipment and all the potential to seriously harm someone.

  

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment

-It is important that the actors are not harmed during the production of my film and precautions will be made to make sure hazards are at a minimum.

1. -Firstly, because the main character in the scene is required to drive a van the driving conditions should be safe. For example the vehicle should have seat belts and the proper safety mechanisms (such as functional airbags). Furthermore the road conditions should be safe enough to drive on so I will pick a day to film on when the roads aren’t icy to prevent car accidents. As the van is shown parking up next to a park I will have to make sure that the van is visible to other drivers and doesn’t cause inconvenience or danger for the general public and other drivers.
2. -A dry day in terms of weather will help reduce hazards and accidents especially on the playground apparatus. If it does rain on the day of filming I will take a towel on set to dry the apparatus to make them safer to use.
3. -I will also make sure i protect the camera and other filming equipment from rain and other harmful things when filming. All clips and footage filmed will be saved onto my own SD card and then copied onto a computer to ensure that none of my work is lost.   

Screenplay

Screenplay for “Faux”

INT.EARLY.MORNING.SHED

RALPH MCGUIRE has a hostage (JEREMY) held in his sickening dark shed, RALPH is just about to brutally murder him with a drill-his chosen weapon and tradesman tool.

RALPH MCGUIRE

Let’s play

JEREMY

(screaming in agony) Nooooo!Aaaah!

EXT.EARLY.MORNING.STREET

RALPH lugs the victim through the street without a care in world if people see him-he only cares for the body which is wrapped up in carpet. He then places the body in the back of his van and gets in. After this he drives off into the distance.

EXT.DAY.EARLY.MORNING

The van approaches a park slowly and parks in front of it blatantly. Casually, he then takes out the body wrapped in carpet and drags it into the park slowly with a joyful look on his face.

EXT.DAY.EARLY.MORNING.PARK

RALPH sinisterly plays with the JEREMY, who is wrapped in carpet, on the various playground apparatus ecstatically.

RALPH MCGUIRE

(hysterically)a Hahahahaaa Heheheheee Hahahahaa

He then pats the victim as if he is letting JEREMY free although he is seemed to be still dead inside the roll of carpet.

EXT.DAY.PARK

RALPH strolls away satisfied with his time spent with JEREMY’s body on the playground. As he walks off into the distance the carpet is shown unraveled and empty lying on the floor in the park.

END

-This is the screenplay for my opening scene. I will develop it by maybe adding a narrator or more dialogue to enhance the professional standard of the scene. When it comes to filming I will organise every according to this and my storyboard so I can be reminded of which shots to do. Also it will help me organise the order of the shots in the scene correctly to make the finished film seamless when it comes to editing.

Sound and Music

Harrison Toward | Animatic Storyboard

Props and Mise en Scene

Weather Forecast on days on filming

-Because i want the setting of my opening scene to have a grey sky i plan on shooting an hour or two before sunrise. Time of sunrise at this time of the year is at around 8:00 AM therefore i will check the location two hours before sunrise to deem it suitable for the setting of my film. The grey sky before sunrise will create an eerie atmosphere in my opening scene. This suit the disturbing goings on on screen. Although i must be careful that it's not too dark when filming otherwise i won't get a good picture which will lower the quality of my opening scene.

Tuesday the 6th, December- This is one possible day i will film on because it will be a more cloudy day so i will achieve a grey sky look when shooting. However i do not want it to be raining in this scene so i will check the more detailed weather forecast closer to the day so i get a good idea of when to film to avoid rain.

Camera Experimentation 1

Recce Shot for opening scene Idea 3

3rd idea Mind-map (Mortal Joy)

-First draft of shots, plot, setting and sound for a Psychological Thriller opening scene -Mortal Joy

       Conventions this idea applies to;

• Disturbing goings on when the main character plays with the dead body rolled up in the carpet on the park as if he loves and cares for it. This scene is very mentally challenging and unnatural.
• Aspect of crime involved as the main character is a serial killer and he murders a victim brutally in one scene.
• Also the film is shot based around one challenged individual's perspective and the story is told through he point of view 
• An enigma is created making the audience wonder what is wrong with this deranged killer and why does he enjoy playing with a dead body  

Feedback on Psychological thrillers Conventions

-Data received from responses to my questionnaire on Psychological Thrillers have helped me shape my ideas for my opening sequence.
-Figure 1 shows a summary of the answers of Two Main Questions i will be focusing on to form a suitable plot to my opening scene, from my questionnaire.

Figure 1

-These results show that the most popular topic for Psychological Thrillers to be based around is crime therefore a couple of ideas i have developed involve crime so that it is suitable for the target audience's likings. When it came to preferred conventions (things the film should include) of a psychological thriller "seeing the world around from one Challenged Individual's point of view" and "a story revolving around Crime" were the most popular. As i have already noted that my opening scene should revolve around crime, the other main aspect i am concentrating on when planning, filming and editing is the perspective of the film. For example, in this instance the film will seem to be filmed, and the story will seem to be told, from the main character's outlook. Examples of my first ideas which apply to this convention are 'Padlocks' and 'Disarray'. Storyboards of these two ideas are presented in the two previous blog posts. 

-Figure 2 shows another question i have chosen to focus on because even though the answers aren't as clear as the other two, i can still take inspiration from the responder's answers.

Figure 2 

-Clearly, the most popular answers to the question "Which film is your favourite Psychological Thriller? and Why?" were Silence of the Lambs and Shutter Island. Although "Mentally Challenging or disturbing" was not one of the most popular conventions in a previous question, it is implied that this genre is liked as the responses favoured Silence of the Lamb which obviously involves disturbing scenes. An idea i have based upon disturbing happenings is shown is at the bottom of my mind-map in a previous blog post. This idea is based on a man dissecting a brain in a eerie room. What i gathered from the favoured film Shutter Island is that the audience like intellectual film that confuse you. Furthermore Shutter Island is filmed around one character and the story is told from his point of view-this is the reasoning for my ideas 'Padlocks' and 'Disarray'.    

2nd idea storyboard

-My first draft of a basic plan of one idea for my opening scene "Disarray"

1st idea storyboard

-My first draft of a basic plan of one idea for my opening scene "Padlocks"

Opening scene ideas

-Mind-map of my ideas for a Psychological Thriller opening scene

Mood board of psychological thrillers

-This is a mood board of significant parts of successful psychological thrillers that i will be taking inspiration from. Each film here creates tension and displays a well rounded character. In my opening scene i will create my own ideas on creating enigmas for the rest of the film like these films do so well (Inception, Usual Suspects, The Machinist). This element of mystery in an opening to a film leaves the audience in wonderment and they're drawn in for the rest of the film.

Cape Fear title sequence timeline

-Again, the most important names come up at the end (eg. the producer and director) in this sequence and the title of the film shows part way through in between the cast's names. Music always corresponds with the names on screen by dramatizing the main titles-"Cape Fear" and the directors names. I will take inspiration from this and use a similar structure in my own opening scene to make it seem more professional.  

Cape Fear opening scene Analysis

Timeline of Red Dragon's opening credits

-This shows the order of when the titles come up in the opening credits of Red Dragon. The most important names come up towards the end with the Director's name comes up at the very end. I will use this as inspiration when creating my title sequence and will use a similar structure and order as this professional opening credits.

Music In Psychological Thrillers

Costume in Psychological Thrillers

BBFC Classification Categories

Limitations for film content for viewers under the age of 18 from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC):

18 rated Films-Because most Psychological thrillers don't often apply to these rules my opening sequence may involve detailed violence, strong language and disturbing scenes which would classify it as an 18 rated film although it won't involve detailed nudity or sexual content. The regulations which i must abide by for a 18 rated classification are: the material must not be in breach of criminal law, must not be created through law breaking means, must not risk harm to viewers. 

How Social Groups are represented in Psychological thrillers

Questionnaire on Psychological Thrillers

-Results from this Questionnaire will allow me to create my opening sequence of a Psychological thriller based around what aspects are most popular therefore i can design tending to opinions and likes/dislikes of my audiences.
-I have posted this onto my personal Facebook account and emailed it to various peers.

Conventions and aspects of Psychological Thrillers

Zodiac Opening Scene Analysis

Red Dragon title sequence Analysis

Potential Audiences

Psychological Thriller Production Companies

Inception -Open Scene

Use of Sound in Ex Machina

The Usual Suspects - Opening Scene

The Usual Suspects Opening Sequence
     -Mystery is created by the dominant character in this scene who walks over to a half dead man smoking his last cigarette and shoots him. His identity is not revealed which links to the whole significance and penny drop of the film. Furthermore how the struggling character lights his cigarette with all of his remaining matches portrays his desperation and blasé attitude in his last seconds of life. Also when meeting his inevitable murderer, the infamous 'Kiser Soze', he maintains the his calm nature suggesting that he expects it, it is later in the film revealed why he anticipated it.
     -When planning my opening sequence I will take into consideration how to create a sense of mystery and confusion like Christopher Mcquarrie did in The Usual Suspects. Some influences I will take into consideration for my film are: how the person of authority's identity wasn't revealed, camera angle use to show his authority and to make the audience wonder why the camera was zooming in on something insignificant, use of props to create connotations of what i want to portray in the character and scene (matches/lighter, cigarette etc.). The dark lighting was also used to create suspense, i will adapt this in my opening scene and take inspiration from it.
     

Costume/props

Filming- Preliminary Exercise

   Filming

  In our Preliminary Exercise we quickly learned how to setup the camera manually to focus correctly and to position the camera, using the tripod, to conform to rules of filming (180 degree rule, match-on-action etc.) and to avoid direct light going into the camera. When the bright light of the sun, or the bright coloured sky didn't correspond with the shots we wanted to film on that day we managed to change the camera angle slightly to hide to sun (behind a building for example). The problems we faced were when we were unable to hide the sun in the shot so we had to film those particular shots on another day when the sky was grey.

Editing-Preliminary Exercise

Editing 

I first put our shots into order and did a bit of cutting on Adobe Premiere. To get used to editing and how long each shot should be. I quickly learned how to trim the shot so that it formed a segue between two shots. I managed to conform to the 180 degree rule and the match-on-action in the film quite well however I found it difficult to get used to the more technical tools like fading out and overlapping audio/music over clips. As a result Ryan, the person I was working with, did the audio overlapping and fading out at the end of the film. As a result, ready for next time, I will practise using Adobe Premiere-exploring different editing techniques so i will be able to edit the film so it looks how i want it to. Some things i need to practise are: fading in and out of shots, changing the audio on a clip and running the same audio over the top of multiple clips (music for example). By learning how to do these more complex editing techniques i will be able to achieve the effects in the film that i intended.

Location/Setting-Preliminary Exercise

1) Setting for our Preliminary task 

    -This panorama displays where all of our shots were taken place in the preliminary task. We chose this location because, on a grey day, it has quite a sketchy feel to it. We were able to film on days where the sky was quite a grey colour so the eerie, untrustworthy atmosphere was maintained. Furthermore, the location allowed us to get a variation of different shots;by shooting from the top of the stairs we achieved a downward looking shot. It was also an ideal location to record one character running into the distance-this was a long shot looking over a character's shoulder at another character running up the path which made it look as though he was being watched. When filming, the shots and scenarios were easily adaptable because there were many possibilities with the layout out of the location. For example, we originally planned on Clyde going over to sit at the bench on the right of the picture then run up the path however for shot length's sake and the match-on-action shot's sake we changed it to the bench on the left side. 

1st Opening sequence analysis

The across 110th street music by Bobby Womack sets the 70's casual theme to the film along side the retro yellow and red font. The simplicity of this fixed mid shot throughout the opening sequence clearly states and includes the main character. Not much dramatic action occurs although there is a slight variation of shots that imply that the character in shot is rushing to get somewhere. For example the use of a long shot of her moving from right to left of the shot when she starts to speed up suggests a change of pace. Furthermore the camera shots used abide by the 180 degree rule (camera stays on one side of the imaginary line) so there is no confusion about which way the character is travelling as the shot always show her walking from the right side of the screen to the left; no matter what the camera angle is.

Screenplay-Preliminary Exercise

-Final screenplay draft for "Anonymous". This version has more detail and is written in the professional font, Courier. The setting is stated clearly in each scene as is whether its day or night and whether its inside or outside. Dialogue is also included in the screenplay however it isn't needed as much in our open sequence compared to others. Less dialogue creates an eerie atmosphere and mood which suits the sketchy meeting of the two characters. Our screenplay gave us structure when it came to filming as it directed/reminded us of the order of the shots and what to do in each shot and where it was shot. As our opening sequence's duration will be 45-60seconds after editing this page on screenplay equates to about 1 minute of screen time. Furthermore the actions are written in the present tense.

1st draft od screenplay-Preliminary Exercise

Draft number 1

SCREENPLAY FOR: ‘Anonymous’

EXT.BIKESHED.DAY

DAVE GRIMSWORTH is waiting for a client (CLIDE BLACK).

EXT.TOP OF STAIRS.DAY

CLIDE come out of the building to meet DAVE for an exchange of a suspicious package. CLIDE walks down stairs and over to DAVE.

EXT.ON THE PATH.DAY

CLIDE

Oi Dave, got me package?

DAVE

Yeah Yeah, money first!

CLIDE shows DAVE the money then DAVE gets out the package. They exchange the money and package then walk in opposite directions. CLIDE goes to sit down on a bench to open the package. To his surprise there's nothing in the box so he stands up outraged, looks around and runs off to hunt down DAVE.

-The First draft for our screenplay. This version is a less detailed screenplay as there is less dialogue and less detail about the settings.

Storyboard-Preliminary Exercise

-Main plan/storyboard of our opening sequence for "Anonymous"-the first preliminary task of AS Media. This draft shows small sketches and descriptions of how the shot looks, whats happening in the shot, editing technique in the shot, the duration and the audio/sound in the shot. Actual pictures of the shots will be uploaded on a other blog post soon.