Camera Angle's And Shots In Our Opening Scene:

In our opening scene we wanted to include as many different camera angles and movements to help achieve a high grade. By using different camera angles and cross cuts were hoping to get a really effective opening scene that viewers will enjoy.

Long Shot
A shot which shows the setting/location and body language of the characters. We used this to show both locations in our opening scene. The woods and coffee shop.

Two Shot
A shot with two people in the scene. Used when our characters were having a conversation about the assault.

Canted Angle
A shot where the camera is slanted at an angle to portray unease, madness and frantic action. Used when we filmed Nadiye(Tara) walking into the woods. It shows that she is walking into a mysterious suspicious location.

Medium Shot
A shot which shows more detail within a scene but also a characters body language. Used when our antagonist assaults the protagonist. It shows her body language as suspicious and evil.

Close Up
A shot which fills up the frame of either an object or certain character. It shows the characters emotions. Used when Mae(Ellie) is on the phone as you can see she is upset and when Nadiye(Tara) is being suffocated as it fills the frame and you can also see horror and fright.

Extreme Close Up
A shot which shows finer detail and completely fills the frame tightly of the characters face. Used when showing Nadiye(Tara's) hand movement. The audience is able to see the finer detail.

Over The Shoulder Shot
A shot which is filmed looking over someones shoulder. Its shows different perspectives and point of view. Used when Chloe(Rosemary) and Katy(Bella) are in conversation.

Shot Reverse Shot
A scene which is recorded twice showing a conversation from two different parts in the scene. Shows a character looking at another character then the other way around. Used when Chloe(Rosemary) and Katy(Bella) are in conversation. Looks more effective overall.

Match On Action
Editing technique for continuity in which the shot cuts from one to another to show the actions of the character/object. Used when Mae(Ellie) picks up her phone to call Tara.

 Pan
A camera movement which helps show the setting/location. The camera will either pan up or down, or left to right. We used at the beginning of our opening scene to show the audience where it is set.

Questionnaire!

In order for our opening scene to be successful, myself, Nadiye, Katy and Chloe thought it would be a good idea to get a range of different opinions from the general public. We decided to ask a bunch of  people from different age groups and genders so we got accurate results which wouldn't be biased. We wanted them to be real and opinionated to help us achieve the best we could when filming and preparing ideas.

Out of these genres, which is your favourite?

A. Thriller
B. Horror
C. Comedy
D. Romance

What would you expect to happen in a thriller film?

A. Murder
B. Theft
C. Kidnapping
D. Action

How often do you go to the cinema per month?

A. 1-2 times
B. 3-4 times
C. More than 4 times
D. None of the above

Out of the following films, which is your favourite?

A. Taken 1, 2 or 3
B. Psycho
C. Jaws
D. The Dark Knight
E. Any from the James Bone franchise
D. Any from The Hunger Games franchise

Where would you expect a thriller to be situated?

A. Woods
B. City
C. Shopping Centre
D. Alley Way

Do you prefer having a male or female protagonist? Why?

A. Male
B. Female

Which of these film titles appeal to you the most?

A. Alley Way
B. The Woods
C. Help!
D. Missing

Filming: Assault Scene.

 Sunday 6th December: Filming Day
Yesterday, Myself, Nadiye, Chloe and Katy went to The Splash in Leatherhead to film our murder/assault scene. We chose The Splash as its quite a eerie, gloomy and mysterious location. We thought it would be a perfect setting for the aggressive murder scene.

We all dressed in particular costumes to conform the stereotype of our individual characters. Protagonist looked innocent and relaxed, antagonist looked frightening in all black, the best friend looked quite suspicious but innocent and the secret villain dressed quite dark but also not obvious like the antagonist.

We took the Nikon D3200 and a tripod down to the splash to record our scene with a steady focused angle.  We also took Nadiye's dog Jasper (Jack Russell) to the splash to use him for the main part. Tara (portrayed by Nadiye) was walking her dog at the time of the crime scene. He made the scene look even more realistic and helps the audience relate with the plot. I did most of the filming that day as I wasn't included in the murder scene, I enjoyed filming and feel got some effective camera angles, shots and movements. However at the end I am the only person in the shot when a key event happens that will hopefully leave the audience gripped onto the edge of their chairs!!

Camera angles, shots and movements:
When filming we used a cantered angle, long shot, mid shot, close up shot, extreme close up, shot reverse shot, match on action, two shot over the shoulder shot and panning movements. I feel by using a range of different camera angles, shots and movements it will be more effective and hopefully gain us as much marks as possible! We used shot reverse shot when Chloe and Katy had their scene when they were talking to each other. We used a cantered angle when Nadiye entered the woods to make it look more scary and intense. We used long and mid shots throughout to help show the surroundings. Close up shots were used to show emotions and character identities. The panning shot helped show where we are at the beginning and the soundtrack should help it become more scary.


Mise En Scene:
Location-The Splash Leatherhead
Props-Dog, Phone, Plastic Bag, Balaclava
Costume-Black eerie outfits, some innocent looking slouchy wear.
Sound- Soundtrack, upbeat/scary


Safety On Set:

When filming the actual assault part, we realised the suffocation could come across as quite violent and risky. So we put a hole in the bag so our actor Nadiye could breath. We show it here, behind the scenes. We would just record and crop out her mouth so she could breath or crop her nose out like in the video here <---.  We also did some recording from the back of Nadiye so her face could be exposed to air.
When Tara (portrayed by Nadiye) falls to the floor we placed my puffer jacket on the floor to protect her knees when falling to the ground.

In this picture here, --->it shows Katy getting down onto the ground to film and effective low angle close up. This would usually make the person in shot look superior however as Tara is dead its the opposite. We managed to find an effective part for this as the path looks very stoney and uncomfortable which helps position the audience to feel the pain and discomfort. Nadiye is also positioned in a way which looks like she had fallen over naturally not fake. 

Bloopers:
This is just one of our many bloopers which we recorded on Sunday! Unfortunately it took Katy (playing Bella) much longer than expected to get into character. Chloe (Playing Rosemary) did well however Katy was being a distraction! However, in the end i feel we have got some great shots which will hopefully produce a brilliant opening scene gaining as many marks as possible.

Location Research: Costa Coffee

Myself, and the others decided that Costa Coffee in Leatherhead would be the perfect place to film part of out opening scene.

Ellie (portrayed by Mae Fisher) is shown waiting for Tara (portrayed by Nadiye Killick) as they were meant to meet up.

Its a popular place with ordinary people around making it realistic as it wasn't isolated or empty. In Thriller films there is always a busy location shown where the main characters meet and talk about their plan or the antagonist in the film. It shows originality and positions the audience to relate to the location. We bought drinks while we were there to use as props to make it look more realistic. It also showed a sense of timing and that i was waiting for someone.

In this picture you can see that I have the drink to show the audience where I am and what I am doing. We chose costa as we thought it looked like a place where teenagers would meet up for a Coffee and catch up. A restaurant would look to grown up and fake and anywhere else wouldn't have looked as effective.

I am shown here on the phone as it's a key part to the opening scene. Its when Ellie realises she has been stood up by Tara. By holding the drink it looks like i have been drinking it and am almost finished. This would imply I was ready to leave.

We also bought drinks as we thought that by using the location to film we should buy something from the shop. It also helps show the audience that I am still in the Coffee shop waiting for someone.

Location Research: The Splash

 In our opening scene we film in three different locations. We filmed at The Splash in Leatherhead, Costa Coffee in Leatherhead and a bench in Leatherhead.

We used The Splash located in Leatherhead to film our opening scene as it's quiet, mysterious, remote and gloomy. It seemed the ultimate and perfect place to film as Tara was walking her dog in what looks like a normal ordinary woods with fields and exciting walks for the dog. 

Myself and the others thought the splash would be an ideal place to film as in the picture you can see it looks dark interesting and quite scary at the same time. The trees create tension and sinister shapes in the distance. The fencing shows the pathway going on for a long time also implying you are locked in the area and there is no way out.  The darkness created by the trees helps the effect of the lighting appear darker showing the audience how something unusual is likely to happen. The use of the large tree's helped us take advantage of them to use it as a place for our antagonist to hide and spy on the protagonist.  We started filming at around 13:20pm and finished at around 3:30pm. As it's winter we wanted to make sure we had good lighting and it wasn't darker than it should. If we left it any later being in an enclosed space it would have made our scenes very under exposed and not effective.

The Splash had many different hills and ditches which we were able to take advantage of to get effective shots. In this picture --->

you can see Myself standing on a steep hill recording a canted angle of Nadiye walking across the bridge. This angle is effective as it portrays unease and madness. The trees in the background also create shadows making frantic action. The woodland effect was really natural in showing where Nadiye was and the activity she was taking part in as it didn't look fake. 

In this picture you can see that we are filming in a enclosed area which looks isolated and uninterrupted. This is because The Splash has a really long trail which means there were near to nobody around which meant we were able to film effectively without catching anyone in the background making it unrealistic. In the background you can see sharp looking trees which connotes murder and stabbing. This helps    promote our film as we were filming the murder scene at this location. 

The picture also looks quite dark implying it was quiet gloomy and frightening, which was perfect for that particular dark and twisted shot. The location however comes across as quiet exciting supporting the thriller theme/genre.

Mood Board!

My mood board shows all the key things in our opening scene. 

The Watch

I put the prop of the watch on the mood board as it's used throughout out opening scene to position the audience to understand time is ticking and that one of are characters is checking the time quite frequently. 

The Phone

The second prop is the iPhone. I put that in the mood board as its used a lot by the character Ellie to find out where Tara is but also at the end of the opening scene a key event happens which involved the phone. The text message symbol is also included in the mood board because at the end Ellie receives a text which grips the audience into wanting to watch the rest of the film. 

The Woods

One of our locations is the woods. We filmed the main part of the opening scene at the woods (murder scene). It was effective in showing the genre/theme of a thriller. The weather also helped as it was a cold, gloomy and misty day.

Costa Coffee

Another location in our opening, is Costa Coffee. We used this as its an ordinary place where friends would meet up. The location in the scene is where the audience is positioned to realise Tara was on her way to meet Ellie and not get murdered/lost. 

The Plastic Bag

The plastic bag in out opening scene is the main prop as its the murder weapon. It is used to suffocate Tara the protagonist.  It is used effectively and shown through a close up pull the audience in. 

The Balaclava

Another prop used in our opening scene is a balaclava. Rosemary the antagonist wears this to hide her identity when murdering Tara. However as we are the viewers we can tell by her outfit. But anyone else walking down the road wouldn't know who it was and makes it mysterious and creepy. 

Costume analysis:

In our opening scene we dressed our characters in specific outfits to give the appropriate effect but also conform to their character type.


Tara our protagonist (Portrayed by Nadiye Killick) 
For filming we decided to dress Nadiye in walking boots to show the audience she is walking her dog and a hoodie and coat to show the weather is quite gloomy and cold. The colours compared to our antagonist are quite bright and vibrant contrasting the two different characters. The prop for Nadiye is her dog, Jasper. It positions the audience to understand the setting and what she is doing when we show her in our opening scene. Her costume also looks quite relaxed to imply she isn't going anywhere in particular just on a casual walk with her dog.




Rosemary our antagonist (Portaged by Chloe Bennett)
For filming we decided to dress Chloe in all black, including shoes, jacket, top, jeans, mask and makeup. This connoted horror and scare which positions the audience to see her as the 'Bad guy' and suspicious character.  Her outfit is effective in introducing the thriller genre/theme in our opening sequence. She comes across as mysterious, confusing and threatening throughout. It immediately comes across as frightening and doubtful. I believe Chloe dressed perfectly in representing the protagonist as the dark colours look eerie and spine-chilling.






Ellie, Tara's good friend (Portrayed by Mae Fisher)
For filming we decided to dress Mae casually, however in black to also make the audience feel she could be involved with the disappearance of Tara. Mae wore a watch throughout filming to show that she was checking the time a lot which is important in our opening scene. Mae wore a Khaki puffer jacket which connoted cold, gloomy weather. Mae dressed quite casual to show the audience she was only going to meet her friend and they weren't going anywhere fancy. Mae also showed her phone a lot in filming to let you see what is happening at all times.




Bella, Rosemarys partner (Portrayed By Katy Welch)
For filming we decided to dress Katy casually, to represent innocence and casual activities. She wore black jeans, colourful patterned top and a tartan red jacket. We wanted her to appear to the audience as innocent and that friend who is caring and kind. However at the end of the opening scene you  see her in a completely different light and understand her evil twisted character. Her personality isn't presented through what she is wearing as she doesn't look scary, when actually she was behind the murder all along.