Setting up and Equipment

The equipment we will be using will be a 'Nikon D600' DSLR with a camera handle and a tripod. This equipment is best suited to our final piece as the Nikon shoots in full 1080p HD using 24.3 megapixels so the result of the clips will be in a high quality viewing which will make the overall piece much more impressive and professional looking as opposed to a camcorder of a lowing megapixel.

The camera handle attaches to the bottom of the camera with a curved handle which bends round to the top. This piece of equipment will make shooting panning shots and tracking shots much easier as the filmer can hold the camera ergonomically which will make shots steadier. The handle also includes an additional flash/ light attachment which will work well in our dark shots as we can point the camera in a direction and the light will point the same way and will not move.

The tripod also helps stability for still shots. This is because it can be adjusted to the wanted height of the filmer and is mounted steady to the ground so the shots can be completely still when wanted which will stop shaky shots in comparison to holding the camera with your hands.

For the editing side of things, we will be using an Apple Mac desktop and Adobe Premier. The Apple Mac is suited to this task as it has a high ram processor which will allow fast editing and fast rendering to the project which means things can be tweaked and edited fluently without lagging. Premier is also the most suited editing software as Apple and Adobe software work best together as Adobe initially designed their software for Apple products. Premier also is a professional piece of software which comes with all the needed tools and effects to make our product so we will be able to edit to the highest standard possible as a group.

Final Product, Animatic

Locations

For our final piece we had to think of a few locations which would suit the ideas behind the storyboard. This is so it fitted the ideas of where a teenage girl would most likely be at certain times and also where the pin board investigation scene could be shot.

For the pin board scene we can film this in school in an enclosed area like an office in the media department as we would have space to prop up the pin board in an area in which people are not going to distract the filming. This area also suits this part of the project as we can switch off the lights for a fully dark scene, so we can use a torch with the camera for the effect of a spot light on the pin board which further gives the effect of the discovery of this mapped out plan on the board of the kidnaping.

For the location of the scenes after our credit section, Chalfont St Peter common we found worked best. This is because it is an open area to people of all ages, which can be seen for the open field for adults to use and also for children as there is a park so the idea of a teenage being at this area would be considered as normal. We want this as it would be very cliche if the teenage was in an ally or an enclosed area as it would be simple for someone to kidnap somebody there and wouldn't add the dramatic effect wanted as it would be too obvious for the audience. The common also works well as there are woods in the background which further connotes the idea of the unknown.

Final Product: Props: Pinboard

Our initial opening shot consists of photographs being added to a pinboard. Pinboards are often used as memoirs; a collection of photographs or tokens to remind an individual of past events in their life; for example a selection of keepsakes. This association will be used to our advantage as the audience will be unaware of the identity of the person who owns the pinboard; is it the antagonist (stalker) or is the pinboard part of a police investigation in which the antagonist (stalker) is the target/aim? The pinboard will also give my group the opportunity to produce an efficient graphic match as the pinboard will contain pictures of the protagonist (Stephanie Jones) who will be introduced later on in the opening clip. The pinboard also gives my group the opportunity to experiment with lighting e.g. high or low key (we have discussed the use of a torch attached to the camera so the lighting and camera match and are in sync with one another) and movement e.g. pan shots. 

Final Product: Props: Headphones

Much like the iPhone, the headphones will also represent a community of young people consumed by modern day technology. The headphones reinforce the protagonists lack of alertness when in relation with the phone due to two of her senses (visual and audio) being preoccupied. The idea of music seperates the protagonist from reality and therefore from any threats which may or may not be of relevance to her.

Final Product: Props: Black iPhone

 

A black iPhone will be another prop in the possession of the teen female protagonist. The newly updated technology will represent the modern day  teenager and the stereotypical ideal that young people are consumed by media. The phone will also connote her lack of attention/focus therefore acting as a distraction causing her to be unaware of her surroundings; this puts her at risk which will be shown within the opening clip.

We will also be using a smashed phone in which will be presented through the use of a canted angle (Dutch angle). This will portray elements of distortion creating a sense of unease which will hopefully be interpreted by our target audience. The initial smashing of the phone will be unknown of cause therefore following the traditional convention of a thriller in which antagonist identities are not revealed early and the audience will be left asking questions therefore keeping them engaged within our opening 2 minute clip. We chose to show a functioning phone in use and a broken phone on the ground without cause in the same 20 seconds to symbolise the deterioration of routine and the break down of safety; this will also connote conflict which is prominent in most crime thrillers in which we found out through the research process.

Final Product-Props- Flower Backpack

The colour connotations present within the backpack will be used to portray our female teen protagonist; the floral print represents youth, beauty and innocence- three things in which a male stalker (antagonist) is stereotypically quite likely to prey on. The individual compartments of the backpack is typically associated to the life of a student or someone who attends full-time education; this will benefit the mise-en-scene as it will create a sense of vulnerability towards our protagonist (role to be played by Stephanie Jones). This will be reinforced as a school folder will be visible from inside the bag; this will portray the protagonist as defenceless and therefore cause the audience to feel fearful for the teen as the music alongside the setting will create a tense atmosphere in which her safety may or may not be put in jeopardy. 

Scripting Update

Characters: UPDATE

In regards to the earlier post in which states that Stephanie Jones will be carrying out the role of the teen student (victim), this is no longer the route in which my group will be taking due to our difficulties relying on somebody outside of the group in which we also experienced within our continuity task. Although Stephanie fits the ideal profile, by using her as the main character within our sequence it was calculated that this would set us back two weeks in crucial filming time due to the lack of matching schedules (free periods did not coincide). This was not decided during a group discussion, however Lily and myself took it upon ourselves to make the decision for the group that this was in fact a downfall which could be prevented.

Since the change in actress's our filming has become much easier to plan for filming time which has resulted in more film footage for our final piece. This is much better as we have a larger range of clips which will suit the sections within the edit which gives us a higher chance of producing an overall better piece as we can select the best suited clips for each section.

Scripting

Characters

The costumes and actors chosen to represent our characters will have to be carefully selected in order to meet the expectations of our chosen thriller (crime). The colours and style of clothing can have many different connotations in which hint towards the nature of a characters role within the clip. Stephanie Jones will be playing the part of the victim within our opening clip; Megan stated that Steph fits the portfolio of that in which we had envisioned our victim to match e.g. petite figure, small frame/height, young, student, natural/innocent looking and dark hair (to oppose that of the blonde stereotype traditionally starred in modern day thrillers) . Furthermore, Steph meets the criteria predominantly expected by an audience although diverting from some conventions in order to make our opening clip unique. As a group we debated about what Steph should be wearing in the opening sequence. It was brought up in discussion that darker coloured clothing would be more suitable to oppose the supposed vulnerability of a teen student; however this raised issues of high key lighting and so on in which would be difficult to carry out due to our location and the current weather.


Stephanie Jones (Main Protagonist) 

Shot list

1. Close up
2. Extreme close up/pan shot
3. BLANK
4. Credits (to be confirmed)
5. Tracking shot from behind of Protagonist
6. Over the shoulder
7. Extreme close up
8. High angle
9. Canted angle

1. 7 seconds
2. 15 seconds
3. 1 second
4. 20-25 seconds
5. 7 seconds
6. 6 seconds
7. 3/4 seconds
8. 3/4 seconds
9. 10 seconds

This is an estimation of how long each shot is going to be however this is not final as it could be changed at any time, its a mini template for us to work around.

Storyboard

Planning: Storyboard

As a group, we have come up with a storyboard for the opening sequence of our Crime Thriller film. Based on our brainstorm and initial ideas, we have decided to stick to some of the typical Thriller conventions however we decided not to stick to the cliche ones, for example, ghosts, a murder, masks etc. We decided to stick with some of the typical Thriller conventions because we had to think of our audience and what they would be expecting to see. If we did not follow some of the typical conventions, it would not be appealing to an audience.

Protagonist: female, young, vulnerable, teenage student
Antagonist: unknown to the audience in the opening sequence, as a group we have decided the antagonist to be another female student
We have decided that the gender should be kept a secret from the audience because we want to leave a sense of ambiguity.

Drawing up a storyboard helped myself and my group to give us insight of what our opening sequence may look like. An advantage of drawing up a storyboard before we start filming is that we are able to change and rearrange some shots if necessary. Having the ability to be able to change shots around means that as a group we are less likely to make mistakes when we have to start preparing filming our final product. Creating a storyboard also highlighted what we needed to include or what we had too much of. In conclusion I think that storyboarding has had a positive outcome in my group as we can now start to move forward and think about other contributing factors that will help us to plan what we are going to film for our final product.

Storyboard:

Final Idea

For our final idea we came together to collectively plan and discuss for the best outcome on something that we all agreed on. We all liked the idea of a crime thriller, due to its psychological elements while being open to wide range of different crimes which wouldn't limit our options and make the piece cliche.

After choosing our sub genre we wanted to make the plot ambiguous, so the idea of someone unknown throughout the shot was thought about, almost like a stranger/follower/stalker which isn't seen or known about to the audience which adds the conventions of edgy tension when watching. We then thought about the idea of the film starting off as a scene investigation in the dark, with a spot lighted pin board showing a person and somebody searching this. This person who is searching the pin board is unknown, so it could be a policeman, the stalker ect which adds the ambiguous tone to the film.

After this first section was thought about we wanted a title sequence, almost fictional like a James Bond opening credit sequence styled piece so this was liked and further planning on this piece will be thought about.

We then wanted further clips of the person shown on the pin board, so a section after the credit scene gauging a little about the character will be included and then something sudden to end the scene, like a build up in tension to the character disappearing without a trace. This further adds the needed conventions of a thriller to make this evident to the audience while maintaining our overall style of the unknown.

Final Product: Crime Thriller Research

Crime Thriller film is a sub-genre that incorporates the suspenseful aspects of a thriller with a crime film plot. This sub-genre's plot usually centers on a serial killer, murderer, robbery, or manhunt. As opposed to traditional crime films, the story line focuses both around the criminal and the protagonist. Crime Thrillers use both action and psychological aspects to build tension and suspense.

Conventions of a Crime Thriller:
- Always a Protagonist and Antagonist
- Sense of Enigma
- Usually and investigation

Thriller and Crime Thriller conventions usually cross over because they are both very similar. For example:
- Low key lighting
- Quick cuts
- Tense music

Cinematography of a Thriller:
- Close ups and extreme close ups of the protagonist ~ this is often used to present their emotions about a situation in the narrative and evoke emotions on the audience.
- Shots of the Antagonist will be cut quickly and will aim to hide their identity away from the Protagonist and the audience ~ keeps a sense of mystery and suspense. e.g. -A low key shot, a shadow or silhouette of the Antagonist. 

Next Step

Now that we have completed the Continuity Task and have evaluated our result it is time to move on to our final piece. Taking everything on board that we have learnt we now have to plan and create the final piece, which has many steps involved. This includes initial ideas, a final idea, storyboard, shot list, characters/actors, locations, equipment, costumes, animatic and editing techniques which all have to be thought about in depth for a successful result. In the following weeks my group can plan all of this out before filming final clips to help us know exactly what will look good and will not and if our concepts will work.

Continuity Evaluation

The Continuity Task we have completed was a good practice before we take on the task of completing our final product. The task we did as a group went well and we have learnt many things about the process of editing and filming and the other elements which are needed to make a production successful.

To start off, our group understanding of the preparation and practical of the production of our film was broadened due to the amount we had to do before the filming process even started. The storyboard and shot list were the most vital pieces of work for this task as it needed to have the detail of location, characters, camera angles and mise en scene for the understanding of the idea to be communicated throughout the group, and for a general understanding of the finished product before starting. Without the visual storyboard, and the shot list to obtain details of timings of clips, we would have found the overall process a lot harder due to a clash of ideas or a lack of understanding of the steps which needed to be physically filmed, which would have resulted in missing off multiple objections which needed to be included in this task. This then resulted in these two pieces of prep being some of the most successful elements of our process.

Overall the filming process went well as we were able to use prep work to help us throughout, and group discussions about ideas also helped the flow of the filming as we could communicate without troubles of clashing ideas. This was mainly down to a bond in our groups which helped the compromise of thoughts benefit the result of the product. Despite this there were still troubles which we encountered. To start off we were not able to film all of the wanted clips in one day which delayed the product as we had to find time which suited us all to meet up and film the rest. This time between filming then created further problems, as simple mistakes such as character clothes being different between clips made the product unprofessional as it didn't look like the clips flowed throughout. This further delayed the product as we then wasted time filming something which wasn't needed and it was only till the editing process we realised, so this was something we then re-filmed and editing again to make correct. Whenever we did film, we made sure we had a range of clips, meaning that we would re-shoot a section multiple times from various angles so that we could collective choose the best clips for the product which improved the final result. Another challenge we encountered was the locations chosen were hard to have free of people for the idea we wanted to portray. This added some extra time to the filming process to ensure we were filming the scene when unoccupied of people, however it was worth the time as we were able to film not long after realising.

The result of the product went well. It included a variety of camera angles which suited the wanted effect of the content. It generally followed the 180 degree rule as in some parts it wasn't as obvious as it should have been, which is something I should have investigated in much more depth in advance as I was not very knowledgeable of the idea behind it and what its effect is. I feel I demonstrated a range of skills throughout the task, through the initial ideas and storyboarding, through to the justification of camera angles when shooting and helping with the editing process of the collected clips. For the next task of our final product, I can use what I have learnt about the overall process. I now know about the time keeping side of the process and how evaluating choices throughout are key to the success, for example time was wasted as location wasn't thought about in too much depth as we didn't considered other people. I have also learnt about how important the flow of clips  throughout the product is, which will be highly thought about though out the next task as we made silly mistakes like character costumes changing because of timings of filming. Although I demonstrated skills on elements such as the storyboarding and camera angles, I would further like to expand my knowledge on the editing side of the process as I only edited certain sections of the task and would like to have more experience in this area to further help the group in the next task.

FINAL CONTINUITY VIDEO

The Process

Now our work for our continuity task is planned in a shot list and a storyboard we started the filming process. Using the storyboard we where able to know exactly where each shot should be taken from and the angle in which it should be taken to ensure the film footage had to appropriate content to match the demands of the task sheet. The shot list then reinforced the storyboard as it contained the timings for each shot which is good as we were able to get our clips and overall product to the overall time stated on the sheet.

When getting ready to film, we set up a camcorder and a tripod and set these to an approximate height of around chest level to ensure each clip was equal height when appropriate. On some clips we had to angle the camera slightly up or down for a high or low angle to present an idea of  hierarchy with the characters in the footage which meant adjusting the tripod height which was fine and it gave the result we wanted.

The editing process included the use of Adobe Priemier which enabled us to cut the filmed clips and connect them together for an overall good result which flowed the clips well without pauses of nothing in the final product. The tools we used the most was the razor tool and the bin as clipping the clips down appropriately was important to the flow of the clips in the product.