Planning

Whilst planning our final idea we looked at my original idea and questioned how well we would be able to pull off all of the ideas.
The main thing that we changed was the idea of the stalker drawing in the condensation on the window, and also the idea that the stalker comes inside to the swimming pool area. Instead of this we thought about deceiving the audience. By this, we meant that instead of the stalker coming in, another character enters the room. The audience will see his feet pacing up and down and assume that it is the stalker. When the girl comes up from swimming she screams before looking relieved to see her father standing over her.

After we had all agreed on a storyline that we were happy with, we decided to start on the script. The majority of the scene will not have dialogue until the end of the sequence when the swimmer exclaims "You scared me!" followed by "Supper's ready" spoken by the father and then "I'll be there in five". The rest of the scene will be the swimmer swimming up and down lengths of the pool with shots showing the stalker through the window.

Our idea of the storyline is therefore quite basic which means that we will be able to concentrate on getting interesting and different shots to what would normally be seen in an AS level project, for example the underwater shots of the girl swimming.

Once we had the script sorted, it was time to start storyboarding. This involved thinking of all the shots we wanted and adding in all the details needed for each shot. For example, the time each shot lasts, the lighting in each shot and any movement in each shot. Our first storyboard only showed our first ideas and did not need to be particularly neat. We continued to edit it until we reached our final storyboard.
Below is our final story board:

Our Group's final idea

Each person out of our group - Talisa, Bella, Laura and I, chose our favourite idea out of the ideas we had come up with on our own. We sat in a group and discussed the pros and cons of each idea and how easily they could be made into a film. A few of the things we had to take into consideration were:

1.) Location - we needed somewhere which did not take too long to get to and somewhere which we had permission to use. The ideal would be the studio which is actually on school property, however we decided that a short journey to a local location would be fine.

2.) Costs - anything which would cost too much money is out of our hands. This is because we are only a group of four college students and therefore, money is limited.

3.) Permission - if we want to film in a public place, then permission would be hard to get hold of so, if possible, we want to find somewhere where permission is either easy to acces (e.g. in a friend's house) or where permission is not needed (e.g. in the studio at school).

4.) Actors - preferably we want actors from our school. As we are members of a school specialising in drama, hopefully it will not be too difficult to find willing actors. However because they are students, it will be necessary to get permission from their teachers to leave their classes for the day.

Taking into account all of these possible problems, we decided that for our group's final idea, we would choose my idea called 'The Deep End' which was the idea involving a girl swimming in a pool while a stalker was looking in on her from outside.

Thriller opening sequence - ideas

My ideas for a thriller opening sequence:

1) Location: Empty hospital

Camera travels down empty hospital corridor. Bright, artificial lighting flickering. Little girl standing at end of corridor soaking wet with seaweed in her hair. She says nothing, but turns and walks down corridor - wet footsteps left on floor. Background noises of hospital machinery e.g. beeping heart monitor, then silence followed by a loud noise, then the girl starts to run (looking behind her at the camera). The camera shakes. She screams then it freezes on her face and cuts to title of film.

Problems: 

Location - we would not be able to film at a real hospital (as it would be impossible to shut off a corridor)

Actor - it might be hard finding a little girl who is willing to walk around all day acting covered in cold water and seaweed.

2) Location: Swimming pool

One girl swimming lengths alone in a pool. Cuts to an underwater shot as if we are looking up at her from the bottom of the pool. The camera then cuts to outside to a shaky POV shot from someone looking through the window. We can hear his breathing. The person spying then draws something in the window (e.g. a heart or "hello") in the steam. Quick matched cuts between girl swimming and man dragging his hand along the window, leaving a trail of blood in his hand print. Underwater shot shows girl swimming with her head under, unaware of stranger, however the audience can see the man through the water. As she reaches end of length, she comes up and we hear her scream. Cut to film title.

Problems:

Location - We would need to find someone who has an indoor pool with glass windows looking in from outside. They must also be okay with a large group coming to film there all day.

Steam - the steam which the man draws in would be on the inside of the glass, not the outside. We could get around this by him breathing on the window (making steam).

Underwater shots - we would need to get hold of an underwater camcorder or a camcorder case (preferably that shoots onto a HD memory card)

Actress - would have to give her permission for us to film her in a swimming costume. 

3) Location: School

Everyday situation - real life and easy to film on location. Camera starts filming inside classroom, quick glimpse of something running past the window. Later on a group of girls are talking and walking towards the toilets "did you see that thing earlier...?" etc. We then get a POV shot of someone behind a tree with deep breathing. The girls reach the bathroom and are looking in the mirror when the bathroom door opens and reflected in the mirror is a man covered in blood holding a knife.

Problems:

School - we would have to make sure that no one was around or being loud while we filmed, which is hard in a school of 300 people. 

4) Location: Beach

Windy day on an English pebbly beach. There is a wind toy in the pebbles which turns when the wind blows and the camera focuses on this before a couple emerge from the sea. A focus change from the fan to the couple is made, the couple kiss and the camera focuses on the girl as she walks up the beach. There is no one else on the beach and she turns round playfully to smile at her partner but he has gone. Camera zooms in on his footsteps in the sand which just stop in the middle of the beach. His scarf is tied to a groyne (wooden fences on beaches) blowing in the wind. The girl screams and sinks to her knees through fear as her partner has been taken and she is all alone.
Problems:
Location - Firstly, getting to a beach would take up quite a lot of time which could be spent filming if we chose a different location. Also getting permission to film on a beach and also making sure that the beach was empty would be hard.
Pebbly beach - this would mean that the idea of the man's footprints in the sand would not work as well because there would be pebbles not sand.
Weather - as it would be filmed outside, there is no guarantee on the weather.

The History of Horror

In this lesson, we watched a film about the history of horror films.

In 1925, the silent version of Phantom of the Opera was released. The lead role, played by Lon Chaney was a key topic in regard to this film. Lon Chaney who was nicknamed 'The man of a thousand faces' used his own make up skills to create state of the art make up for that time.

However the first horror film which started the huge phase which swept the nation was Dracula. This was the first horror film made with sound. The film itself followed Gothic tradition and soon afterwards the film of Frankenstein was made.

In 1935, a new version of Frankenstein was made by James Whale. This time, the film was called The Bride of Frankenstein and added a new twist to the original film which horror fanatics previously loved. As James Whale was such an inspiration to the horror genre, a film was later made about his life (called Gods and Monsters).

Yet another Frankenstein film was made in 1939. This time the film combined Dracula and Frankenstein together and was called The Son of Frankenstein.

Both of these films (Dracula and Frankenstein) are considered to be the starting point to Horror films which are still, to this day, so popular.

Scream - opening scene

As a homework task, we were asked to present to the class the opening scene to a thriller film. I chose to do my presentation on Scream. 

 

I looked at the scene in the same way that we have been taught to analyise scenes from TV dramas (which we will meet in our final exam).

         MISE-EN-SCENE

• Shadows cast across the girl’s face add an element of horror and help set the scene – we are aware she is hiding and that it is night time.
• The scene is set inside an average home which makes it a real experience for the audience as it could happen to them.
• The car moving towards us, gives us a sense of the distance she is from her parents (who are figures of safety).
• The smoky room obstructs our view so we are in suspense as we don’t know where the killer is.
• The killer’s black suit and white mask protects his/her identity and gives a sense of uncertainty.

       SOUND

• The sound of her breathing and the creaking of the door are soft and are contrasted against the slam of the door as it closes. This makes us scared that the killer has also heard the door close.
• Soft music is used as a non-diegetic sound to build up suspense, which is a well known technique to many horror and thriller films.
•  Every time a shot of the killer is shown, there is an increase in the tempo and volume of the music which helps to scare the viewer.
•  The quietness and safety of the road is shown through contrast of music. The music gets much calmer when the focus goes to the road.
•  String instruments played with a quick and steady beat increases the audience’s heart rate.
•  Loud, non-diegetic music mixed with the diegetic screams and breaking of glass adds panic to the moment when the killer turns around.

EDITING
•    The camera focuses on the main girl for a long time at the beginning with no cuts, which helps the audience to empathise with her as they wouldn’t want to be in her position
•    There is a jump cut from one place to another – the house to the road, which shows the contrast in the two different areas.
•    This same cut is then used to show how slowly time is going for the girl who just wants her parents to get home already. This is shown through the time it takes the car to make distance down the road.
•     POV shots are used through the window before quickly cutting back to her face which shows her panic as she hides and does not want to be seen.
•     Quick cuts between the girl and the killer as he attacks her speeds up the situation and adds a sense of panic.
•     Slow motion is used to emphasise the danger as she has now been caught by a man with a knife. This shows a sense of defeat compared to her running beforehand as now she knows she cannot get away.
•     A cut is made from when the knife is stabbed into her, to her father inside as he realises something is wrong, this is an example of dramatic irony.

CAMERAWORK

•    The girl at first has a lot of camera time which helps us as the audience to empathise with her and we are immediately put on her side.

•    POV shots through the window add a sense of reality and we are put in the girl’s shoes making us imagine ourselves in the situation.

•    The camera follows the girl as she runs from the killer which emphasises the panic.

•    Medium shots of the girl lying on the floor are used to show her injuries and to therefore show how serious the bleeding is.

•    A shot taken from a camera which appears to be lying in the grass above the girl shows her struggling on the ground and because of the low height of the camera, this emphasises her helplessness.

•    Another POV shot is used, this time it is of her looking up at her parents as the enter the house, oblivious of her dying just metres away.

•    The camera also follows the girl’s mum as she searches the house for her daughter, giving a sense of desperation.

•     Initially an extra long shot shows the body hanging from the trees, however the camera shakily zooms in with speed, as if we are the father running in panic towards his daughter’s body.

Thriller vs. Horror mood board

After spending a lesson making a mood board on our ideas of what makes a thriller, we spent a lesson comparing the differences between horrors and thrillers. I decided to make another Powerpoint presentation in the form of a mood board.



For me a horror film contains gore, blood, repulsive acts of violence and often they have a supernatural aspect to them.
An example of a horror is Saw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq7FVtth39s)



The words and ideas which I chose to use to describe a thriller were: psychological, suspense, children used to scare the audience, obsession and real life situations.
An example of a thriller is The Strangers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1TBlPelvbE).



My thriller vs horror mood board can be seen below:

Mood board horror and thriller

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Thriller Mood Board

Our task for this lesson was to use Microsoft Powerpoint to create a mood board of all the things associated with thrillers that scare me. I looked primarily at the idea of unknowing and isolation. For example, if someone were wearing a mask this would scare me as I would not know who was underneath the mask. Isolation also scares me as the idea of being alone to me, means that there is no one there to help if you get in trouble. For example if a person is alone in a house and an intruder enters, it is made more scary as there is no one to help them out in their time of need.

Mood board

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