Possible Music for our Main Task

We have been recommended a website which allows users to download royalty -free music which we can use in our Thriller opening. We have looked through some of them and we have found one which we liked. It is 2 minutes long which is perfect and we think it is suitable for a Thriller.

Progress Update

We have finished filming now and we are about to start putting each shot together with the timings between the credits being the main task to do. Once we have put it all together we will then add effects and transitions to try and make it flow easier.

Final Filming Update

We have finished all filming for our Main Task and it went pretty well. As a group we need to work together to finish the whole thing and edit the footage accordingly.We also need to sort out the sound and music properly and we have a few weeks to edit so we will make sure we know what we are doing and not rush it.
 We managed to finish all filming before the deadline which is tommorow February 1st so we are pleased we managed to do that. We have no worries that we will finish the whole coursework before the deadline at the end of February.

Final Cut Express Tutorial: Trimming

So that we are able to have each clip the lenght that we want it we need to be able to adjust the size of each cut. This is known as trimming and to help us know how to do this we watched this video tutorial http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress/tutorials/#trimming

How to do it

This is a fairly simple task but  we need to be careful when we do it so that we don't accidently cut off important parts of each shot. To trim a clip all we need to do it drag the side of each shot either to the left or to the right to make it longer or shorter.

Final Cut Express Tutorial: Transitions

To help us add effects and transitions for our thriller opening we need to know how to use the effects and transitions correctly. To do this we looked at this video tutorial on http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress/tutorials/#transitions.


How to do it

To add effects to our movie we need to click on the effects tab and choose which effect we need. Then all we need to do is drag it inbettween our cuts to help us have a more flowing sequence.

Final Cut Express Tutorial: Timeline Basics

To help us understand how to cut the shots we have to the perfect timeings that we want, we need to use the timeline for the most accurate effect. The video on http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress/tutorials/#timeline-basics explains all of this for us.

How to do it

You drag the clip from the browser to the timeline and then resize it how you like it by dragging the sides. You can then add clips on to it just by dragging them and you can put them on exactly where you want to.

Final Cut Express Tutorial: Creating the Movie

So we are able to put our thriller introduction together we need to know how you can put each shot together and how to cut each individual clip to the right size. To help us find out how to do this we looked at this video tutorial on http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress/tutorials/#create-your-own-movie.

How to do it

This video explains that after uploading a clip onto Final Cut Express all you need to do is double click it to view it. It also explains how to creat in and outpoints so we are able to make the cli the size that we want it. You then drag it to the canvass if you want it to be added to your film.

Progress Update

We as a group have been editing our Thriller opening for the past week now. So far it has been going well and everything has fit into place. We still need to finish filming though which we will do on Sunday. This is our coursework so far, the gaps are where more video is going to be edited in, also we do have some music we like which we will put in.

Adding and using Music in Final Cut Express Tutorial

I have also been watching tutorials on Youtube to find out how to add Music and sound effects for our film.

Using Effects in Final Cut Express Tutorial

I have also been watching some videos on Youtube to find out how to add various effects on Final Cut Express. We may use some in our film therefore it is handy to know how.

Adding Titles to Final Cut Express tutorials

I have been watching a few tutorials on Youtube to  find out how to add titles to our film.

Tattoo Idea

In our story, two of  our characters have matching tattoos to add a mysterious element to  our Thriller. We at first thought of using a barcode as the tattoo but I also had the idea of using a logo or some sort of military emblem. I found a free to use stencil which we could use in our main task.

We could add a number to make it more authentic to the character.

Results of our Font Survey

We recently did a survey to get feedback in order to decide which font we will use in our titles for our Main Task. Here are the results :

We have decided as a group that we will use the Barcode font just for the main film title and we will use the Tall Dark and Handsome font for our credits. This font was the most popular and we as a group agree that it is the best and most suitable for our Thriller film.

Main Title :

Credits :

Risk Assessment

Filming Progress Update

We have been filming for the past week as a group and have managed to get a lot of footage ready to be edited. We did have some complications however mainly with location and film time. We scouted many possible locations for the scene with Nathaniel on a laptop and changed our original idea from an office scene to a more secluded location. We felt this was more appropriate as it fits in with the storyline of him being a rogue agent, being in an office environment would not have worked. We also had problems with arranging times of filming as we were not all available, we have managed to film during lesson times and got the footage we needed. We do need to re shoot a scene tomorrow as we looked back on the uploaded footage and felt it was not right. To prevent this from happening in the future we need to shoot more than two takes of the same scene.

Risk Assessment 3 - Filming at school

Here are the various risks and hazards we may encounter whilst filming at a school environment :

Risk assessment 2 - Filming scene in bedroom

Here are the possible risks I have assessed that we may encounter whilst filming in the bedroom :

Risk Assessment 1 - Filming outside scene

When filming a movie we have to asess the different risks and hazards that could happen whilst filming ,we also have to figure out how to prevent them from happening to ensure safety of production. I have to assess the different risks in the 3 scenes we are filming for our opening 2 minutes.

Decide the font we will use in our film!

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

More locations for the Main Task

This is a possible road we could use for the men walking, the bend is quite mysterious as well.

This is a possible setting for the Henchmen walking scene. The dark tunnel makes it seem quite dangerous and out of the way.

This alleyway is another good place to set the men walking, it is narrow and quite urban.

Font for our Credits

 For our titles in our opening two minutes, we as a group have to decide on a specific font to use for the titles that will appear across the screen. This is important as the font can tell the audience what type of movie they are watching. We did not want an overly ambitious font and we wanted to keep it simple as our film is a Thriller/Psychological/Sci-Fi.  We used dafont.com to browse for a perfect font to use and we have selected 5 possible fonts :

Counter Strike

 This font has a military style look to it which fits in with the military characters and setting we have in our film.



Birdman

 This font is simple and quite Sci-fi , it looks official and futuristic.



Barcode

 This font fits in with the barcode that Nathaniel has on his wrist.

BarMkode

 This is a different variation of the barcode font which we could use.

Tall Dark and Handsome

This font has a Thriller look to it and is simple so we could use it for our film.

Possible locations for our Main Task

For our main task we have to choose the location carefully for each of our scenes. We went scouting one lesson to find suitable areas.

We found a room in a Learning Support block which could be used for our scenes with Nathaniel.

We came up with the idea that Nathaniel could be in a field on his laptop as it looks covert and as if he is hiding or spying on someone. This will fit his agent profile.

This is a potential road we can film the Henchmen walking scene, it is narrow, surrounded by a forest. It is also quiet which is perfect.

This is another road we could also use for the same scene and it might bring a different atmosphere due to the main road next to it.

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment on Prezi

Conventions in our Thriller open

When making our thriller opening we need to consider four different aspects to make it seem like a thriller. We need to consider sound, camera, editing and mise en scene.

A camera technique that we will need to use is the close-up as it is used in the majority of good thrillers. Below are some pictures of how this technique is used to great effect. The 2 pictures are from the two thrillers Se7en and the Game.



The two both show some vital details for the rest of the plot and in the case of Se7en( bottom picture) the hands are freaky and immediately make the audience ask questions and want to find out more.

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Props We Will Use In Our Thriller Opening

As our thriller is a psychological thriller props are an important factor as they can be tools for a number of things and mean alot of different things.

Possible Props

• Crayons
• Colouring book 
• Bed
• Desk
• Chair
• Laptop
• Smartphone - Iphone  
• USB memory stick
• Dossier of boy
• Gun
• Binoculars
• Briefcase
• Money
• Dossier of boy
• Desk
• Chest of drawers

Locations For Filming Our Thriller Film

Possible locations

• Office
• Street
• Alleyway
• Trainstation
• Bedroom
• Basement

Costume used in our thriller film

Three Henchmen
Either in suits to show they are serious/have a job to do. The risk with this that they could look too obvious and stan out. Alternatively we could have them wearing casual clothes,jeans. This will help them look normalised so no-one would suspect anything of them because they would just look like three normal men.

Nathan

Casual modern clothes, Nothing too fancy as he has come from an orphanage. Alternatively we could have him wearing smart clothes as his father buys him clothes to dress this way as he wants a good example to be set to lead his son in the right direction.

Nathaniel

Nathaniel could wear Jeans and a Black T shirt to show he is casual but serious at the same time. He could also be wearing tracksuit/jogging bottoms with a t shirt to show he is relaxing at home. alternatively he could be wearing a suit to show that his work he is doing relates to his clothes.

Numbers/Serial codes

Nathaniel and Nathan are both going to have numbers/serial codes/barcodes on their wrists to show that they are linked thus thickening the plot and making the audience wonder what these numbers/codes are we have decided on putting this on the wrist as it is suitable to fit into the shots we have discussed.

Lighting which will be used in our thriller film

Shots in Nathan's bedroom
Nathaniels room will be quite dim but should have enough light to be able to portray shadows. This will add mystery.

Nathaniel sitting in room on laptop
Dark room with some sort of light source emiting a light possibly a lamp or streetlight. Laptop screen.

Men in street
Dusk, Streetlights, fairly dark.

Conventions which will be used in our Thriller film

Shot Composition and Framing
We will be using this to conceal the identities of the three henchmen. We will not have shots which reveal the henchmens faces instead we will have shots of other parts of their body to create mystery and suspense we are also likely to use motivated cuts we also may include some motivated pans, tilts if we are able to execute them correctly, this will create a sense of mystery around these characters and by not revealing their faces will keep the audience wondering who they are and what they are going to do.

Close ups
We will be using close ups in our thriller opening. Close ups on certain things signify that they are important in the storyline of the film which will make the audience wonder why they are important and what they are going to be used for.

Cross Cutting
We will be using cross cutting to cut between two lines of action this will create tension and suspense a particular case in which we will use this is cross cutting between the 3 henchmen Nathan and Nathaniel this will make the audience think what have these three got to do with eachother. It also shows that these things are happening at the same time.

Ambient Sounds - Non Diagetic & Non Diagetic
We will use ambient sounds in our opening to make the setting more eerie,mysterious we will try and create these diageticly if we feel that we do not have the right ambient sounds then we may choose to add some pre recorded ones in.

Our film Certification using BBFC Guidelines

After studying the guidelines of the BBFC classification guidelines we have come to the conclusion that our Thriller film 'A State of Mind' is a 15.

Discrimination
We do not display any discriminatory behavior or language throughout the film.

Drugs
Throughout the film drugs are not shown or used.

Horror
We do have some disturbing scenes as our film is a psychological thriller as some of our scenes may disturb the viewer.

Imitable Behavior
There is not dangerous behavior in the sense of violence, but weapons are displayed often throughout the film. For example we show a gun being loaded.

Language
We do have some moderate language but it is not excessive or frequently used.

Nudity
We have no nudity in our film.

Sex
There is no sexual activity shown in our film.

Theme
It does contain some mature themes, e.g justified violence.

Violence
We do have moderate violence and we don't dwell on detail.

These are the reasons for why we believe that this film is rated '15'

By having our film rated "15" it allows us to have a wider range of audience from teenagers to adults. Our market research showed us that the most active viewers are males aged under 18 and males aged 18-29.

Conventions we will use in our Main Task

There are many techniques used in Thriller films that we as a group cannot afford to miss out on using , these techniques tell the audience that the film is a Thriller and this is what they expect to see. We have done lots of research into the various shots, camera angles and mise en scene.

Shot Composition and Framing
We will use this effectively to not give away the identities of the 3 henchmen that are walking through the street . We will use certain shots particularly at mid- height level to not reveal their faces. This is used in many Thriller films and we are using it to create mystery surrounding these characters. We will also use different shots to show their backs, feet and hands to create the mystery. It also increases the intensity as there is a real sense of danger coming from these men and we will achieve this in our main task.

Close-ups
The technique of close-ups features in many Thriller films as it can have a lot of effect on the audience. When making a Thriller film it is important to keep the audience guessing the level of importance over a certain character or object. We will use many close ups in our main task for objects mainly such as the coloring book or gun.

Cross-cutting
This technique is used in Thriller films to establish action happening at the same time. We have 3 different scenarios in our opening sequence therefore we will make sure to use cross cutting to show that they are happening at the same time. This also creates tension as it keeps the audience guessing what it going to happen as there might be a level of danger involved.

Ambient sounds
This is used in films to set the scene and also create a sense of eeriness surrounding a particular scene. We will particularly use ambient sounds in the scene where the 3 henchmen are walking. This will increase the eeriness of the scene and the mystery. There are different sounds we can uses such as birds chirping, cars going past or doors being slammed shut. We as a group need to decide what we want to include in our next group meeting.