Animatic

This is our animatic, this's not what the final thing will look like, but the overall idea. Hope you enjoy!! :)

Storyboarding

We have just finished doing the story board for our thriller opening. We have 16 different shots in the opening and have tried to use a broad range of shot types. Ram has also spoken to St. Ivo school in St. Ives and we have permission to shoot our opening there. We are now working on the animatic of our sequence and will have it uploaded shortly.

Ram & James' homework

Rams homework:
"How is mood and atmosphere created through the use of mis- en- scene in the opening credits of "Donnie Darko"

In the opening credits the general mood created is one of tension and eerieness. The sun hasn't risen yet, so the "lighting" is very low. The audiences first sight of life is of something in the middle of the road, this's intriguing and makes the viewer look forward to see this object clearer.

The road is empty and there's no cars, again making the viewer think it's late at night, this also creates an eerie silence. The person in the middle of the road is very still, and the viewer gets an uncomfortable feeling when the view is increased, as if you don't want to see it clearer. When the viewer is able to realise its a teenage boy, the curiosity turns into confusion, as the character very casually rides back home, as if this situation is normal. The fact he rides a bike, instead of driving a car, supports the idea of him being childlike. When Donnie yawns, and rubs his eyes, he looks very playful, vulnerable, and childish, this makes his character relatable.

Donnie is in his pyjamas with messy hair, making it evident to the audience that he didn't intend on waking up there, this creates further intrigue. On his journey home, he rides past lots of trees, and is on a long road, this makes the journey seem longer than it is. A change in mood, and atmosphere is contrasted well with the beginning part, as when you go past the sign to his town of "Middlesex", the setting goes from being dark, quiet and eerie, to busy, bright and cheerful. At this point it takes the story to "everyday life" with joggers going by, people in their cars, and outside their homes, doing everyday things.

James' homework:
"How is mood and atmosphere created through the use of sound and editing in the opening credits of 'Saw'"

The title sequence for saw is very short. I will be looking at editing and sound. Both are very simple in the sequence but create a very eerie effect. After the sponsors of the film are shown, the actual titles start. Three different titles fade in and out. They appear slightly wavy which is to give the effect it is under water. After the last title fades a glowing blue object with a key attached starts floating down the screen. this is quite typical of thrillers as it is showing something that will be important later in the film and makes the viewer question what it is. This makes the audience become intrigued and encourages them to watch further.

The only sound in the sequence is the sound of gently running water. This creates a very eerie feel. After this the title of the film appears. It fades in and out in the same way the other titles do. This again creates an eerie atmosphere, that intrigues the audience.

homework ryan

In the film 'speed' the opening sequence is simply the camera slowly moving down an elevator shaft, whilst the titles roll this would have been done by tracking system. On the right there are floor numbers; this is really clever because it acts like a count down to when the film will start, building suspense. When the floor numbers reach P4 the camera pans down to a low angle shot of a door making the word ‘caution’ seem more dramatic than what it actual is. Then a man enters and there’s a point of view shot, which would have been made by using a dolly. This was used whilst the man was walking down towards another guy (villain). The camera follows the guy who came through the door to the villain already there without showing his face. This is good as it gives a sense of mystery and added suspense. Whilst they’re talking there’s a lot of over the shoulder shots of the villain to prevent you from seeing his face then the shot changes to a close of a bag where the villain is getting a document out. He then stabs the other guy after that shot we then see the villain’s face and it’s the end of the sequence.

This is a good opening sequence because it has good suspense building techniques because it uses over the shoulder and point of view shots, which are conventional to thriller films. It also uses a wide range of camera movements so that the camera is never static to make the audience uneasy.

Brainstorming part 1

Possible locations: Bottisham's barn, Cambridge, St. Ives, Parkers piece, London, Grand arcade, Grafton Centre, Lion Yard, Churches, cemetery, school.

Possible themes: Action thriller, horror thriller, comedy thriller, supernatural thriller,

Possible protagonists: Police officer who's also a killer, crazy mad man who lives in a barn, loner character feels rejected, takes it out on school, detective investigating high school shootings, another main character.

Possible storyline: assassinate political figure, high school shootings.

FINAL IDEA: high school shootings, main character: detective, killer. Antagonist: killers best friend, who throughout film seems good, and helpful, but turns out to be accomplice. Location: high school, st. ivo, in st. ives, or bottisham village college.

Hello :)

Hello, we are James, Ram and Ryan. We are going to make a thriller title sequence, are you excited? We are!
James is the round faced, long haired one commonly found wearing a hat.
Ram is the girl.
Ryan is the one with ET fingers.
:)