Planning sound - Miss Miller

Planning sound

Within many films, whether its rom - coms or horrors, they all include sound which helps set the scene. Such as in thrillers, the main job of sound is to create suspense, shock and surprise. However in all films there are many different types of sound, these ranges from:

• diegetic sound
• non-diegetic sound
• off screen sound
• on screen sound
• parallell sound
• contraversal sound

In our group narrative, we have tried our best to include as many of the above as possible. We have mainly focused on using off screen sound and non - diegetic, as we hope that these will be more effective if the sound will be more noticeable. We are also including a lot of on screen sound as well as we believe it will make everything alot more realistic. For example we are using diegetic sound when the young girl is listening to music in the kitchen, this will show the audience where the sound is coming from making it seem more realistic giving them something to relate too. Non-digetic sound will be used when you can hear deep breathing from the killer at this point a camera angle called point of view will be used to you can only see the feet of the killer. This makes the non-diegetic sound a lot more tension building as you cant see where the sound is coming from, making the suspense rise and the hidden identity of the killer remain a secret.

We will be using sound techniques such as parallel when Lucy is left in the cabin on her own, we wanted to portray her as vulnerable and innocent, that she is is actually oblivious to the consequences and the situations that are about to happen. They will be able to build a relationship with the characters as they will feel many emotions towards them.

They are conventional to thriller film as they will create suspense tension and shock for the audience and make them feel that they are in the movie themselves, hopefully that is what i achieve in my opening scene.

When searching for sound these are the ones that I felt suited my narrative the most.

http://www.freesound.org/people/samule44/sounds/96023/  (Heavy Breathing)

http://www.freesound.org/people/Ephemeral_Rift/sounds/156114/ 

I felt that the second link, which is nearly 20 minutes long, suited our narrative the most. I had an eerie feel which helped set the mood.

By Alexander Flanagan

Planning cinematography-Miss Miller

Planning cinematography

Cinematography is important in thriller films as camera angles and movements allow you to control what the audience see and how they feel. Planning is required so we can test and see the best angles for the narrative. The main shots we are using are mid-shot, low angle, handheld, high angle and canted angle. Hopefully these techniques will entice and scare the audience.

The first technique is the high angle shot. This is when the camera is pointing down at me and Lucy as we are walking in the forest. The camera would be placed in the trees. This shot is used to portray a sense of insecurity and apprehension. This is from the start of the scene, so this shot is almost letting the audience know that these characters are in danger or they are unimportant, it is a set up for the next scene. This angle can give the audience a sense of foreboding that they are being watched, in a similar scenario, from above.

The second angle I am analysing is the low angle. This is used when Lucy is looking up at the building.  The camera will be placed on the floor facing the building. The purpose of this technique is to show intimidation, making the viewer feel as through the building is looming over them, adding to the sense of fear and anticipation felt. This connection means that a tension will build when Lucy and I walk up to the building. This is a conventional angle in a thriller, as the tension creates a greater shock.

The next angle that our group are using is the canted angle. This angle uses a tilted camera. We are using this angle when Lucy discovers me dead. The camera will be canted, looking at Lucy from behind. This angle is used to show imbalance. Imbalance can cause confusion and panic within the audience. This can hopefully create a greater reaction to what’s going on, on the screen. This is conventional of a thriller film as most directors don’t want to let the audience know what is going on. They want to keep the sense of anticipation.

Our group also used a handheld point of view shot. This is used when the killer is behind Lucy and me, before hiding behind a tree. A handheld shot is when the camera gives a jerky and gives the viewer a personal feeling of being in the scene. It is shot in the first person. This makes the shot realistic and could make the audience feel that they are there. This is another conventional technique to bring the audience closer to the film and allow them to immerse themselves.

The last camera technique used by us is the mid shot. This is when I and Lucy are walking down to the path. The mid shot technique is when you can see half of the person’s body and the location behind. This allows the audience to get a wider perspective of the whole scene, whilst feeling a connection to the characters. The audience can also understand emotions through facial expressions. This is another traditional angle in a thriller film as a better connected audience will gain more from the viewing experience and leave feeling more shocked.

I feel that by using these shots, our thriller will be very successful in capturing our viewer’s fears and heighten their emotions. These techniques are all regularly used in thriller films are they make the viewer feel involved in the film and build and relationship with the characters. The viewers have an emotional investment and care about what happens to the characters in the film and are therefore left feeling more shocked when the unexpected happens. The planning is very helpful as it ensures that everyone knows what they are doing and achieves the overall end result that everyone was aiming for.

Planning mise-en-scene-Miss Georgiou

Planning mise-en-scene

Why mise-en-scene is important within a thriller film

Mise-en-scene is important within a thriller and in fact all films because it contains all the elements needed to create a good story, relatable characters and specifically to thriller create suspense and tension. The five elements of mise-ene-scene are; setting and iconography, costumes, facial expressions and body language, lighting and colour and positioning of characters.  

The mise-en-scene of my thriller 

The settings use in my thriller is in a forest and an abandoned building and the iconography used is a pair of scissors. We have chosen these because they are conventional to the thriller genre, the setting is conventional because it would seem as if it is just a normal walk in the forest giving the audience the impression that all is fine,until the couple come across the abandoned building which instantly will change the tone of the scene. The scissors are also conventional because all thrillers require a murder weapon that is a normal everyday item that is used to kill the victim.

In our thriller not much costume or make up is used as the characters need to seem normal so that the audience can build a relationship with them. We do however towards the end of the scene use a ripped bloody shirt on one of the characters to show him to the audience as being dead from many injuries.

In my thriller a variety of facial expressions and body language is used such as fear, confusion, anger, shock and a sinister joy. All of these emotions are conventional to a thriller because the victim will always show fear as to what is happening around them an confusion as to why it is happening. at the end of the film our female victim discovers the dead body of her Friend and displays shock at what has happened as a smiling killer stands behind her, this shows many emotions in the killer such a anger and satisfaction which is conventional as it shows the audience his rage.

 The lighting and colour used are dark and saturated and low-key lighting is used throughout the sequence this conventional to the thriller genre because often this type of colour and lighting is used to build tension and to create an enigma as the audience wont know what is in the darkness and will have limited vision.

Throughout my thriller the characters and objects are positioned in many different ways in a variety of shots,the ones that are conventional in thrillers that has been used are; a high angle shot where the two characters move across the screen, the high angle shot is conventional because it shows the two people as weak and venerable.  

How my thriller builds a relationship with my target audience

My thriller will build a relationship with my audience because of the tension that is created, the audience will be waiting for the killer to finally kill his victim and it put the audience on edge because they are in suspense. My thriller also builds a relationship when Noah is killed as they feel sorry for him being a victim and killed for no reason. The last thing that will help build a relationship with my audience is the location, because it is such an ordinary location it will make the audience feel as if this sort of thing could happen to them, this make the film seem more real.

By Alexander Flanagan

Production Roles-Miss Miller

Production Roles

The reason for production roles is simple if the whole film was done by a small group of people then it would take a long time and the people would have a lot of stress and would not be able to focus as much on a certain task which could effect the overall quality of the movie. By giving out production roles people are able to focus on task and the film and all the various stages are done quicker and more efficiently.

• Producers - A producer is someone who initiates a project and oversees it from the conceptional stage through completion. 
• Directors -The person responsible for the interpretive aspects of a stage, film, or TV production; the person who supervises the integration of all the elements, as acting, staging and lighting required to realise the wrights conception. 
• Actors - To pretend to be someone else with a different persona to suit the film
• Director of Photography  - A ma who operates a movie or TV camera
• Sound Technician - They use a variety of equipment and machines, such as digital audio workstations during the sound recording process. During post production and mixing, sound producers blend recorded clips of vocals and instruments to achieve a certain sound. for movie or TV projects, these professionals focus on how sound effects and music line up with visual clues.
• Screenplay Writer -A screenwriter or scriptwriter is someone who writes the story of the film, what is said within the film who goes where and when 
• Mise-en-scene Co-ordinators - This is someone who controls and makes all the iconography  
• Editors - This is someone who adds any special effects visual or sound and would also create the opening and closing credits 

For my groups own thriller we have also allocated a number of people different roles to help make the process easier and quicker; Firstly our group of actors include, Noah, Lucy and Micheal This will help us as having minimal makes the story line more simple. The camera man will be Alex as he enjoys recording with the camera and knows the story line well, this will make the production sequence easier as he can operate the camera effectively. The director was Alex as he has good locations lighting,iconography ect, the sound technician was Lucy as in most of the editing stage she will be getting different sounds and implement them into the film, having her in this role makes producing easier because she will already be doing the editing. The screen play writers was the whole group this meant that ideas could flow and we could decide what the best would be. 

Filming schedule - Miss Georgiou