Character Representation - Mrs Frisender

Character Representation

The audience build a relationship with the characters in a film so that they can relate to what the characters are experiencing, i.e. their feelings at a particular point in time. They are therefore able to sympathise or empathise with the characters if they are experiencing a moment in time where they are particularly scared or nervous. On the other hand the audience are also able to feel fear from the antagonist themselves, which therefore means the audience are able to experience a contrast in feelings throughout their relationship with the characters. 

Throughout a film it is important that there is a variety of characters that are employed to represent different things. This allows the audience to form different relationships with the characters they are watching and they can therefore relate to different aspects of their experiences as their character.
 
In my groups thriller opening scene we have two characters who are brother and sister. The male character is called Billy Lovell and is portrayed as a 16 year old who is white caucasian. He was bought up by his Mum and Dad and experienced a normal childhood until he was diagnosed with Schizophrenia a year ago. The purpose of Billys' character to the narrative is he is the films antagonist and is included to cause fear and confusion upon the audience. This will be conveyed to the audience due to the colours he will be wearing during the forest scene. His character therefore appeals to the audience as he creates more of a thrill for the viewers to experience. 

 

The female character is called Evie Lovell and is conveyed to the audience as a 9 year old who is also white caucasian. As she is Billys' sister she also experienced a normal childhood, being brought up by her Mum and Dad. Evie is the protagonist of the thriller opening scene and represents purity and innocence. This is conveyed to the audience by the clothing she will wear which will be of light colours, in contrast to that of her brothers. The character of Evie appeals to the audience as she is a young, cute girl who is shown as innocent. The audience will therefore build a relationship with her early on so when she becomes in danger, and hurt the audience will feel empathy for her and will feel extremely heart wrenched.
  

  The Woman in Black

During the opening scene of The Woman in Black, there are three young female children who are dressed in old fashioned, lightly coloured dresses which portrays their representation as angelic, innocent, children to the audience. This is conventional as young females are usually the victims in thriller films. The idea of the children being victims is further employed by the fact they are controlled, and told what to do by 'The Woman in Black' and therefore it results in them having no authority compared to the woman. This amplifies to the audience the idea that they are represented as the innocent victims and increases their level of anticipation just before they are shocked as they witness the young children jumping out of the window. This could cause the audience to feel extremely effected by this occurrence as they could be parents themselves.

 'The Woman In Black', the antagonist of this thriller is dressed in all black, informing the audience of the type of character she is. This creates an eerie feel upon the audience as they become more curious about this character. The antagonists identity is also not revealed at the beginning of the film leaving the audience unaware of who she is which portrays her representation of being mysterious and keeping the audience on edge.

Risk Assessment - Miss Georgiou

Risk Assessment

Risk assessments are created to identify potential problems that may happen during the filming process. This allows group members to plan what would take place in the event of one of the risks becoming a real hazard. It has a great impact on how safe group members and actors feel during the filming production which is essential to be positive so that everyone has a great experience.

The chart incorporated above displays any hazards that may come upon group members or actors during the filming process. It also states how we will assess and take precaution of any hazards that do occur. My group produced this chart on Microsoft Word and completed it together so that we could ensure the safety of group members and actors during the filming of our thriller opening scene.

Preliminary Task Evaluation - Miss Georgiou

Preliminary Task

For our preliminary task we had to create a 1 minute sequence using various different conventions. The outcome of our task has both strengths and weaknesses. The purpose of this task was so that we could become familiar with the camera and the role its has within film production. We also were able to identify what is necessary to create a successful film, i.e. planning, storyboards etc, so that when it came to actually filming our group would be prepared and know what needs to be done in order to create a successful film opening.

One strength of our preliminary task was the use of a variety of camera shots which allowed us to explore different ways of expressing a certain aspect of a scene. We employed different shots to display the authority of the protagonist and antagonist characters, as we based our task on the conventions of a thriller genre. Although we did not have to base our task on the thriller genre, we decided it would benefit us when it came to planning and filming our thriller opening, as we would have a greater knowledge of what would work best where and what to include. 

A weakness of our preliminary task is that we did not have access to a tripod and therefore some of our shots were not stable, and did not flow smoothly, which let down the professional look of the task. A further weakness was that we were limited with being able to experiment with certain conventions such as lighting, as we were in a naturalistic environment and could not alter the lighting provided.  This therefore meant the quality of our filming was effected and did not meet our expectations. However, if we could have altered the lighting we would of employed low key lighting at certain points during our filming, to following the thriller conventions. Another weakness of our task was throughout the filming you could hear background noise that was not relevant to the scenes we were filming, and therefore lowered the quality of our task, as it effected the sound aspect of our filming overall.

Carrying out this preliminary task has greatly helped my group to prepare for our own thriller opening. We are all more aware of how to use the camera and how to set up shots before we decide to film them. We are also aware of taking into consideration the transitions we wish to use between each shots, so that when we film our shots they will flow evenly, once edited together as a whole. Completing this preliminary task also informed us of the extent to which you need to plan before conducting the filming process so that all group members are aware of what is expected from the outcome. It involved planning ahead in extreme detail, which meant we had to take into consideration the sounds we wished to use, and whether we'd edit them in later or record them during the filming process. 

To summarise I think our group completed this task to the best of our ability, and even though we formed ideas of different shots on the spot, it proved to work well once we put the filming together. Therefore I believe when it comes to planning and filming our thriller opening scene we will ensure we are fully prepared and have accurate plans of what we anticipate, so that when it comes to filming we will be organised and be able to deliver to the best of our ability. 

Production Roles - Miss Georgiou

Production Roles

Within a film production there are many crucial roles that must be allocated to a group of people so that the formulation of producing the film flows and is well organised. 

Main Roles within a film production

The camera operator is in control of the camera at the direction of the Cinematographer, Director of Photography or the film director to capture the scenes within a film in the way that they anticipate it. Camera operators do this by carefully following instructions given to them regarding shot composition and development. The way the camera seamlessly moves with ease is a key responsibility of the camera operator as it is essential to the narrative flow of films. Camera operators are also usually the first to use the eye piece and therefore assess how all the elements of the scene will come together to create a substantial cinematic experience.

An actors job is to bring characters in a film to life. They employ speech, movement and expression to take upon a role in a natural and believable way for the audience to enjoy and understand. They would also have to learn their lines and continually rehearse before filming would begin, so that they could deliver their performance to the satisfaction that the director anticipates.

Sound technicians have a complex role which involves setting up, testing and operating sound equipment to suit the particular scene that is being shot, and also servicing, maintaining and repairing all sound equipment. They have to decide the best locations to place microphones and they also have to adjust them accordingly. Monitoring audio signals is also a major job for sound technicians to do, to make sure sound quality is maintained throughout the duration of what they are filming.

The film editors has the role of assembling the various shots into a certain order to create a coherent film, with the help of the Director. There are usually a number of assistant editors working with and alongside the film editor to ensure a successful outcome. 

The film director has the responsiblity of overseeing the creative aspects of a film, which include; directing the performances of actors, controlling the flow and content of the films' storyline and managing technical details such as the positioning of the cameras, the use of lighting and the content and timing of the films' soundtrack. Although film directors have an great deal of power over the film, they are ultimately subordinate to the film producer/s. 

The location manager takes upon the role of overseeing the locations department and its staff, usually reporting directly to the production manager and/or assistant director. Location managers are responsible for acquiring permission to use a location for filming and often assist production/finance departments to maintain budget management regarding location fees. 

 

The storyboard organiser has the role of organising the storyboard with the correct visual ideas and anticipations for the outcome of the film. They also have the responsibility of making sure that all aspects of the storyboard are accurate. 

Roles within our group

 

For our thriller opening we have asked Evie and Billy to be our actors. This is because they both have previous acting experience and are willing to take part in our thriller opening. They also fit the criteria of the young children we were hoping to cast.
Within our group we decided that the role of camera operator should be allocated to myself. This is because I took upon this role during the preliminary task and it proved a success. Also I am familiar with the camera due to this which means that the filming process will be less time consuming as I am aware of how the camera works.
The sound technician role has been given to all three of us in my group. This is because we believe sound is an important aspect of our thriller opening, therefore allowing us all to have an input into this part of our opening will mean the outcome will be as we all anticipate it to be. Also the role of the editor has been allocated to all three of us so we can all have an equal input into the sequence of our filming and therefore the outcome will also be how we all believe it should be.
The film director role has been given to Daisy as we believe she will be the best person to work alongside the actors as she has a clear artistic view of what we visualise our opening to be like.
The Location manager role has been given to Danniella as she is keen to decide on appropriate locations and we believe she will be best for this job as she has a keen eye for a successful frame.
All three of us have also taken on the role of storyboard organisers so that we all have an input of our ideas, and can link them together in the way that we all believe will work the best.

Mise En Scene Planning - Miss Georgiou

Mise En Scene Planning

For our thriller opening our group has decided upon the locations of a forest and a house. Our decision of these locations were influenced by our quantitative data we collected from our questionnaire which stated that a house and forest were the most popular locations for a thriller film, and therefore we believed it would maximise the audiences experience while watching. The setting of the house would be based mainly in the children's bedrooms where the nightmares begin to take place. The forest location is conventional to a thriller film as it is a dark, gloomy place which evokes a sense of mystery upon the audience, and is a popular location in many thriller films. The house location is also conventional to a thriller film as many thrillers are based around the victims home, increasing the audiences experience as they usually feel safe and secure in their homes, but will now become increasingly anxious.

The iconography our group decided upon to include in our opening scene was a mask, knife and mirror. Our decision to include these forms of iconography was influenced by our findings from our questionnaire, which concluded that these were what viewers most desired to see in a thriller film. As a group we all believed that the use of the mask, knife and mirror would therefore enhance the thrill for the audience and allow our opening to follow the thriller conventions. These forms of iconography are conventional to a thriller film as a mask is incorporated to hide the antagonists identity from the audience, which increases their suspense levels and anticipation to discover who the antagonist is. A knife is a conventional form of iconography as it is a popular weapon that antagonists use in thriller films when attacking their innocent victims. A mirror is also conventional to a thriller film as it increases the audiences suspense levels as they are left on the edge of their seats wondering if anything will appear behind the protagonist.

For costumes, hair and make up we would have Evie wearing a white t-shirt and trainers and Billy wearing a black tracksuit and mask to also portray to the viewers that Evie is the innocent victim and that Billy is the antagonist. The costumes the characters will wear are conventional to a thriller film as antagonists are often dressed in black to convey a sense of mystery and wear masks to disguise their identity from the viewers, to enhance the thrill of their experience. Also the innocent victims are usually dressed in light colours to portray their purity and innocence to the audience, allowing them to feel empathy towards the character when they are put in danger.

Throughout our thriller opening we would mainly employ low key lighting and key lighting, as this is conventional to a thriller film because it increases the thrill the viewers experience and suspense levels. We would include low key lighting throughout the duration of the opening before the nightmare occurs, and during the forest scenes. We would also create key lighting at significant points of our thriller opening, which we hope to create with the use of a lamp and candles.



In the forest location in the nightmare, Billy will be positioned closer to the camera and Evie further away when he is stabbing her, this is to portray the authority Billy has over Evie. Through the body language and facial expressions employed during this sequence the audience will become aware that Evie is scared and running for her life, and Billy is the antagonist, having somewhat a great amount of power over her. The sense of power will also be conveyed to the audience through the positioning of Billy being further up in shots compared to Evie. This will allow the audience to understand the storyline and the roles of the characters, furthermore enhancing their experience while watching. The positioning of the characters is conventional to a thriller film as it notifies the audience of their levels of authority, allowing them to be aware of the representation of each character. Also the body language and facial expressions are conventional as it allows the audience to experience the emotions the characters are feeling, increasing the thrill of the film.

Opening Scene Narration - Miss Georgiou

Opening Scene Narration

My opening sequence for our thriller film will begin with a zooming in shot from the front door to the stairs then to an open bedroom door, to introduce the audience to the location of the scene. The sound that will be employed in this scene will be ambient instrumental music and the shot will directly lead to the audience being presented with a mid shot of the boy putting a pill in his drink and mixing it. The sound used will be an enhanced sound of the boy mixing the pill into his drink and the editing style I will use to move to the next shot with be a straight cut.
 
The next shot I will use will be a over the shoulder shot of the boy as he stands and progresses towards the door. The sound the audience will be able to hear will be the footsteps and the editing style used will be a straight cut to a panning shot of the boy walking to his sisters room which will straight cut to a close up shot of his feet, then an extreme close up shot of the glass in the boys hand, which will then straight cut back to the panning shot. The sound employed during the transitions between each of these shots will be instrumental music which will be at a low/medium constant pitch. This shot will then straight cut to a close up shot of his hand opening the door where the audience will hear the sound of the door slowly creaking open. This shot will then straight cut to an over shoulder shot behind the sister, seeing her brother walking in. At this point the sounds used will be natural sounds that are relevant to the scene. The editing style employed after this shot will be another straight cut to a p.o.v shot of the brother handing his sister the drink. The sound employed will be dialogue of the brother saying "Its Perteniam, it will make you feel better". After this shot it will straight cut to a mid shot of the sister as she drinks the dissolved pill. The sound employed will be the gulping of her drinking the drink. 
 
The next shot we will include will be a high-angle split screen shot of both the brother and sister lying down in their separate beds with their eyes open. The only sound you will hear is the ticking of a clock that they each have at the sides of their beds. A straight cut will then be used to follow onto an extreme close up shot (also split screen) showing their eyes closed, which will be the last shot before the audience are taken into their nightmare.

The audience will then be introduced to the next sequence of shots which begins the cycle of the nightmare.
The first shot presented to the audience will be a dissolving shot of the previous shot into a handheld shot of the young girl running through a dark forest. This portrays to the audience that they have been taken into the children’s nightmare. We will then edit an ambient instrumental soundtrack over the nightmare sequence to increase the suspense created.
There will then be a series of shots put together with fast paced editing switching from one shot to another to signify the chaos and panic they are experiencing. The handheld shot has been incorporated to present the disorientation and chaos of the situation and will also relate to abstract conventions. This handheld shot will be used from both Evie and Billy's point of view to justify that they are both experiencing the same nightmare: Evie's through the side effects of Perteniam and Billy's through his lack of mental stability.

We will also include the sound of crunching leaves as the audience will be able to hear their footsteps as they run through the forest.
Another type of shot we will use is an extreme long shot to display Billy chasing Evie and establish the location of the forest. The sounds heard in the nightmare will be diegetic. Our diegetic sounds will include Evie's screams, Billy's heavy breathing and the crunching and rustling of leaves all used to enhance the effect and experience of the opening. We aim to record sound separate to the visuals as we believe it will create a greater impact as we can time everything correctly and accurately.

We will also use another handheld shot of the camera spinning slowly at a height showing the trees of the forest from Evie's point of view also to present her confusion; another side effect of Perteniam. It will also display her paranoia that someone is chasing her.

We are also interested in attempting to get a shot from Billy's point of view whilst wearing the mask. We would do this by placing the camera behind the mask but not too close that you do not see the outline of the mask itself but at eye level with the eye holes. This may not work out but we will try a number of methods in order for it to succeed but if this shot does not go to plan we will replace it with a handheld shot.

We are aware that displaying Billy stabbing Evie in the nightmare scene in the forest will be of extreme difficulty due to the regulations of our film being rated 15.  Therefore we have devised a number of shots we could use instead of typical high budget thriller shots which graphically capture it. Much like Hitchcock's famous shower scene in Psycho, we would like to follow the method of "each physical stab symbolises each cut and shot". We aim to combine a variety of shots and fast paced editing to make the stabbing as realistic as possible but we are also considering the safety of the actors whilst the knife is present. Shots will include a close-up of the knife dripping with blood, an over the shoulder shot of Billy stabbing Evie in the cheek and then a high angle shot of Billy standing over Evies body on the floor, holding the blood smeared knife. We will employ a heartbeat soundtrack over this particular sequence to heighten the idea that Billy is stabbing his sister. We will then employ an out of focus shot from Evies perspective where she witnesses the removal of the mask to reveal the identity of whom is her brother.

Once the nightmare has ended, we will employ a high-angle shot of Evie and Billy waking up in shock and panicking as they believe the nightmare was true. Due to the side effects of Perteniam, we will then show a panning shot of Evie running to the bathroom followed by an over the shoulder shot of her looking in the mirror noticing she has a flesh wound on her cheek. This then causes her to vomit and this is where we would like to employ another over the shoulder shot of her vomiting down the toilet. The sounds used will be of her choking and spitting to add to the visuals. Once she has vomited, we will then use another over the shoulder shot of her looking in the mirror again, this time with no flesh wound. We hear her gasp.

The final shot will be a repeat of Perteniam fizzing in the glass, where we ill enhance the fizzing sound using a soundtrack editing on top of this sequence. We would like this to act as a motif to remind the audience of not only the film title but why the nightmare occurred. By ending the opening scene this way we hope the audience will be left on the edge of their seat anticipating for the film to further continue.

If we were not restricted with our opening having to be no longer than 2 minutes we would have liked to have had shots of Evie and Billy tossing and turning in bed showing their reaction throughout the nightmare. This would be effective if we used fast paced editing also with straight cuts from the nightmare to Evie to the nightmare to Billy etc. We may decide to capture these shots in our house location in case we have enough time to play with therefore add it in during the editing process. Although it would add to the effectiveness of our opening, the "flashback" shots are not vital.

In conclusion, as a group we are all extremely prepared for the filming of our opening to take place, and as seen above, we are keen to experiment with a variety of camera shots and thriller conventions. Although our final filming may not exactly reflect our plans, it will be based on extreme relations to what we have set out to achieve.