Story Board

Thriller Evaluation

As part of my Video unit our project was to get into groups and work on an opening sequence for a Thriller. We had approximately 6 weeks to work on the planning, filming, and editing of the sequence. I worked in a group of 3 which included me, Nikita Lewis and Toni-Leigh Plummer. Our opening sequence ‘Rebecca’ is about a woman who becomes a victim of stalking. Because it is an opening sequence we do not see the end of her fate or if the stalker later on is revealed. The opening sequence ends with Rebecca calling the police as she has realised that she is being stalked. This leaves a cliff hanger for the audience as for they do not know weather he gets caught or not, and weather she survives or not. The finished product of the opening sequence of our thriller ‘Rebecca’ did go well but there were also some things that could have been improved to make the finishing project even better.

Things that went well whist creating the opening sequence ‘Rebecca’ was the filming and editing. I feel that the editing went better then the filming as there was a lot more things we could use and to make the filming come together. We used Final cut pro to edit the whole sequence also we used sound track pro to add music into our thriller. The thriller’s sound track was made up of two different sound tracks created and edited in sound track pro. It also had diegetic sound of the atmosphere on the outside location shoots, sounds such as cars driving passed, the radio and turning the newspaper. I think that using two different sound tracks was a risk but we managed to blend it in well and it worked to our advantage. At first we were not sure weather to use two different sound tracks because they may clash and also the two tracks contrast with each other. The first sound track is a mellow, slow rhythm. This sound track adds enigma to the opening also it makes the audience wonder what is going to happen because at this time the audience are just getting introduced to the story line, also it created a sad atmosphere as the track is empty and has a slow tempo this makes the audience aware that there may be a sad ending, or a tragedy ready to take place. The first sound track is for the opening and is playing whilst the opening titles are on screen. The second sound track has a more up beat tempo compared to the first sound track. The slightly faster tempo helps add enigma to the story line also it goes with the narrative as everything starts to become revealed. The sound track creates suspense and mystery to the opening sequence as the story slowly becomes revealed to the audience.

We also used sound effects from sound track pro, the sound effects we used were a camera flash and also a echoy thump sound. At first we could not find a camera shutter sound that fitted to how we wanted it to sound so we edited it in sound track pro, we cut it down so that the camera shutter sound only made one click. When we did this we then edited it further in final cut pro, what we did was we slowed it down so that the shutter sound fitted better into the sequence. The echoy sound was added at the end with the title ‘Rebecca’ and a black background, we did this to add more trepidation into the story so that the audience are left on edge to want to see the rest of the story take place. I think that the sounds worked well because it added to the continuity making the sequence run smoothly and the audience did not automatically identify when the non diegetic sounds were added or when the sound tracks change. This was an achievement for the group because we did not think that we could do it.

In final cut pro we also used a number of different transitions such as cut, cross dissolves, fade into white and fade into black. These transitions help us with the continuity of the sequence as it closed gaps and also allowed us to add in things that added significance to the story line such as the non diegetic sound of the camera shutter, here we added in a fade to white so it looked realistic as if the audience are there when the pictures are being taken. At first we decided to have it on one picture but when we went back over the sequence e found another place to add it. A problem that we had in our shoot was that the colour from the indoors scene was too bright. It had a lot of oranges and citric colours and did not fit in with the rest of the scenes and this was identified by Fiona when she was watching over our sequence. How we fixed this was in final cut pro we done colour balanced and tried to get it as close to the rest of the other scenes as possible. I think that it did work well but it could have been better if at first when we were recording we set the camera (HD Sony Z1) to manual and found the white balance, but instead we set it to automatic. By doing this it did not show the full potential of the group, but at the end we did resolve it but it could have been better.  We did not change any thing else in the colour of the sequence just the start of it. In final cut pro we also slowed down some motion to add more suspense into the sequence also to make it look spooky.

In the overall editing experience I think that my group all played a fare share in imputing things to create and develop our final product. I put in inputs in what should be different and what should have been changed, the main role I carried out was to make sure everything was in order. Also I added in slugs, blackouts and transitions where I thought were suitable. I picked out the sound effects also, where the music should start and stop. I edited some sound peaks how loud they should be and where they should fade out and in.

Overall I think that ‘Rebecca’ could have been a little bit more better if we had experimented more with the software in Final cut pro, used more of the transitions, colour contrasts and speed. I also think the finishing product would have looked better if we used a manual setting when we were filming and found the white balance, this would have also saved us the hustle of re editing the colour on Final cut pro. The feed back that we got from the rest of the class was positive but we also had some constructive criticism. One was that it looked like a trailer of a film mainly because of the ending that it had, that is the title ‘Rebecca’ with the echoy non diegetic sound. Another criticism was also that it gave away too much of the film. How we could have changed this was by maybe not adding an ending title to the opening sequence and also maybe not have the character call the police in the opening. Another comment was also that the camera shots worked well for example the stalker disappearing behind a moving bus, people thought that this was very creative. In conclusion I think that the filming and editing or ‘Rebecca’ went well, mainly because we worked in harmony as a group, we all contributed and put in effort in the planning, filming and editing. 

Exporting in Final Cut Pro

Today we learnt three different ways to export. The first way we got taught was to export as a self contained movie, when you export this way it allows you to open up the file with final cut pro also on other Mac's which have the same software (final cut pro). 


The second way allows you to pick from a choice of files formats but also allows it to be played on any computer. It is similar to the third way, the third way of exporting also allows you to pick from a choice of file formats but it also allows you to customise and it can be made into a disc format unlike the second way.


Steps to when composing the finishing product:
1. Check- Mark in and out of points which you want to export.
2. Test audio- Select everything, mark cut points, click on audio peak and mark. Do this to make sure that the audio peak is not over which may cause the quality of sound to sound distorted
3. Check lighting- make sure that the lighting is just right also that there is not an excess blue mark which indicated if the lighting is not correct.
4. Duplicate the ruff edit- Just in case something goes wrong, it is a good idea that the ruff edit is duplicated so that you have a back up! you do this by  highlighting create filter and then selecting de interlace another option is by going into effects then favourites here you should find your de interlaced work.


When you have completed these steps, the final step is to export your file, by going into file, quick time conversion and choosing the file type. Select all frames and choose the size, once that is done your file would be successfully completed. 

Filming Thriller Evaluation

The Thriller Rebecca was filmed over the spread out period of three days and different locations. It was filmed with a High Definition Sony Z1 also we used a boom mic to capture sound to its fullest. The first day we filmed was on a Sunday at Nikita Lewis's house, here we filmed a various range of shots where we see the world from the stalkers point of view. The opening scene of the Thriller was filmed in Nikita's mothers room where here we made a collage on the wall of printed pictures of our actor Rebecca (the victim in the Thriller), this is where the thriller always relates back to through out the whole opening sequence. We filmed a variety of different shots including, long shots, medium shots, close ups and extra close ups. We also had variety of angles in the way we shot the pictures, we shot some of the pictures at an angle on top of the bed giving us more shots then we needed so that we have enough to choose from when it comes to editing with Final Cut Pro. In the bedroom we did not have the right lighting equipment so instead we used a lamp and took it in turns of filming and lighting throughout the cause of the filming.

On the second day of filming we done the shots in our actor Rebecca's house. Here we did more moving shots as the day before the shots that were done were more static shots. I filmed Rebecca entering the front door with her keys and running through the corridor into the kitchen. At first I filmed it all in one as a long sequence then after that I broke it into two shots. One of her walking though the door and the other her running through the corridor. I did this so that when we edited the final product we can have more shots on the way we want it to look, also so that it can look smoother like it is running into each other. I did the shots as medium shots and long shots so that the audience can get the full effect of her entering the house. In some of the takes of the shots done in one sequence I zoomed out from the point where the key enters the key hole, to the point of her walking through the corridor. This made it more interesting to watch as it was a smooth sequence. Toni-Leigh also helped film with some shots of Rebecca entering the house. We also filmed the ending scene of Rebecca calling the police, here we had an extra close up of her face, so that the audience can get the full effect of her fear also see the emotions on her face. We also filmed an extreme close up of her dialling 999. The significants of this shot is so that the audience know what is coming and finally they realise that the victim herself has finally realised that she is being stalked. We filmed these shot in different angles so that the scene would not be stiff also adds a better effect to the thriller so that the audience are engaged and do not feel as if it is static.

Day three of filming was done in two different locations on a school day. The third part of the filming was done in lesson time, lunch and after school. The first location was done in the cafe outside Selhurst Railway station and the second one was done out side Norwood junction railway station. In the first location (cafe) the shots were done in a way that we see the world from both the stalkers and victims point of views, but we are more dragged into the victims point of view because the shots are more interesting. In the Norwood junction location the shots were done so that we could see from the stalkers point of view, as the camera follows the victim from different angles, this also explains to the audience where the stalker gets the pictures from as the shot is ended with a picture being taken of the victim. I was ill on this day of filming but I did previously from planning and disguising with the other members of the team put in my input on how the shots should be done, what angles to shoot, the locations, also the story line on these locations and how to direct the actors.

In conclusion, i think that the filming went well, we all worked good as a team and found our individual strengths and weaknesses. I found that I am good at filming and directing as we worked on our filming. Throughout the course there were no problems that could have not been solved and all the problem areas and errors in our filming we re-filmed the shots. I think that as a group we could have explored the functions of the camera more, as we did not use a lot of effects, filters and techniques that the camera has. If we had a chance to re film I think that we would have used more techniques with the camera also some of the location shots in the cafe and Stations could have been done with a tripos to make the scene more steady. Overall i think that we had a good amount of shots to take into editing so that we know we are safe and wont be down on shot. It was also a nice experience working as a team when filming as for usually i work i alone. This has thought me more about team work and roles, also it as made my filming skills better by learning off each other.

Horror Synopsis

Film treatment- Rebecca

My film’s genre is thriller which incorporates the themes of stalking, which is a real life scenario that happens to some unfortunate people. Set in modern day London streets, and also in the stalkers house. The lighting in the stalkers house is not too strong so that the scenes look almost grey. The lighting outside will be normal but also dull looking. Set in a normal working world we follow a character named Rebecca who shortly starts to feels as if she is being stalked, the audience knows that the fact is she is being stalked but she takes a while to figure it out. The stalkers identity is never revealed in the opening sequence of the Thriller. We see this world through both the stalker's and Rebecca's eyes. At the end it is up to the audience to decide what Rebecca's fate is, as it ends with her calling the police. The 3 minute opening sequence gives the audience a sneak peak of what the film is about. The shot of a wall full of Rebecca's pictures (taken by the stalker) shows the full extent of the stalkers obsession with the character Rebecca. 

Aspect Ratio

Aspect Ratio is the size of the TV screen.

 

4:5                                              Small screen TV

 

16:9                                                                  Wide screen TV.  

                                                                        (Gives the viewer a better image)

Some editors will use pan scan to fit the screen in to the 16:9 to the 4:3 screen. This is not good because it cuts of the edges of the screen and some things may be taking place in that area that will not be visible to the audience.

	Both of the edges are cut out of a 16:9 to fit into a  4:3

 

Letter boxing gets a wide screen on to a small screen by fitting the whole image on but with a black box on top and bottom.

 

If you fit a 4:3 screen on a 16:9 screen the image becomes stretched

A good way of fitting it on to a 16:9 screen s by pillar boxing

TV pixel and Brain

TV is a load of small images put together

British TV plays 25 images (frames) per second. You need this many to make the movement look smooth.

Pixels are the amount of dots in an image the more pixels the better the image

Resolution is how clear the image is. This depends on the amount of pixels

Still frame is each of the pictures to make a moving image

TV screen is made up of 100 tiny scan lines. This is transmitted to your television. The UK rule is 625 lines. Different countries use slightly different ‘standards’ or systems- with different numbers of lines per screen and different numbers of frames per second.