Final Piece

Evaluation Activity 7

Evaluation Activity 6

Evaluation Activity 5

Evaluation Activity 4

Name: Elle Baker
Age : 17
From: Sheffield

Likes:
Music - Feeder, Chase and Status, Professor Green, Example.
Films - Twilight, Jennifers body, Saw franchise, Inception,
Tv Programmes - Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Walking Dead, Gossip Girl
Social Networks - Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr
Celebrities - Kat Von D, Paul Walker, Johnny Depp

Dislikes:
Music- NDubs, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, JLS
Films- Hannah Montana Movie, Bee Movie, Love Happens
Tv Programmes - Hollyoaks, Only Way is Essex
Social Networks - Myspace, Bebo
Celebrities - Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Kerry Katona

Bio: Currently in her second year of her local sixth form studying media studies, film studies, and fine art. Her hobbies include creating her own clothes and drawing. She mostly spends her weekends out with friends but also enjoys a quiet night in with her boyfriend eating junk food and watching films. Elle also enjoys making regular trips to the cinema to see the latest films out. She says she enjoys all genre of films but Thriller and Comedy are her favourite. Her least favourite genre is romantic comedy. Between her school studies, she manages to fit in a part time job in her local Topshop, which she enjoys as she is keen on fashion. She could be described as your stereotypical teenage girl who would enjoy our thriller.

Name: Ryan Carver

Age: 18
From: London

Likes:

Music - Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Feeder, Foo Fighters, The XX, Arcade Fire

Films - Fast and Furious, Wanted, Underworld , Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Godfather, Scarface, Shrek

Tv Programmes - Skins, 24, CSI New York, Boardwalk Empire, Burn Notice, Top Gear, Mock the Week

Social Networks - Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook

Celebrities -Keira Knightly, Alex Turner, Ami James

Dislikes:

Music- Snoop Dogg, Jessie J, JLS, The Wanted, The Saturdays

Films - Gremlins, Disaster Movie, Meet the Spartans, Alien vs Predator

TV Programmes - Loose Women, 60 Minute Makeover, Coronation Street, Antiques Roadshow

Social Networks - Bebo, Myspace

Celebrities - Cheryl Cole, Nicole Scherzinger, Justin Bieber

Bio: Ryan is currently studying film, media and law at Eton College. His hobbies include rugby, basketball and creating his own short films. When he is not boarding at Eton College, he spends his days working in Abercrombie & Fitch as a shop assistant. Between his hectic school schedule and work he still finds the time to volunteer at a local youth group where he works with the children teaching them how to use camera equipment. He tells us his favourite way to spend an evening, is at the Imax with friends seeing the local blockbusters. He mainly opts for a genre such as thriller as he thinks it is more gripping than a comedy and you can become more involved in the film.

Evaluation Activity 3

Evaluation Activity 2

The main influence for the look of our antagonist was Kayako from the Grudge. We incorporated the dark eye make up to hint to the audience that our character is possessed, reflecting the character of Kayako. Our antagonist and Kayako are also similar in the roles they play in both films. They are both the danger to all other characters, they are both violent and known to kill. The use of the prop of blood on both these characters shows this. Dissimilarly, Kayako is viewed as an antagonistic throughout the film whereas our character is seen to have a split personality. Both characters are seen in white costumes, a colour which hints innocence, contrasting with their dark characteristics.

Another film which inspired our choice of antagonistic character was Primal Fear. We wanted to portray our antagonist as suffering from multiple personality disorder like Aron Stampler does in Primal Fear. Similarly, the cause of the disorder in both characters has come from horrific incidents in their childhood inflicted by their parents. Another aspect that makes these two characters similar is that both of them have a innocent personality and stereotype connected to them, In Primal Fear, Aron Stampler is an Altar boy, a character which would stereotype innocence. We used this in our own thriller but instead making our character a waitress. A mediocre job which people can relate to and do not see as threatening. The difference between these two characters would be that it is discovered in Primal Fear Aron Stampler is pretending to be insane whereas our antagonist is not pretending. It is interesting to see similar characters portrayed by both a male and female. The fact the male antagonist turns out to be truly evil and the female antagonist turns out to be insane, yet innocent in her normal state is stereotypical. Due to the fact males are seen as more violent and deceiving than women.

Evaluation Activity 1

The Title of the Film

Like most films, we went straight into the action of the opening and left the title until towards the end. This was to create tension and suspense for the audience which generates interest, so they have something to watch as soon as they get into the cinema screen.

Setting/Location

When we thought about location we didn't want to use a forest setting which is typical of student thriller films. There aren't many thrillers set on the beach so we have challenged the setting conventions of the genre in that sense. We thought a bit of variation on setting would be a refreshing twist in the story and enabled us to capture some really effective shots like in the above `screen capture.

Costumes and Props

Our main character's costume was just an ordinary white blouse and black skirt with black tights, regulation uniform for many waitresses in various restaurants. This used the conventions of the thriller genre as the antagonist in many thriller films appears to be just an ordinary person at first.

We didn't use any props at all in our opening, as we were trying to develop the conventions of the genre to a certain extent. 99% of thriller films will contain guns and weapons but we wanted to create a mystery about how Jenny's character inflicted the horrible wound on her victim,  making it more frightening in a way as people are generally scared of the unknown.

Camerawork and Editing 

When we were editing the thriller we wanted to allow the audience to differentiate between timing of the main character in the bath and the flashbacks she is having. We did this by subtly editing the effect on the shots in post-production. We used a posterised effect for the bath shots and then played around with the lighting and colour correction tools on Pinnacle for the flashbacks. This creates a sense of timing without being too harsh (e.g. shooting flashbacks in black and white - we wanted to show the red blood and eyes etc).

We used a head shot for the bath shots because the effect of Jenny's hair in the water was very effective and it showed her surroundings and where she was. Our original idea was to have Jenny put her head under the water and then open her eyes but this proved difficult so we abandoned that idea. In hindsight it would have worked really well if we had used an extreme close up of Jenny's eyes opening and would be something we'll think about when filming for future projects.

Title Font and Style

We used different fonts for the opening credits and the title of the film. This is because when we watched films when doing research for this project we noticed that they are always different. This is to add to the impact and drama of seeing the title for the first time. Instead of keeping the font the same we added a few similarities to tie the two together so they didn't look mismatched. We kept the colours the same (simple black) and faded the edges around the lettering (this looked more professional than blunt edges).

We also continued to use the same font for the film title as when we created the teaser poster which is a stencil type font. Stencilled lettering has connotations with prison and crime which suits the genre of the film.

Story and How The Opening Sets It Up

The main aim of our opening was to introduce the main character - played by Jenny.

Rachel Hunter is a seemingly ordinary girl working as a waitress who was left by her mother at a young age. Through time the stress and heartbreak of the rejection wore her down and caused her to invent a new personality - a serial killer.
Our opening successfully introduces Rachel to the audience whilst still retaining an air of mystery and not giving much away - a common trait in thrillers. Nothing is explained, not even her clothes (although people may guess her occupation from her costume), creating an enigma which would hopefully have the audience glued to their seats and wanting to watch on.

Genre and How The Opening Suggests It

We used fake blood all the way through our opening scene and edited the colours in post-production to make it look more realistic. The screen shot above is of Emily's 'severed arm' and bloody hand. Blood and gore is a common theme in thriller/horrors and we used the conventions of thrillers in this aspect of genre. Although we wanted to be different we had to conform to some of the conventions so the audience knows what it is they are watching.

How Characters Are Introduced

In a way Jenny's character is introduced twice, once as the sane Rachel Hunter in the bath and once as her psycho personality (pictured). This order follows the conventions of most thrillers, as you will almost always be introduced to the victim first, then the villain (e.g. Scream). Rachel is in a way her own victim, as she doesn't realise she's doing these things, she just sees them as elaborate nightmares. When the audience is introduced to the antagonistic personality, they don't see her whole body at first, only her legs. This is also a typical trait of a thriller: to keep the people guessing for a few seconds longer. Another film which follows the same patterns as ours is Scream. The audience is introduced to Drew Barrymore's victim character at first and then to the villain, but you don't see who it is as he is speaking to her on the phone.

We are introduced to Emily's unknown character with this shot. The makeup is effective, and the fact that the shot is a close up of just her arm will create an enigma in the minds of the audience members. "Who is this person? Why did they die? How?"

This way of introducing a character goes against thriller conventions as mostly you are introduced to the victim when they are alive and then you witness their death.

The Final BBFC Rating.

Due to the contents of our film, we have decided on a british broadcasting film certificate rating of 15. We have opted for this rating as there are hints at violence within our opening and if we were to continue creating the film it would include footage of a violent nature. We also decided on this rating as the plot can be seen at pychologically thrilling which could be viewed at inappropriate to anyone under the age of 15. We did not want to go above this rating as it would limit our target audience as our main audience are those between the ages of 15 and 18. 

Choice of Music

To get the right effect and atmosphere for our thriller, it was important to select the correct music. We wanted to create a tense, yet eery feeling. When looking for music to use, we had to ensure it was copyright free, in order to do this, we used freeplaymusic.com.
As our thriller focuses around water, we wanted to carry this theme over into the music. We found a couple of tracks that gave the effect of water dropping but this did not fit in with the waves on the beach. In the end we opted for a distorted, "tinkling" type effect sound to play in the slower parts of the opening.
When the images start to rewind, the music was too slow to fit with the images so we decided we would need to find another track to play here. This time we opted for a more fast paced track but kept to the distorted effect so that the sound would flow correctly. To add emphasis to certain parts within the thriller, we added sound stings. Once example of this is the loud sting at the end of our opening where our antagonist opens her eyes in the water, adding to the atmosphere and possible startling the audience.

Diary of a day shooting

For our thriller we wanted to film at a beach in a secluded area so when we decided on Suffolk we had to pick a day we were all free so that Emily's mum could take us. As our location was quite far away it meant we had to get a lot of filming done so that we didn't have to re shoot.
Day one
Our first day of shooting took place on the beach in Aldeburgh, Suffolk on Tuesday morning, we decided to wake up early so that the lighting outside wouldn't be too bright. We woke up at 5:30 and prepared to film, this included doing the make-up on Jenny's face and Emily's arm.
When this was finished we walked down to the beach with Jenny in her costume and some warm cover ups for Jenny for after she went in the sea.
When we got to the beach it was 6:00 so the lighting was quite dusky like we wanted, but we needed to be quick as the sun was coming up very quickly. Our first shots were of Jenny's character walking down the beach and then of her in the water, then of her walking back up the beach.One problem that we had when filming was that we didnt have a tripod so we had to keep our hand very steady when filming. We carried on filming anyway as we knew we had to get it done on that day. We did the shots of the arm and then finished filming by 7:00. We ended up with about 20 minutes of footage which we are pleased with as we have a lot of shots to choose from when editing.
Day two
Our second day of shooting took place at Emily's house, for this we needed to put the contacts on Jennys eyes but we decided that we werent going to have the same make-up as before as she is in the bath. When we were filming we took it in turns too stand over Jenny to film. This went quite well however Jenny had trouble opening her eyes underwater like we planned so instead we decided we would just have her hair underwater so that the shot would look effective.

Behind the scenes

Whilst filming our thriller opening, we decided to film behind the scenes to market the thriller and create a buzz around our film. Within these videos, there are interviews, discussions of our shooting plans and footage of the preparations we made before filming including makeup.

Looking at our location

Before filming we went to our location to have a look around and ensure we had thought aboout all safety aspects and if the planning we had made would actually work with the location.

Focus Group

Preparation for shooting

Due to illness within our group we have been given an extension on our filming which will allow us to film over easter. Our plan is to shoot at a beach, a restaurant and at Emily's house.

 We are going to film at the restaurant first as this is our first scene and is close by. For the restaurant scene we just need Jenny (main character) to wear a waitress outfit, this will include a white shirt, black pencil skirt and black shoes. Jenny and Sophie will be supplying this. We will also need Emily's cousin  Sam to be in the film as he will be playing Jenny's boss.

We will next film at Emilys house, here we will use the bathroom. We have chosen Emily's bathroom as it has a white background which will contrast with the red we will be using. For this scene we will need a white shirt, fake blood, red eye contacts and make-up. The fake blood, white shirt and eye contacts will be supplied by Jenny and the makeup will be supplied by Sophie.

For the main scenes, we will be travelling up to Thorpeness, Suffolk and will be filming on the beach. For this, we will need red eye contacts, fake blood, white shirt and vest. From conducting a risk assesment, we have learnt we also need to take protective shoes, warm layers and towels to prevent hypothermia. Jenny will supply the red eye contacts, fake blood, white shirt and vest and we will all bring our own shoes, warm layers and towels. Whilst at the beach, we will also be using a sculpture we know is placed on the beach to create a scene with our victims arm coming out of it. For this, we will need Emily's arm and the make up included in the previous post "Practice for Scar Make Up".

Character Profiles

Name: Rachel Hunter
Age: 20

Occupation: Waitress
Family: No close relatives known, in and out of care homes
History: Abandoned by mother as a child
Known Facts: n/a
Hates: Justin Bieber
 





Name: Unknown

Age: Unknown

Occupation: Unknown

Family: Unkown

History: Tortured and murdered innocent women

Known Facts: Witnesses quote red eyes, pale complexion

Hates: Physical Contact

Risk Assesment

Practice for scar make-up

In our thriller we wanted to show that someone had been killed without showing their face this is because it adds to the mystery of the film and can later be explained. In the end we decided on making a scar for an arm which can be sticking out to hint at the dead body that is hidden.

We did a practice one to see how effective it would look with the tools we had. The items we used were:

-Fake blood

-Flour

-Eyeshadow (brown for the wound and purples, reds and yellows for the bruise)

-Vaseline

-Brushes

Overall we think that it looked very realistic and will be recreating this for filming. One thing we need to think about with this is continuity as it needs to look the same throughout.

Promotional Photo Comparisons

 This promotional photo from the Ju-on: The Grudge 2 could be viewed as similar to one of ours. The way in which the hands are placed in both images makes the audience think the characters are almost creeping around. In both images, the eyes are staring right into the camera although a difference being in the Ju-on image the expression is scared and confused where as in ours it has more of a sinister feel. Both images incorporate the use of blood which is stereotypically used in thrillers letting the audience know it is infact a thriller. They both have a underlining gothic theme that hints further to the fact these films are thrillers.

This promotional poster from The Dark Knight has many similar attributes to the promotional image of ours shown above. The way in which the images are blurred into black around the edges of the faces in both images adds mystery to the images and it is as if the person in the picture is coming out of a hidden place. Both faces have heavy eye make up making the eyes the focus point of the faces.  



Analysis of Potential Poster

Our first potential poster follows the main thriller colours white, red, black and grey. The text is mainly in white to stand out against the black background and then certain words are in red to stand out further and hints the importance.

For example, the use of red here emphasises the word danger, as red is seen as a colour that symbolises danger.  The choice of text here is hinting at the fact the danger is infact the main character herself. It enables the audience to conjure up their own rhetorical questions and makes them want to find out what it is implying, in turn making them want to see the film.

The choice to have the picture in a night vision effect hints that there is darkness and secrets within the film. Although it is not as clear as if would have been in colour, the use of the red contacts is still affective as it gives the eyes an unnatural tint. The use of the faded edges also adds to the effect that there are hidden twists within the film. The dark smudged make up around the eyes add a dishevelled look to the character showing she is insane, this is emphasised further in the slight squint in the eyes. The fact that one eye is slightly more squinted than the other hints to the storyline of the character having to sides to her personality. Having the picture central of the poster, makes the poster more eye-catching, attracting more of an audience.

The choice of text works well with the rest of the poster, as with the picture, it does not give away too much but is still stern enough to attract attention.
Overall, I think our first potential poster is effective enough to attract audience and engage them enough to want to see the film. It is not exactly as we had first planned, but still think it works just as well as the first plan and was a little easier to achieve.

Possible Poster Idea

Promotional Photos

Makeup in our film

In our actual thriller, we are choosing to take makeup inspiration from Disney villains. Even though our target audience is older now and are no longer frightened by these characters, dramatising and adding a more realistic edge to their looks will build on a fear they had when they were very young. Furthering this idea, the cosmetics company MAC have brought out a makeup range dedicated to Disney Villains, so we will also analyse this with regard to the look we'd like in our film.

MAC Vemomous Villains

The Venemous Villains collection from MAC focuses on 4 villains who have featured in Disney cartoons throughout the years. These include The Evil Queen from Snow White (1937), Malificent from Sleeping Beauty (1959), Cruella De Vil from One Hundred And One Dalmatians (1961), and Dr Facilier from The Princess and the Frog (2009).



These Lipsticks are from the Evil Queen collection. Both are based on the colour red although one is bright and the other more of a burgundy. Red would be a good choice for lipstick for the main character in our film as there are so many different shades which give off different impressions. The Colour red also has connotations with danger, so when the audience sees the lipstick they will associate it with evil, either conciously or subconciously.

 The two 'Dr Facilier' eyeliners on the left are very dark, and would be useful to create a creepy 'tired' look. Inspiration for this would be The Joker from batman. The dark rings around his eyes have become a trademark since their appearance in The Dark Knight. If we did use this idea it would obviously be a more toned-down version, perhaps the main character could have mascara and eyeliner smudged round her eyes when she's in the bath.  

The black eyeshadow in the middle of this photo is from the Cruella De Vil section of the makeup collection. Black eyeshadow is incredibly versatile when creating a 'stage makeup' look. Coupled with purples, blues and yellows it can be used to create very convincing bruises on the skin. It can also obviously be used on the eyelids and under the eyes, this creates a look similar to the eyeliner above, and using them together will intensify the look further.

Lipgloss is really useful when trying to create the illusuion of tears, i know from experience that when taking photos it looks particularly realistic. Although the two 'Maleficent' lipglosses are a bit dark for use that way, lighter or clear gloss would be ideal around the eyes and nose for creating faux tears for a film.