Final Thriller Film

Film Production Diary

The Journey

This page is a diary of the journey that we went through to make the final thriller film. We went through many stages and on this page is where it will be shown at every stage. It will explain what went on and how this benefited us and our film. 

We started off by planning our film by drawing what we imagined onto a storyboard. The storyboards consists of different camera angles, the sound and what will be happening in this scene. 

This is the final storyboard of what our film should end up looking like and the sequence of which it should end as. 


The next step of creating our thriller was to create an Ident which would fit into this as our production company, the name we came up with was, 'Ellipsis Productions'. We made the Ident in Final Cut express. We then searched for music that would fit our Ident and which would potentially fit a scene of our film. We done some research on this and we got in contact with the people who made the music. They agreed that we was able to use the music. We had to add the beginning titles, we added the Director in with the Ident to make it more effective. We then planned to add all of the other titles in to the beginning scene to the film. 

We then started to film our first scene. The setting of our film was very different to how we planned it. We planned it as the woman was walking down a dark road at night and then gets captured. We didn't really like the thought of filming at night because we would need a lot of lights in able for the cameras to capture the action. So instead of this we ended up filming our first scene in an alley which looked very isolated and suspicious.



Due to the result of our filming of this first scene, we came to a decision to make sure we done it again. The reason why we thought to do it again was because it did not look realistic and the weather was sunny as we wanted a more dull atmosphere. 


We then went and filmed again, making the sequences shorter and using much more camera angles to make it look realistic. It was raining on the day that re-done this scene which we was very happy about as rain shows a sign of sadness and suited the atmosphere very much. We was very happy with this outcome and we decided to use this in our film. 

For the main part of our film we was really struggling about where to set this and where we would get all of the props and actors from. In the end we achieved all of the things we didn't think we would have. Thirteen of our friends showed up in order to be in this film which we was very pleased about. We set this scene in the Robert Clack drama rooms instead of the All Saints one as the lights were much better. We then borrowed a table, cloth and a poker set from people we knew which really set the atmosphere of the casino. We was very happy about this, however the battery of the camera went when we was filming the last part. As the battery went we had to charge it for about 10 minutes whilst everyone prepared themselves. 

We looked back at the last part of the film where we was rushing due to the camera losing battery and we really wasn't happy with the camera angles. There was no time left to film this again, we were unhappy about the shots but we added it transitions to make it a little bit more effective.

As we was about to publish our film, we was told that it was too long. This caused loads of confusion as many scenes had to be deleted. The only way that we could have made it much shorter was by deleting the first scene where the girl was taken, and put it in towards the end as a flashback. In the end of all of this it made our film look so much better, it also made more sense too. We realised that this was probably for the best for our film as many scenes were longer than they had to be. Trimming down some scenes of our film really helped and the outcome was at the correct time. 

Evaluation Question 7

by lizziegrantx

Evaluation Question 6

Evaluation Question 5

Created with Padlet

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

To find out which age range was most into Thrillers and which age range would be the best to focus our film on, we carried out a survey. The survey asked people ages 16-40+ and we asked them what genre of films they enjoy watching the most. The answers came back to us and we found our that the age range 16-20 was the age group that most enjoyed watching thrillers. By knowing this, we then knew how to plan out our thriller as we knew who the audience was going to roughly be. This also gave us more information as it told us that we had to aim for a thriller that would attract younger people as it was the most popular age range. 

During the planning of our film we had to find out who the audience would be for our thriller in prior to class. For us as a group we decided that it should be acceptable for all classes. This is because our thriller does consist of a range of classes which may attract some specific people as they can relate to the type of class. Overall we decided that we are not going to carry out a survey for class as we thought it was not significant towards our thriller film. 

We wanted to know what the audience would be like towards our thriller in prior to gender. We linked our survey and research back to the Vox pop that we done and audience feedback to find out which gender liked thrillers the most. After we took the survey we found out that the main gender who are mainly attracted to thrillers are males. However, the results were not far apart which means that females also like thrillers. 

To start off with, the name of our thriller is very questionable to the auidence. It was made to engage them to question what 'The Game' is about. Our thriller was made to be different and very unique compared to other thriller films. We done this because we believed that suspense should only be made within a particular scene and not throughout the whole film which made our film very unique. The storyline of our film is very modern and it relates to the generation that we are living in at the moment. We done this so we could attract people as it is very common that they would know about these situations. We targeted many young people as these films are mostly seen in cinemas or at home in which young people are more familiar with. 

After carrying out audience feedback we not only gathered good points but we also gathered a lot of weak points. All of the feedback that was given to us was taken seriously into consideration as it could give us tips for future references. One of the weak points given to us was that they found it hard to read the credits. This is because the credits were shown in white which dissolved out which could have blended into the background where the film was going on. However the audience also gave us positive feedback by saying that our film was very constant which brought our thriller more into the real life. They also said that the beginning of our thriller was very engaging which attracted the audience and wanted them to keep on watching. Another point they made was that the music used was set to the young generation which was very clever as the age range was our priority. The music was also set to be different from all other thrillers which they said was very unique. Overall we gained a lot of positive feedback which gave us a boost as it implicates that this age range that we set it to be attracted to enjoyed it very much. 

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 1

Audience Feedback

Rough Cut

Rough Cut

This is the Rough Cut of our film before we adapted it and uploaded the final video. This video is quite messy as we was in the process of making our video better. We was in the middle of taking off all of our first part and just making it into a little flashback. Looking back at this Rough Cut we now know what we have to make better, shorten and even delete. 

Analysis of sound effects chosen

Analysis of sound effects chosen

The sound effect that we chose was the effect of a magnetic pull attracting things. This was because it gave the title a dramatic way of introducing itself. There were three other sound effects that we could have chose from but we went with the first one.  We chose this as we thought that it could match the action of the title. We wanted the title to be introduced by starting slow and speeding up to give it a really sharp look. The sound effect matches the action which made it more realistic and effective. Whilst making our title, we wanted it to appear small, but then enlarge itself to the foreground and in time with the effect. As I was editing this I made the title appear with the movement of the sound effect, this gave our title sequence so much more emphasis as it wasnt just plain and boring. The effect gave our title sequence the effect of a weapon being thrown towards the screen. To make the title sequence alot more effective we added in an effect of smoke that could support the title. The smoke fades in and begins to fade out as the movie starts. In the end we came to a conclusion on using this sound effect, in which it turned out very successful.

 

Finding Non-Copyright Music

Finding Non-Copyright music

 

 

Whilst planning our thriller film we had to make sure that we had the correct music that matched our film. We thought for our ident that we would get an unsual type of music that would be unique. We found this on youtube in which we emailed the producer of the music and we got a responce saying that we could use this. We also got permission to use a piece of music we found on youtube for the main piece of your film. We did the same as we did the first time and we emailed the owner of the music. We did not use the websites where you can use non copyright music because we thought that it was very hard to find a piece of music that we really enjoyed and what we thought would suit the film.

 

Below is the proof of the email that we sent to the producer of the music asking if we was able to use it.

 

Below is the reply we got from the email that was sent to the producer which he says that we are able to use the music.



Making Our Ident

Making Our Ident

We spent very long on our Ident to make sure that it is engaging and it is as good as the studio Idents. We thought about the name wisely and we came up with a name that would relate to the Media industry. In this case we came up with the name 'Ellipsis Productions'.
We then went on looking for music. We wanted to be unique with the music and give our ident an unordinary sound. We used an instrumental that had an unusual sound which was very different to all of the other studio idents. 

The picture to the right is the first editing process of our ident. It included the music that we chose and it included presenting titles. The presenting titles that were included was the Production Company and the director. The ident included a picture of New York city of which we wanted our film to be set. Our production company name is then introduced as it comes in as it is being written and then fades out altogether. The music goes along with the film throughout.



The picture underneath is the final editing process of our ident. We did not change the way that the Production Company was introduced or the music. However we changed the way how the titles were presented. We listened carefully to the music and on every dramatic particular beat, a new title would occur. This gave the titles a really good effect as it moved with the music. The titles were then made to fade out as the new title would appear on the beat of the music. As the music started to fade out towards the end of the titles, the titles would also fade out with it. The rest of the titles would be added to the beginning scene of our thriller.  These effects really improved our ident and titles as it made it look more dramatic and more intriguing.  

The clip underneath is the final Ident and titles shown as a clip. This ident would be added to the beginning of our film to introduce the production company along with the begingining of our titles.

Opening Title Analysis

Skyfall Opening Credits

The opening credits to Skyfall starts off showing a scene where a man is drowning. No one at this moment of watching the film knows who thsi man is. The credits of the film actors, makers and producers are then introduced throughout this scene. It may be clear to some people that when the person is shown on screen, their name appears. For example, When James Bond was shown, the actors name , Daniel Craig was shown. This also happened for the actress Naomie Harris as she appeared on screen.

The theme song 'Skyfall' by Adele was made particularly for this film. The James Bond films always include having some sort of sexual relationship, Skyfall also includes this. The song Skyfall is quite seductive and can relate to the film.

Skyfall is a very effective example to show opening credits. It is very different to many other films as many just go straight into the film. However, this is very common for many James Bond films as their opening credits always go on for a maximum amount of time. The colours of the film in the background give the atmosphere a gloomy and dull look. The way how Daniel Craig is introduced shows him as a silhoutte. This could suggest that he is mysterious and no one really knows who he is.

Towards the end of the credits, a clip of blood in water all forming together to make a skull can suggest that something evil in this film will eventually be shown. The colour red of the blood can also show that it is a warning. The sign of warning is also shown right before the end of the credits where it shows blood raining onto a graveyard. This could give the audience thinking why is this occuring. The film ends by the camera zooming into the pupil of the eye which then fades into a black screen only showing the directors name in white writing.

Analysis of studio idents

Analysis of studio idents

Universal studios is introduced with a glowing earth. The production company 'Universal' is then shown by coming from behind the earth onto the front. As the text comes around, the countries lighten up as if it has power over all of them. The text of Universal is basic, formal and bold which makes it dramatic and more recognisable. As this is happening the camera is the pulled back to reveal the whole earth. The sound over the ident is dramatic and sounds like an orchestra.



Disney is presented by a castle represting the theme of animation. It starts off by a clear blue screen, after 3 seconds the castle starts to fade in downwards which makes it look like magic is making it appear from the sky. The image is presented as many flashing lights occur as the picture is moving downwards. Once the image of the castle has finally finished, the production name appears in a huge flash of light as if it has appeared out of thin air. The text of the production name is not formal, which may highlight the fact of being childish which also realtes disney to being Childrens Animation. The colour of the text is also very visible from the background which could be more effective as it is highlighted and centre of attention.  An animation which looks similar to a shooting star then goes from one side of the castle to the other. This could highlight the fact that disney is like a dream or wish.

Analysis of Film Title and font chosen

Analysis of film title and font chosen

We thought about what the film was mainly about before coming up with a name for our film. We wanted our film title name to be simple and easy to remember. There were many names that we had thought of such as 'Capture' , however we did not use this because we thought it sounded a bit odd for a film title. In the end we came up with the name 'The Game'. We thought of this because throughout the whole film their is a constant game. Like in the first scene where he was following her and in the last scene where they were playing a game of poker. The film title suited the story line and we thought this was the best title for our film. 

We have chosen this font called 'Far Cry' for our title sequence because we think its very effective. The font is really bold and in capitals which acts as a big affect as a title. This title looks as if someone has shot a bullet into the letter 'A'. This relates to our film as it includes mafias and guns. The font suits the main theme of the film which could give a clue to the audience what the film may be about. In this image it shows that the font is black, however in our film, the font will be white on a black background to give it more effect. The effect of the font also relates to the title ' The Game'. This is because the font is worn out and has a bullet wound on it, which could relate to a 'game' going wrong. 

Format Of Titles

Format Of Titles

Whilst planning our film, we also had to create an ident. An ident is a logo which presents the movie company in which it is shown before any movie begins. As I am producing the opening scene to a thriller, this means that I will have to produce an ident too. The name of the production company we came up with was called Dice Productions. However, we did not really think this was unique and it may have been used before. Because of this we came up of a Company called Ellipsis Productions. 

After the ident has been introduced, the Production Company then present the film. In our case, would be shown as " Ellipsis Productions Presents". However it does not go straight to the title of the film. It goes straight onto " A film by *director*". So for our ident it would show up as " A film by Bleona Iliazi and Lizzie Grant" 

For our ident we wanted to add the credits onto the first scene of the film. This is because we thought it would look more exciting if something tense was to be shown on the first scene. The credits that will be shown (in order) will be main Male actors-(Michael and Bradley), main Female actors-(Aleksija), more actors,  Editor-(Lizzie Grant), Cinematography-(Andrew Faulkner), Screenplay and Music-(Bleona Iliazi), Producer-(Lizzie Grant) , Director-(Bleona Iliazi). This will all come up one by one once the first scene of the film is being played. 

The title of the film "The Game" will then show up at the end of this which will then lead to the next scene which will be set in the casino.