Development Meetings

First Group Meeting

This is the first time we have met together as a group. Our first task as a group was to pitch all of our ideas and then we would decide as a group which one we liked the most.

My original idea(RECAP)

The original idea which I pitched was about a group of terrorists who scatter across London and simultaneously plant bombs across bust areas throughout London.

Feedback

The feedback of this idea was mainly neutral. People liked the suspense I wanted to portray, liked the title sequence and enjoyed how it was a relation to current day issue. However, the class also thought that there was too much going on and that I needed to narrow down the ending and climax of the sequence. This feedback was very helpful and useful to take on board for the future.

Our Chosen Idea

Each person in our group pitched their 3 or 4 ideas in which they had come up with and we all gave positive and negative feedback on each idea. After all ideas pitched, we struggled between 3 ideas : Nikita’s Rock star, Simone’s Gangster or my woman in the office. After discussions, the idea of a woman in the office was decided to become our idea, with the Rock Star being our backup. 

Feedback of Chosen idea

We liked the tension created and how we can make it a very visual and powerful in that way. We also thought of it to be simplistic but effective. However a problem we immediately encountered was the fact that we would need a huge office for our location of the idea.

Second Group Meeting

The second time our group met we were lucky, as most of the other groups were unable to progress their group work as some members had other commitments, in this case English Coursework.

 However, our entire group was present which meant we were able to continue. Today, we decided to start writing up a storyboard for our Thriller, in which we could put our thoughts and ideas on how it should be filmed onto paper.

We did this for the duration of the lesson and we were happy with what we had done. However, we did change a few things as we progressed because, as a group, we decided that a few things mentioned would have had a positive influence on the outcome of the Thriller. 

Here is an example of a storyboard: 

 

Third Group Meeting

Today was the 3^rd time we met up as a group. Today, we started toad technical aspects such as duration of shot, camera angle, lighting, sound etc. to our storyboard which we have been working on as a group.

We also filled out a sheet which helped us to decide on details such as characters needed, location, ways around tough scenes to shoot and certain props we would need. I found this particularly helpful as I felt it cleared up our idea much more and it helped us gather a clearer idea of how we would actually shoot our Thriller. However, we faced a few problems. We were unable to get an idea of non-diegetic sound we would use, and exactly what diegetic sound should be used. Despite this, our group worked well as we each gave each other a specific job to do, which made us as efficient as possible, and if any of us stumbled across a problem, we would have discussed it as a group, then moved on. 

Fourth Group Meeting

Today, we were without a member of our group. However, we were still able to continue, and I have emailed the relevant information to the missing member.

 

We continued to complete our storyboards, and we are very close to finishing. We still have to decide on the ending of our practice shoot, and whether we should include certain locations such as the car park. 

We also went through with Mike, our teacher, whether the locations we wanted to use were okay and to see whether it would be possible.  He gave us the all clear, but to be concerned as the location we want may be being used. In the case of this occurring, we have decided on a number of different backup locations.

One thing we did well is that we included a lot of fresh, new ideas. We enjoyed the idea of introducing a briefcase and that the woman should be orientated around ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ documents. 

We are filming this tomorrow, and I am very much looking forward to it. 

Fourth Meeting

Today, we filmed our practice shoot. We used our storyboard as a guide in which we ordered our shots and which camera angles to use. I directed the shoot, with the help of Nick who put forward ideas which we did use, and he also worked the camera, using a variety of movements and tracking such as high angles and tracking shots. 

We had an issue as we were unable to time our tacking shot in which we had to move the camera at the correct speed to successfully get Simone into the frame. Additionally, we weren’t 100% sure how long we were spending in each of the chosen locations. 

However, we did like the outcome of our shots and we thought it all worked well. Furthermore, we made some minor adjustments which we thought improved our shooting, such as the inclusion of a villain, and the final phone call to leave the audience with an unanswered question.  

Wednesday 12th November

Today, I was put in my group in which we are creating the Thriller Opening Sequence. I am looking for to working with my group and I am hoping for good things to happen in the future.

Introduction to Genre

What is a Genre?

A genre is a category a film falls into as a result of its story, context and other conventions.

 For example: Horror, Thriller, Comedy.

As an example, in a horror film, there would be many connections used to identify it as a horror. Such as high and low angles, scary, dark location and sometimes a supernatural being or monster. 

Ideas for Thriller Opening Sequence

4 ideas for Thriller Opening Sequence

1)   ANARCHY

Film Plot: Anarchy follows a young, reckless police negotiator who has to react quickly to a rapidly deteriorating situation in the heart of a busy English city, where he must attempt to stop a group of suicide bombers from causing chaos and anarchy.

Opening Sequence Plot: We begin with the terrorist leader coordinating the bombers across the city. Then cut to the police negotiator rushing to his car with a colleague driving towards an unknown location with sirens on. Follow the policeman for the journey but its edited to seem very quick. Action shot of them running out of the car. Then focus on 1 terrorist, who is  unsure that he wants to do it. Close ups of eyes, hands on the trigger, then to finish, the terrorist quickly pulls the trigger upon arrival of the negotiator.

2)   *SIGNING OFF*

Film Plot: Signing off follows a middle-aged woman who is last to leave her office every night. This time round, she has an unexpected visitor and her life will turn upside down.

Opening Sequence Plot: Start with woman just finishing a long piece of work on a desktop computer. Pan shot of dark office to show she is only person there.  Woman turns off remaining lights etc to show that this is her normal routine. But have her react to one light, which is turned off already, but is never turned off before she leaves, to signify that she is not alone and she knows it. She then calls out, but no response, so carries on walking towards the elevator. Close up of her pressing the lift button, then she turns around one final time. Mid shot of her as lift doors opening and we see a dark, shadowy figure in the elevator waiting for her, then fade to black to leave suspense.

3)   Cracked

Film Plot: Cracked is about a man who is taking part in a harsh lie detector test because of his late wife’s death. The questioner doesn’t believe he is telling the truth. Is he playing the machine? Or is he fighting for Justice for his wife?

Opening Sequence Plot: First shot immediately put into interviewing room, seeing a mid shot of the staring face of the interviewer. Silence for a few seconds, then interviewer asks why the man being interviewed is lying. Cut to shot of man with many patches on his head, showing it’s a lie detector test. Panicking, man says he isn’t lying, then show close up of sweat dripping down his face.  Then shoot a load of random objects like a loud clock, the steam coming out of a coffee mug, and a fly buzzing round a room. No dialogue needed as building tension. Then the interviewers ask why the man killed his wife. No response, then interviewee walks out. As he is leaving, man says that he didn’t kill her, but a small beep goes off, signifying that it might be a lie.

4)   HAZARDOUS

Film Plot: Hazardous follows a scientist who works for the Centre of Disease Control (CDC). When working on a cure for a deadly disease, he seems to have found the answer to his problems. But this may seem fatal in the upcoming days.

Opening Sequence Plot: Do a tracking shot, following a normally dressed man into a laboratory. No dialogue, but classical music playing in background on a stereo, showing it’s a normal day. Man puts on safety HAZMAT suit, and then a close up of the helmet being put on. Close up of hand typing in code for another locked room.  We follow the man in, and he does some chemistry things with some test tubes.  He then drops the test tube onto the floor and it shatters, and the man panics and runs to the door. Alarms going off, music stops, and we see a close up of the terrified man, who then shuts his eyes and falls to the ground. Close up of alarm for a few seconds to help emphasise danger and damage this could cause.