What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

We used a tripod to make sure the camera remains still while shooting the footage.

We used Logic Pro as it is far superior to the likes of Garageband.

We shot in HD, although we did not anticipate the quality of the lens, which was grainy in darkness.

We used an Apple Mac for its wide variety of programs.

We used Final Cut to edit the footage.

We also used Vimeo to upload the opening as it much higher quality than other video upload sites.

Looking back at your pre-lim task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

 





The screenshots, taken from our preliminary task as well as our thriller opening, show that we have gained a greater knowledge of the technical aspect of film making. Making the progression from the prelim task to the finished thriller opening we have managed to incorporate a greater number camera shots and angles, while still using the 180 degree rule, match on action and shot, reverse shot.

On top of incorporating more camera shots and angles, we also managed to use editing to greater effect, using cuts at different speeds and using fades to move between the cuts. Special effects were also incorporated in our thriller opening, where there was not room to use them to creative effect in the preliminary task. We feel that the use of special effects helped the enhance the creation of dramatic tension within the thriller opening. The screenshots convey out progression from a technical point of view within the creation of film, throughout the entire production process.

Setting/Location

This is the location we chose for the main action to take place. This is a loft conversion in a semi-detached house in south east london.

IT has enough room to film, and is a typical teenage boys room.

Planning - Final Idea

We decided on using our third idea.

It is based around 2 friends and their love for a very famous online game. They are stalked by a serial killer who hunts for victims through online games. "Tom" is his next victim and gets taken, With "Dan" confused and looking for answers, it leads him to an underworld of obsessed virtual gamers who play their online games in reality.

Our inspiration for this is from a horror "Stay Alive" and a non-thriller "Snatch" for the use of an underworld plot. I also took inspiration from the game-turned-film Final Fantasy which is a sci-fi, i liked the way the characters lived in a different world, and wanted to reflect that into a "gamers world." "The Beach" also gave me inspiration in the way that the characters lived far away from the "normal world" and i wanted to use this in my own plot. As the film is a thriller i wanted to keep the suspense, but i also wanted to show the killer at the start, as he is not the main antogonist.

Planning - Opening thriller script

Stage directions:

Dan is sitting on a bed in a barely-lit room playing a fist person shooter on an xbox.

(Talking on headset)

Dan: Awh Ike your shit man, oh hey you alright Tom?

Tom: Alright Dan, yeah im good how are you?

Dan: I'm doing good what you up to?

Tom: Just chillin' got a free house, no-ones in.

Dan: Awh sweet, can i come over later then?

Tom: (unenthusiastically) yeah sure if you want

Dan: Alright cool man, see you soon

(the chair Tom was previously sitting on is empty and  mysteriously moving

(Talking over headset)

Dan: Tom? Tom?! TOM?!?!

(Dan walks down the stairs in a house, his phone rings, he gets to the bottom of the stairs and answers it)

Dan: Hello?

(Heavy breathing is heard down the phone)

Dan: oh it must be the wrong number.

(Dan leaves the house, the camera switches to Toms room showing Tom being dragged out of his room, the camera fades and there's a mysterious man looking at the camera as he closes the door.)

                              End Scene

Thriller Film Title

This is a screenshot of the survey we used to see what various people liked best in a title for a thriller.

The most votes was "Killcan" closely followed by "Virtual Obsession"

We chose these initial names as we wanted the audience to know this film involved online gaming.

Thriller Conventions

.A crime at the core of the narrative (often murder, but not necessarily).
.A complex narrative structure, with false paths, clues and resolutions.
.A narrative pattern of establishing enigmas which the viewer expects to be resolved.
.A protagonist who is systematically dis-empowered and drawn into a complex web of intrigue by the antagonist.
.Extraordinary events happening in ordinary situations.
.Themes of identity.
.Themes of mirroring.
.Themes of voyeurism.
.Protagonist with a ‘flaw’ which is exploited by the antagonist.
.Titles often reflect an aspect of the pro/antagonist’s psychological state.
.There is often a scene near the end of the film in which the protagonist is in peril.
.Mise en scene which echoes/ mirrors the protagonist’s plight.