How are two elements of thriller films used in your film?

A series of/ one important enigma(s) are/is set up in the opening sequence of the film, is further complicated during the first part of the film and only resolved at the very end.

At the beginning of our film, we see Adam’s character place flowers on a grave without knowing who he is, or who the grave belongs to.

The enigma is further complicated when we see Adam’s character seemingly appear in the upstairs room of someone’s house.

Micro elements combine in a build up of suspense.

Sound is a large element of our thriller. We are first drawn attention to the fact that something is not quite right when a loud bang is heard for upstairs. Ambient noise is heard throughout, which helps to build up the tension.

Camera angles also help to build suspense. Close ups are used to distort some scenes, and a canted angle is used at one point, which helps to show that something bad is about to happen.

Editing helps build suspense because there are a lot of clips, which helps to prolong the suspense.

My Contributions

What my contribution has been so far.

Acting in the sequence.
Created a storyboard cut of the house sequence.
Non-diagetic ambient noise to go with soundtrack.
A production logo.
A poster.
Co-Directing with Addam and Rebecca.

Apparition Posters

Craig Macbeth-Hornett -

What social groups are you using in your thriller?

In our thriller, we are using young, middle-class, white teenagers. And ghosts.


There are two main characters within our thriller. 


One of them (the one that is not a ghost) is a middle class 16-17 year old teenager who lives a fairly average life. He lives in a fairly large house. He is a student at school and dresses fairly typically for his age/class/occupation.

The other character is a teenager, however, he wears a jacket and shirt (with jeans). This is our ghost character. He is unconventional of typical 'ghosts' within film, whether it be horror or thriller. This is what our aim was. We did not want to make the ghost typical of a horror genre ghost. 


The element of mystery towards this character is not brought out through obvious depiction of the character being a ghost. Instead, he is shown to suddenly appear at certain points, in a seemingly non-threatening way.

Apparition Logos

 We decided to use the logo which is all on one line as we felt it was more effective.

The other logo, we felt was too distracting as the focus of the logo was not on the entire word itself but rather the 'app' part.



[Rebecca made the logo graphics]

Imdb Analysis

The information given on the page contains details on both how the film was made and what is in the film.

The technical information that is on the page contains details on who made it (directors, camera crew, sound crew, editors) and who starred in the film (in the case of the film on this page the actors that starred in it are;  Leonardo Di Caprio and Ellen Page).

With the cast and crew, it also contains information about the companies that helped to produce and distribute the film. (In the case of the distributers, it contains information on who distributed the film in each country it was shown in)

It also contains information about the budget of the film and  how much profit was made of it in each country (with a gross profit as well and how many cinemas, in which countries it was shown at) what kind of equipment (cameras, sound recording equipment) were used in the production.

It contains information about the running time, year it was made and the aspect ratio with the certificate (age rating) alongside.

Near the bottom of the page, there is also trivia information about the film and information about continuity errors and goofs. It also contains reviews from members of the public (however, these are not necessarily accurate or complete)

Film magazines - What would Apparition appear in?

Empire Magazine

Empire Magazine is a wide spectrum article which include many review on a wide range of different film titles.   From the front cover we can see the different genres of films that this magazine can cover as it has a sci-fi comedy with Men in Black and an action film being GI Joe 2.   For Apparition we would believe that this film would easily feature in this magazine as Empire do cover a wide range of different films as the examples above from comedies to action films.

 Total Film

Total Film also looks like it covers a vast range of film genres. For example, the headline in the top left corner reads "Joss Whedon does horror", and the main feature of the cover is about the Hunger Games - a dystopia story.

The target audience of the magazine seems to be young people who are interesting in films as a whole, instead of a specific genre.

Our film Apparition could feature in this magaine because of the wide range of films they seem to cover.

Storyboard Cut

Pros & Cons of Equipment/New Skills Learnt

Equipment used

Equipment

• Canon 600d with 18-55mm lens
• Tripod
• Digital stills camera.

Software

• MPEG Streamclip (for converting video)
• Audacity (for creating ambient noise)
• GarageBand (for music)
• Final Cut Express (for video editing)
• Sony Vegas Movie stuido HD Platinum 10 (For the storyboard cut)
• Serif DrawPlus 8
• Adobe Flash CS5

Pros and Cons of using equipment/software

• Sony Vegas Movie studio HD Platinum 10 can use multiple file formats, whereas Final Cut only takes .mp4 and .MPEGs.
• The camera allows us to use depth of field, which is useful, as well as having an optical zoom as well as a digital zoom.
• The tripod allows for steady footage (without a tripod, the footage is shaky).
• The digital still camera is lower quality that the camera used to film with.
• Garageband is really only useful for creating simple ambient music (as the loops provided are repetitive and not reflective of the quality of the film.
• It takes much longer to make an ambient sound on audacity to match up with the music on Garageband than to add another ambient loop on Garageband.
• Audacity offers more control over the sound (editing and effects wise).
• Sony Vegas Movie Studio is more simplified in some areas than Final Cut Express is.

What new skills have you learnt?

• We learnt to plan things better and more efficiently, because we had to organize other people as well so there was little room for errors.
  
• Learnt the importance of doing practice cuts of the footage to see which is better when cut together, with cut down scene lengths, etc.
• Learnt to take more than one shot of the same scene to ensure that there are no problems when editing.
• To take shots of the location (using the digital stills camera) to help the editor match up the shots correctly as to ensure continuity of the film.
• Learnt how to match up audio created on Audacity with audio created on Garageband.

Things I have done so far:

• Created logo suggestions
• Storyboard
• First shot list
• Directed first shoot
• Filmed first shoot
• Created title graphic
• Define the movie plot futher

Two thriller conventions used in 'Aparition' through technical elements

One thriller element that was used during the opening sequence was creation of enigmas. This was created by The main character walking past the camera and in the backround there is a figure which can not be fully made out, but seems to resemble a person. This creates an enigma around the figures identity and relevance to the film.

Another thriller element that is used is ordinary settings in which extraordinary events occur. This is shown first by the noise on the top floor of the house when Craig's character transists from the kitchen to the living area. Also when we see the shadow above combined with the Point Of View shot of the window shows us that the main character is unable to see anything that is out of the ordinary and yet the audience can.

What my contribution has been so far

Apparition test shoot
Came up with the general plot of apparition
Non diagetic soundtrack
housing location
Production logo

Shooting Schedule - Wednesday 22nd of February

12:20 - Meet in the quad to find Craig to get to his lift
13:00 - Arrive at Will's house, and record
14:10 - Finish recording

Concerns: Addam, Rebecca, Will, Craig

Shooting Schedule - Wednesday 29th of February

Wednesday 29th

12:20 - Meet at reception for Addam's lift
12:45 - Arrive at Newmarket Road cemetery and start shooting
14:10 - Finish recording and get back to college

(Concerns: Addam, Rebecca, Will)

Shot list

Graveyard scene
1) Establishing shot of the graveyard.
2) Long shot of the person walking across the graveyard to the grave.
3) An over the shoulder shot of the person putting the flowers on the grave
4) low down shot of flowers being placed on the grave from the side - close up, so we just see part of the grave and then the flowers.


House scene
1) Mid shot of the boy opening the back gate (don’t close the gate)
2) mid shot of the boy walking to the door
3) When pulling the handle down on the door the camera is using a close shot of the boy and the camera is behind him.
4) When the boy opens the door the camera is in front of him at a mid shot.
5) Fixed mid shot of boy walking from door to kitchen
6) Close up of him putting the keys down
7) Doing cooking Tasks (range of close and mid shots)
8) When he hears the noise it’s a canted angle
9) Long shot of hallway from kitchen

Test Footage

Apparition - Conventions and Camera shot examples

Creating enigmas - extreme close ups of gravestone and flowers, and hands of person placing flowers, as not to show person or what they’re doing clearly.
Crime – the narrative will revolve around a death of a old woman which the main character has her apparition intruding his life.
Peril – Later in the film we will have the main character have to face some fears as he becomes weaker from losing his mind.  

Blocking – used on the suited character when walking up to the grave to place flowers.   We would try to block his face to create the mystery of identity which also creates another enigma within the sequence.
Close Ups – Using this technique we would use this on placing the flowers down and to show the confusion of the main character.
Establishing shot – this would be used to set the start of the sequence by introducing the graveyard scene.   We would also follow a character throughout this establishing shot.

Story Board - Apparition

Coresponding Shot list

Were information is in italics (such as "from the front") it is refering to the position of the camera in relation to the main focus of the scene.

SCENE 1: The Graveyard

1. Long shot of grave stone - from the front

2. Extreme close up shots of grave stone, showing different parts - from the front

3. Close up shot of grave stone. Hand comes down and places flowers on the grave. Shot is low two the ground - from the side

4. Long shot of graveyard. Camera between to rows of graves. Man in the far distances. - shot is low to the ground

SCENE 2: The House

1. Close up shot of hand opening the garden gate - from the front OR from the side

2. Long shot. Camera positioned slightly further back and slightly higher up than previous shot. The figure who opened the gate can be seen in the distance. Focus on gate (still open). - from the front

3. Close up of hand opening the door. - from the front

4. Matching shot. Mid shot of boy opening the door and walking in. Camera postioned on the indside looking out. - from the front

5. Boy enters kitchen, walks forward and places keys on table. Camera postioned on table/slightly to the side. Focus on table/were the keys will be. - from the front

6. High angle, over the shoulder shot of boy. Boy turns round and looks up when noise is heard. Canted angle - from the back

7. Shot from bottom on stairs, looking up. Boy walks upstair, only his legs/ feet visible on camera - from the back

8. Over the shoulder shot. Boy walks in room. - from the back

9. POV shot of boy, looking around the room. Using tripod NOT handheld.

10. Same as shot 8. Boy turns around and moves to walk away.

Different Thriller Titles

The Dark Knight – Within this film you have the whole story revolving around different crimes created by the antagonist, which is The Joker.   In the opening sequence you are put in the middle of a robbery where all characters expect the staff in the bank are in masks that shows that there is an element of identity.   The Dark Knight does have some aspects of a thriller but also incorporates action scenes making it a hybrid title.
Inception – Beginning is filled with enigmas, which aren’t answered until the end of the film. The narrative centres around a crime, which is complex and riddled with enigmas.    This film is a thriller genre.
LA Confidential – Narrative centres around a crime. Main characters are constantly being misled. Strong theme of mistaken identity. Protagonist has a fatal flaw – his anger. Protagonist is in peril several times during the film.
Vertigo – Within the opening sequence we can establish the protagonist and the protagonist’s weakness. Like conventional thriller films the protagonist evolves over the course of the film and eventually overcomes his weakness. The main antagonist of the film exploits his weakness, also conventional of other thrillers. The opening sequence constructs for the audience a series of enigmas that are prominent in the latter half of the film.