Planning Sound - Miss Miller

The element of sound is crucial within thriller films in order to be able to create the maximum amount of suspense and tension by engaging the audience and making them feel certain emotions. Sound is also a major factor as it helps to tell a story by defining an image more clearly and also evokes a response from the audience. A film scene without sound added in would be boring and confusing to watch as the audience would be unsure of what may be happening and what genre of film it may be. Non diegetic sound such as sinister music would be instantly recognised as belonging to the thriller genre and is key in successful thriller films. Planning is required to create an excellent sequence so as to know exactly which sound techniques to include to create elements of shock, surprise, suspense and tension and appeal to my target audience. It will also help to reduce the amount of time spent filming the individual scenes as I will have an exact idea of what sounds to use and therefore will have more time in the editing stage which I will use to my advantage due to needing to edit in sounds over the images I will film. This links in with images seen on screen as it is an auditory representation of the visual images which are being shown to the audience.

The first technique that my group and I decided to use was off screen sound which would be used when the sound of the female victim screaming can be heard as she is being attacked although not being able to see the exact image of a murder taking place. This helps to create tension because the audience can't see exactly what is happening but we can assume from the sound she is making that she is being murdered. This is conventional to the thriller genre as the audience are left unaware of the situation and therefore helps to prolong the tension until the moment of the aftermath when we see the reveal of what has just taken place. Furthermore, it can be used to capture surprise within the audience as a sound of a scream is normally a sound that causes deep concern within people as they immediately question what could be happening to the victim as there are unclear images on screen and it is left unknown whether or not she lives or dies. It also causes the audience to want to watch on to see what will happen next and to find out what has happened to the female character.  I have chosen to use this because I believe that it will help to create a distinctive relationship as the audience feel clearly sympathetic towards the victim as they are witnessing her gruesome murder occurring and would therefore be extremely concerned for her welfare at this point. 

Leading on from this, we also agreed on using silence within the scene after the murder has occurred and the image of the hit man running away from the scene is shown on screen. Silence is frequently used within thriller films as it helps to build tension within the audience, a factor which is conventional to the genre therefore I thought that it would be a good idea to incorporate this technique into my thriller sequence. The screams in the previous shot have now stopped and is replaced by the eerie sound of nothing but silence, this connotes the end of a life supported by the fact that her murderer has now fled. This creates tension as it is harder for the audience to predict what will happen next and also creates an element of surprise as there is no warning of the attack, it occurs completely out of the blue and seems as though there is no valid reason as to why this has happened. I hope to achieve with this a sense of overwhelming the audience as they are forced to reflect on what has just happened, which should make them feel very uneasy and worried therefore creating a tense atmosphere for the rest of the scene. As well as the atmosphere being conventional, this will also allow the audience to create an emotional connection with the victim as they begin to have serious fears for her well being and why she has stopped screaming. This is conventional to the thriller genre as silence is commonly used for dramatic effect within already released thriller films such as Scream to connote that either something bad is about to happen or that something has already happened, which in the case of my opening sequence would be this interpretation. 

Parallel sound will also be used within my own thriller sequence which can be heard when the knife is entering the victim's body several times. Parallel sound is sound which complements the image being shown on screen. To achieve this effect, I will edit on the sound effect of a stabbing noise  over the image of the shadows of the murderer stabbing his victim as we will not be showing the exact image. This creates tension as the audience cannot see the image of the woman being stabbed and are therefore left unaware of what is exactly happening encouraging them to watch on further to see what has happened. This technique also creates elements of shock and surprise as it is unexpected and the audience didn't see it coming. This is conventional as tension and shock is built throughout in order to grab the audiences attention and keep them engaged in what they are watching. This is conventional to the thriller genre as everything the audience hears will make them feel nervous and that something bad is happening at this exact moment in time which is typical in thrillers. It will help viewers to connect to the victim who seems to be in a deep amount of trouble therefore establishing an emotional relationship between the victim and the audience due to the victim being portrayed as vulnerable. 

Finally, I will also be aiming to use Non-diegetic sound where sinister music will be added over the top of an image where the exchange of money between the antagonist and hit man is shown. Non-diegetic sound is sound which is added on after, such as in the editing stage. We are aiming to use a sound of eerie footsteps as well as adding in the mysterious sound of creepy piano music. By adding in the sounds in this way, it would help to manipulate the audience's senses as they can only imagine what is going to happen based solely on the sounds as there is not a clear image being shown.  This helps to support the enigma which has been created through the use of an isolated setting and a suspicious exchange of documents and money which suggests to the audience that something is not quite right. By adding in the sounds in a crescendo format, this will add a bigger layer of suspense and help to imply to the audience that something bad is going to happen and therefore heightens their emotions as they wait to see what this will turn out to be. This will create a tense atmosphere for the murder scene meaning that the audience will experience the full effect of a thriller film.  This is conventional to the genre as it prolongs the tension created in order to keep the audience interested and watching until the end when all is revealed. This makes it conventional as non-diegetic sound is edited in after the filming has been carried out therefore meaning that the volume of the sounds will be amplified and are therefore more effective in creating ideal elements of tension and surprise within the audience which will encourage them to watch the whole sequence in order to piece together the narrative and hopefully see the situation resolved.

Having planned the different sound techniques that we would like to include within our thriller sequence, I have found this planning task extremely helpful prior to the creation stage. My group and I now have a solid idea of which techniques will evoke which response and create certain emotions for the audience as well as knowing that sound and cinematography will match therefore preserving editing time, something that will be crucial once filming is complete. This should mean that the emotions and atmosphere created will make our thriller conventional and build a maximum amount of tension in order to keep the audience engaged in what they are watching. Once all the clips have been edited, we aim to ensure that sound is the sole factor responsible for creating suspense and evoke a suitable response from the audience.

Planning Cinematography - Miss Miller

Cinematography is essential within films as it creates a visual representation of the story being portrayed. It enables the audience to see with their own eyes the plot unfolding and be able to create their own ideas about a particular film. This also allows for a relationship to take place between the characters and the audience and aid them in gaining an understanding of the film. Cinematography also helps to create an overall visual look of a piece of film and this, along with other elements such as sound and lighting demonstrates a film come alive to its audience. Therefore, planning my own thriller sequence is significant in being able to create a sequence that is of a high standard. This is because when filming, if a plan hasn't been put together, you will end up having no idea of how to shoot particular scenes and the filming would take a long time and therefore wasting editing time meaning that a less successful thriller may be created due to lack of editing. 

While planning further for our opening sequence, we were asked to carefully analyse the different camera techniques we would be using and explain why they would be used and how they are conventional to the thriller genre. To do this, my group and I completed a spider diagram in which we listed 5 different camera shots/angles which we had thought about using and explained where in the sequence they would be used, why it is conventional, how it helps to create a relationship between the audience & characters and what it helps to show. We also thought in depth about the effect we wanted to have upon our target audience and ensure that we selected techniques which would be most successful in creating this.

The first technique we were planning on using was an aerial shot which would be used at the beginning of the sequence where the image of the antagonist and hit man standing in the forest would be shown. This particular shot helps to establish the location and introduce the main characters to our target audience as well as creating an enigma and allows the audience to make individual perceptions of what these characters may be doing in the woods.  Furthermore, this helps the audience to create a relationship with these characters as they are the first to be introduced and are therefore significant to the narrative which viewers are able to pick up on. Emotions such as fear and curiosity can also be evoked at this point within the sequence as it is left unclear what the characters are doing in an isolated part of the forest as well as what they could be up to. This also helps to show the story unfolding and is conventional because it sets the scene and makes the audience wonder what will happen next therefore creating a sense of tension as they watch on to see what they are up to.  In addition to this, the aerial shot relates to to the thriller genre as the audience are able to see everything that is happening within the scene as well as the characters meaning that the scene has been set as well as the enigma which the rest of the narrative will be driven upon for the remaining duration of the sequence. However, this will be a hard shot to produce due to not having specialist equipment in order to feature a shot from above.

A high angle was another camera technique which we were thinking about using within the sequence. This shot is when the camera is positioned above an object making it look smaller. We decided that this could be used within the murder scene to focus the camera on looking down upon the female victim laying dead on the floor. This shot helps to portray an element of innocence and that things are not as they should be as well as conveying that the female character is inferior and weak. This therefore connotes that her killer is now superior as he has had the power to kill her. A high angle shot would be ideal in showing clearly to the audience that this particular character is the victim. This shot helps to evoke sympathy from the audience as they are left wondering why a seemingly innocent girl has been killed in this way which helps to create a relationship between them and the female character due to feeling this emotion. It could possibly evoke anger also as the audience would feel somewhat furious that a young woman who had her entire future ahead of her has just been murdered in the 'safety' of her own home and could result in the audience questioning their own sense of security having witnessed the murder scene therefore creating a psychological element that plays on the audience's mind. Furthermore, this is conventional to the thriller genre as females are usually always the first to be killed as they are portrayed as being powerless and less able to fight back against their attacker. The audience will therefore feel emotionally connected to the character as they know that they should feel sorry for them.

We also thought about using a canted angle within the scene when the hit man wakes up from his unconscious state and appears to have no recollection of what has happened to him. A canted angle is the camera technique in which the camera is tilted to one side at an angle. This shot would help to create elements of confusion and instability to help demonstrate the psychological theme present within the thriller and suggests that his mental state is not as it should be. Effectively, this particular shot helps to establish the emotion of confusion within the viewer as well as the character within the scene as the angle would leave them disorientated and unaware of what is happening. This leaves the audience wondering what could have happened and how he has ended up where he is. This also could disorient and disturb the viewer therefore creating a relationship between the audience and characters as it is almost like the audience have been transported into the character's shoes and would feel the same emotions. We have also decided to place the gun beside him to signify that his duty is to kill and that he has no way out of it.

Furthermore, we also decided to include a POV (Point of View) shot within our thriller sequence. A POV shot is used to show the audience an exact representation of what a specific character is seeing within the scene. My group and I believed that this shot would be effective at the beginning of the sequence and to feature it from the perspective of the antagonist paying his hit man so as to keep the audience in the dark about who he may be therefore creating elements of tension and suspense straight away as the viewers are wondering who it will be and what he may be capable of doing. This also helps to allow the audience to see exactly what the character is seeing so that they are immediately placed in their shoes. This therefore makes them more vulnerable as they are unaware of any danger that may be lurking as well as having no idea who the antagonist may be causing the audience to start to question who it could possibly be.  I hope that by using this shot, the audience are left on the edges of their seats being encouraged to watch on further in order to find out who the antagonist turns out to be. POV shots are conventional to thriller films as they make the audience feel as though the images being shown on screen are happening to them as well as building a maximum amount of tension which therefore creates a bigger effect on the audience.

The final camera technique which we wished to use within our opening sequence is a close up shot. A close up is when a certain feature or object takes up most of the frame and only some background is visible. We decided that this particular shot would be used within the murder scene where the shot would be of the hit man after he realises what he has done. This shot helps to show the emotion as well as the fear on the hit man's face, something that is not evident within a merciless killer implying that he may not be the real antagonist after all which would help to build tension and suspense within the sequence as the audience are now unaware of who the antagonist is and what he may be up to. This is conventional to the thriller genre as the audience are able to see the true personality of the hit man and causes the emotions they may already be feeling to become heightened as they come to the realisation that the hit man is not a cold blooded killer therefore creating a relationship between the character and audience as they almost feel sorry for him due to being caught up in unfortunate events and now having to live with the guilt that he killed an innocent person.


I think that by using a variety of camera techniques within the thriller sequence, we have made it more interesting and therefore more likely to keep our target audience engaged within the events taking place encouraging them to watch on further. The shots we have carefully chosen such as the high angle shot helps to indicate who the characters are and what exact role they play within the thriller clip. For example, the victim is always portrayed using a high angle shot as they are represented as being weak and inferior therefore the audience know to feel sympathetic towards her. Using the same shot frequently to present a certain a character will mean that the audience know to react in the same way emotionally towards the victim therefore creating a strong relationship. The use of specific cinematography techniques is conventional to the thriller genre as the majority of shots help to build relative amounts of tension and suspense, disorient or confuse the audience as well as provoking a response from them.

Planning the camera techniques that I will feature within my own thriller sequence has helped me considerably as it has given me a clear idea of what shots are responsible for certain effects to have upon the audience and why I wanted to use these. It made me think of what response I wanted to evoke from my viewers instead of choosing different styles of cinematography in order to have a clear variety. It will help me when filming as I now know what emotion I need to portray for each shot to demonstrate to the audience and so the actors can ensure that they convey these particular emotions which will help to provoke the response.

Planning Mise-en-Scene - Miss Georgiou

Mise-en-Scene is essential to use within a thriller film as it allows the film to be able to connect with the audience indirectly through elements they may not necessarily pay attention to within the background but are able to establish the influence it will have on the audience in order to understand the narrative as well as the characters. For example, costume can be used to portray a certain character's role within the film, if a character is wearing a costume of a light colour such as white, it can be implied that this character is one of the good characters as connotations attached to the colour white is that of purity and innocence. Furthermore, an item of iconography can help to engage the audience and make them wonder what this could mean as well as beginning to form in their heads an idea of what role this would play within the film such as a murder weapon. Iconography can also be used to create an enigma and encourage the audience to want to watch on further to see what may happen next. A dark and mysterious location such as an abandoned warehouse serves its function as creating suspense within the audience and if a significant event, for example a murder, was to take place in this setting it would also evoke senses of shock and surprise. These small elements, in addition to micro-elements such as cinematography, sound and editing, all combine to provide the audience with crucial parts of information regarding to the narrative. 

In our sequence, we decided to use the different elements of Mise-en-Scene as shown in the image above and began to think about how these elements could be used to create ideal senses of shock, tension, surprise and suspense. One element we referred to in detail was Setting and Iconography. For one our settings, we decided to use a simple house location to give our female victim character a sense of false security as this character will be killed in her own home as part of our opening sequence. This will also evoke the same feeling from our audience as when shots of the hit man creeping up on the female victim, it will show that the female victim is in danger which she is oblivious to and there is no way she will be able to escape it. This setting will be very relatable for our target audience as houses are something everyone lives in and are able to recognise it as somewhere that they feel safe and would therefore assume that the victim will be safe. Using the house as the main location will be able to explain part of the narrative to the audience and show that the victim will be left completely vulnerable and powerless as the hit man will come up behind her while she is washing up and not be able to struggle as she will be killed without any warning whatsoever. This will therefore make our opening sequence conventional to the thriller genre as the audience expect to see a female victim who is weak and unable to protect herself from the hit man who will catch her off guard and end her life. This helps to create suspense as the victim is left completely in the dark when the audience and other characters know exactly what is going to happen to her. This will also create elements of surprise and tension as the audience wouldn't expect someone to be violently murdered in a place that they should feel safe and secure in, therefore a murderer occurring in a house location would create shock as the audience's perception will be destroyed leaving them reeling from current events and making them question if houses are really as safe as everyone first thought. Furthermore, this would help in portraying the psychological theme as the narrative will play on the audience's minds as they wonder if they are really safe in their own homes, a response that would be ideal in creating a successful thriller. The  audience will automatically begin to feel empathy toward the victim as it is a very violent murder and no one deserves to be killed in this way, no matter what she may have done.

We have decided to use several items of iconography within our thriller with the main being a knife which will be used as the murder weapon. The knife will be shown at different points within the sequence; for example, near the beginning when he finds the knife in the envelope left for him by the antagonist and again at the murder location when he slices his victim's throat killing her instantly. We have decided to use our knife instead of a gun or rope as my partner and I believe that a knife is the most conventional murder weapon, used frequently in other thriller films such as Scream and Halloween, and it helps to connote the element of danger as it is a weapon that can be used to inflict serious injury or even death if someone was to get hold of one. The use of a knife is relatable for the audience as they will recognise it immediately as something that is extremely dangerous if not used correctly and they would have probably watched other thriller films and identified that a knife is frequently used as a murder weapon. The most popular example of these being 'Ghostface' from the highly successful Scream franchise which shows that the killer is keeping his identity remained hidden for as long as possible due to the use of the knife as a silent weapon that can be used to kill without anyone realising until it is too late, suggesting that the killer plans on killing more people than just the victim. This will make our film conventional as the audience will expect to see a knife being used to kill and the antagonist who has hired the hit man to kill his wife is kept hidden from the audience so as to create suspense and suggest that he could hire again to kill another individual. The audience will feel sympathy towards the victim within the narrative as the hit man will be able to kill her quite easily without anyone noticing while the fatality connotations attached to the knife can kill instantly without the victim getting a fighting chance for survival.

When planning for filming our opening sequence, my partner and I also considered how positioning of characters could be used to determine certain roles and relationships within the narrative. We decided to have the hit man positioned carefully at certain points within the film to make him seem deceptive and threatening towards the audience such as having him grab the female victim during the murder scene. We have selected this position as it would show that, although he is not the antagonist, he is the only bad character within the sequence due to him agreeing to kill this woman, the fact he grabs her and begins to drag her away out of shot helps to suggest that he is the dominant character and the victim hasn't got a chance. This relates to the narrative as it reinforces the idea that the hit man has been paid to kill this woman he has crept up on and grabbed and so has to ensure that he doesn't give her a fighting chance to make it inevitable that the victim is going to die, creating surprise within the audience as they begin to wonder what the victim may have done to have a hit man paid to kill her. This will make our thriller conventional as they expect the killer to be mysterious so that his victim will not react before he had the chance to kill her as well as being dominant over her in order to be able to kill her relatively easily without too much of a struggle, the audience are also left wondering what the victim could have possibly done to be murdered out of cold blood by someone who she is not familiar with.  The surprise and tension the audience feel is conventional as they expect to be left waiting to find out more about the background behind the murder so they can learn what to expect from the antagonist and find out what may happen next. This enables the audience to feel sympathy for the victim as they know that the killer is preparing to kill while she has her back turned and is completely oblivious to what is about to happen to her so that when he finally attacks, she will be caught off guard and he will have the upper hand which will mean that she has no chance in fighting back.

My partner and I have decided to feature costumes to represent our characters and allowing our target audience to understand a little more about their background in order to form a definite relationship. We would like our hit man to be shown wearing a white t-shirt with a pair of trousers and ordinary shoes in order to show some form of innocence and help represent to the audience that the hit man is not actually the true antagonist and that he has been caught up in a threatening situation. This shirt will have some stains on to show some sign of struggle in order to portray that this character had been kidnapped and dumped in the location where the sequence will open. We have selected this particular costume so as to show the audience that this is not the real killer and, as they will see further on in the sequence, he has been manipulated to kill someone.
We have also decided to have our female victim wearing an ordinary, everyday outfit so as to portray an element of innocence to show that this specific character is weak and vulnerable. By having the victim in this outfit, it shows that she is already in danger and the audience are made fully aware that she is going to die because she has been portrayed as weak and defenseless.


We have chosen to portray the antagonist wearing all black with his t-shirt being covered with a long black jacket and wearing a ski mask to hide his face with gloves. The mask will be worn throughout the sequence until the final shot where we will see the antagonist take off his mask after seeing his wife dead and looking into the camera in a sinister way. We have decided to use this as it will help to show the audience that the antagonist is the ominous character and that he has extremely dark intentions within the sequence and that he will either be the person to carry out the murder or hire someone to do the dirty work for him however he will be the brains behind the operation which is reinforced through the jacket. The further use of a mask also suggests to the audience that the antagonist wishes to be anonymous in order to carry out his evil plans with the hope that he will be able to carry these out before the police are even made aware. This tells the audience that this character will be the person responsible for the hit man killing the victim as he is shown to be dressed in a mysterious manner causing the audience to wonder why he is dressed in this way and why he is hiring someone to kill his wife and what he may be capable of doing if he is caught up with. This will make the thriller conventional as the audience expect to see an antagonist type character who will cause the narrative to become clear and serve a purpose causing them to piecing the story line together by working out why the antagonist paid someone to kill his wife. This will help to surprise the viewers as the antagonist will be shown after the murder has taken place talking to the body of his dead wife which will immediately cause the audience to question his state of mentality, tying in with our psychological theme.

Another element of Mise-en-Scene that we have considered closely are facial expressions and body language. Through facial expressions, it has been decided that our antagonist character will be shown as being emotionless and showing no mercy toward his victim. The killer will be shown constantly as having a blank expression on his face when he removes his mask before proceeding to perform a sinister smile right into the lens of the camera. We have chosen this as we felt that it will show the audience clearly that this character is mentally unstable and is unable to show compassion having hired a hit man to kill his wife for him. This relates to our narrative as it demonstrates that the antagonist is insistent on this plan and will do whatever it takes. This will make our sequence conventional as the audience expect the antagonist character to be adamant on his plan as no villain in any film ever goes back on his idea to kill. This will create surprise within viewers as they do not expect the antagonist to be so emotionless and sinister, especially towards someone who he was supposed to love unconditionally which could also evoke a sense of intrigue as the audience begin to wonder why he never seems to express emotion, that it could possibly relate to the character's background; for example, a bad past suggesting that there is more to the character than what he is letting on.

We have also decided to use body language to show that the female victim is extremely vulnerable towards the hit man. The victim will be shown to be extremely scared in the moment that she is grabbed and dragged out of shot. Signs of a struggle will be shown through the victim attempting to unwrap the arms from around her waist but failing to do this. We have selected this as it will show the audience that the victim is more vulnerable to the hit man as no matter her efforts, the hit man is more stronger than her and is more able to kill her than she has of getting away. This relates to the narrative as it shows that the victim is just a normal person going about her everyday activity of cleaning the dishes and putting them away and so it will be of a more surprise to her when she is attacked and that when the plot twist is revealed that her attacker is not the reason behind her murder, it will have a higher impact because it was not hinted at. This will make our thriller conventional as the audience expect to see a victim that is not prepared to be able to physically defeat the hit man due to not being involved in any form of a fight because of the sheltered and relaxed lives some women lead which shines through their calm persona usually associated with females. This will evoke a sense of suspense from viewers when the victim and hit man are involved in a struggle as it is left unclear whether or not the victim will escape her attacker's clutches due to her being previously portrayed as physically weaker and less dominant, which usually is very unlikely. This causes the audience to have sympathy towards the victim as they know she is completely unprepared to face the hit man who he had tracked down so when he finally attacks, the audience are left to wonder if she could actually escape from it although it was a planned attack.

When planning the Mise-en-Scene elements of our thriller opening sequence, my partner and I thought carefully about lighting & colour. We have decided to use low key lighting to show that the victim is trapped and is unable to escape the clutches of the hit man and ultimately, the antagonist. This type of lighting will be used throughout the sequence but more in the murder scene where it will be used to cast shadows upon the antagonist's face as well as the room to suggest the presence of a bad character. This can help suggest that something bad is about to take place in the house location which can serve as creating tension within the audience as they wait to find out what will happen. This relates to our narrative as it foreshadows the murder scene and shows that she is trapped due to the attack being carefully planned and the only way of her to escape would be for the victim to kill the hit man which is highly unlikely due to the hit man catching her off guard and killing her before she had any time to react. This is conventional to the genre as the audience expect to see the victim put in an impossible situation for her to get out of which is why female characters are usually killed in thrillers as they are placed in a dangerous situation where they are completely vulnerable and defenseless. This is also used to show the hit man's power over his victim as he is always one step ahead of her and how the victim will have to work extremely hard to escape the hit man and finally be free of his presence. This creates tension within the audience as they would want to know if the victim could actually get away and how she will be able to overpower him. This enables the audience to view the antagonist and hit man as organised and dominant due to being able to overpower the victim and keep her in the impossible situation before killing her.

Finally, we have decided to use colour to portray certain emotions and feelings at specific points within the sequence. The audience will see a shot of the hit man waking up with masking tape covering his mouth and discovering he is tied up of which we will add a blue effect. We have selected this as we believe that it brings a cold and sinister feeling to the scene as well as acting as an example of foreshadowing that something bad will happen later on in the sequence. It also leads the audience to wonder who could have put the hit man in this situation as well as questioning the mind set of this character, that he has dark intentions for the hit man, shown through the use of POV. This relates to the narrative as it shows the audience who the hit man is and show the audience that he may play a big role within the narrative as well as the antagonist, who is yet to be seen. This will make our thriller conventional as the audience to expect to see one of the main characters at the beginning of the sequence so they are able to form their own individual perceptions of what they believe could have happened to the hit man. The Point of View shot is also conventional as it keeps the identity of the character hidden although he is not the antagonist, it enables the audience to be placed into his shoes and see exactly what he is seeing within the scene creating a sense of vulnerability as, during this time, something could appear and not even the audience would be aware of it therefore creating an element of tension. The blue filter adds some sense of shock as the audience are shown a sinister scene and that the antagonist plans on using this hit man for something which viewers are not yet made aware of encouraging them to watch on further. The audience feel empathy towards the hit man at this point as they do not yet know he has been hired to kill and they feel this emotion as they are shown the image of the hit man laid on the floor tied up and bleeding.


By planning the Mise-en-Scene elements we wish to include before we start filming for our thriller opening sequence, it means that we are able to make sure that the elements selected are being used for the correct purposes as well as understanding how conventional they are to the thriller genre so as to ensure we are creating a sequence that will be successful as well as knowing if they fit well into the narrative so that what the audience see is consistent and not too confusing to understand. We will also know what we can do and see if it is suitable enough to be added into the sequence so that we are making a high quality piece with professional looking Mise-en-Scene elements rather than aiming too high and getting carried away and having the final sequence look poor and unprofessional. Mise-en-Scene is significant to be done in the correct way as it helps to drive the narrative forward and serves as a function the characters with what the audience are witnessing ensuring that this doesn't clash and interfere with the sound, cinematography and editing, however if the Mise-en-Scene is of a poor standard, it may cause the audience to feel distracted and would not pay full attention to the narrative and what is going on within the scenes.

Planning Individual Narrative - Miss Georgiou

The purpose of a narrative within any film is to portray a story in order to entertain and inform their audiences. In thrillers, these narratives are exaggerated and intensified in order to create the elements of shock, surprise, suspense and tension therefore keeping the audience engaged in the film willing them to watch on. The narrative is extremely significant as it is the one factor of a film that allows the audience to make their own individual decisions on whether or not they want to watch a particular film based on how intriguing the narrative is. A narrative is structured in a simple form following the equilibrium format. The equilibrium is the original plot, disequilibrium is a disruption to the equilibrium an a new equilibrium is established as the story line is resolved at the end of the film. The film Halloween is a prime example of this narrative structure as the film begins with the plot of Michael Myers killing his first victim, he is then admitted to a mental hospital serving as the disequilibrium as he now has no access to being able to kill and the film ends with the new equilibrium of going on a murderous rampage attempting to kill his sister and is shot by doctors. There are many sequels to Halloween carrying on the story. The key to any successful narrative within the thriller genre is ensuring that the main conventions of the genre are reflected through the story line such as the hidden identity of the antagonist. For example, an audience would be more inclined to watch a thriller film that features a murder within the opening sequence therefore creating an enigma for the rest of the story to unfold and work around in comparison to a thriller film that doesn't represent this. This would engage an audience as the enigma would lead to a mystery being solved and the viewer are given the opportunity to make their own perceptions and eagerly anticipate the unveiling of the antagonist by the end of the film. These narratives also have to create a clear relationship between the characters and the audience to engage them even further and make them feel a sense of involvement by putting them in the perspective of the characters and feeling the same emotions.

I decided that the thriller could feature a psychological theme in order to play on both my characters involved as well as the audience to therefore create elements of suspense to encourage the viewers to watch on to see what might happen. This narrative will be based around the antagonist paying his hit man to kill his estranged ex girlfriend. However, on his way to carry out the deed, this man is involved in a serious car accident which leaves him with amnesia meaning that he now doesn't remember who he has been hired to kill. He ends up killing the wrong person, which turns out to be his own wife, and is hunted down by the family of his innocent victim acting as a diversion for the real killer to embark on a murderous rampage signifying the end of the sequence.

The conventions within my opening are the female victim, a psychological theme, iconography of a weapon being a gun and knife, shock, surprise, suspense & tension, realistic locations, low key lighting and hidden identity of the killer. The audience are led to believe that the hit man is the antagonist which proves to be wrong. This will serve as a plot twist to create elements of shock and surprise within the viewers. Sinister music will be played over certain images in order to build up the tension in the lead up to the creation of an enigma. The fact that the killer's identity will not be revealed at all during this sequence suggests that there could possibly be a sequel or that all will become clear further on in the film.

My group are going to use several camera techniques in order to follow the codes and conventions associated with the thriller genre. One of these will be a Point of View from the real antagonist's perspective at the beginning when he gives his hit man the money, this will help to keep his identity a secret from the target audience and keep them engaged therefore wanting to watch on to see who the killer turns out to be. We are also going to use an aerial shot and zoom in at the beginning, the shot will begin in the air among the trees and then slowly circulate and zoom into the two men leading into the POV shot. This will be filmed in an isolated setting, in the forest, to create suspense. A panning technique will also be used within the car crash scene following the car before it crashes. A canted angle will be used following the car crash which will show an image of the hit man crawling from the wreckage. The canted angle connotes a sense of disorientation and confusion linking in with the fact that he has suffered amnesia within the crash. This will therefore make it clear to the audience what he is suffering with and isn't too confusing.

Editing will be an essential part in my own sequence in order to create the maximum amount of suspense to properly engage the audience. Timing of shots will be used in the death scene. A group of clips will be edited together at a fast pace to document the murder of the wrong person. As it is done quickly, this will help to pass the pace of the scene and create surprise within the audience as they now begin to wonder why this has happened. A jump cut will be used to focus the audience's attention on the car crash as this is one of the most significant scenes within the opening sequence highlighted by the jump cut. A fade out will also be evident within the thriller opening at the end when the image of the antagonist walking into the distance with a knife in hand consequently on his way to kill his next victim. This is used to show the audience that it is the end of the sequence.

I have decided that my opening sequence will be targeted at people aged 15 years and above. I think that my narrative will appeal to this specific audience as I am aiming to make it relatable and use an idea of realism within the story in order to portray that it could happen to anyone in order to heighten their emotions and create elements of shock and tension. With hiding the identity of the antagonist, this will engage my audience and keep them guessing as to who they think it might be as well as including some plot twists to throw the viewers and evoke a feeling of surprise from them. I will ensure that my sequence follows the codes and conventions evident within the thriller genre to keep them interested and engaged while making sure that the audience are aware of the genre of film that they're watching in order for it to be successful.

Another idea that I came up with when planning the narrative was the theme of kidnap. This theme evokes a sense of realism as, consequently, this could happen to anyone which causes the audience to feel a more complex range of emotions as well as feeling involved within the story line. If this idea was to be used, I would ensure to use camera angles which highlight the senses of confusion and fear such as a close up of the victim or a canted angle when the victim is being kidnapped to throw the audience off and so that they are unsure of what is going on at this particular moment. This would be effective as it helps to create an enigma in which the audience are almost forced to watch on further to see what the kidnapper will do to his victim as well as witnessing what he may be capable of. Conventions within this idea could include; a female victim, sinister music and low key lighting. This style of lighting could be used when the victim is transported to a location such as an abandoned warehouse in which she could be held hostage. The only lighting could be from a small flood light which are usually found in warehouses to build the tension and to create shadows to signify the entrance of the antagonist which the audience may be aware of before the victim. This creates a sense of vulnerability as the victim is left in the dark about where her kidnapper may be whereas everyone, including the audience already know.

Fast paced editing could be used within this idea in the scene of the actual kidnapping. The action of the young woman being suddenly dragged into the back of a van in a quick and dynamic shot to connote how easy it is to kidnap someone as well as showing that it is a completely unexpected thing to happen. This would evoke a sense of surprise from the audience as they didn't see this particular situation coming and are left wondering what will happen to the unfortunate victim, if she will escape or if she will perish.

Again, this particular idea will be based at an audience of 15 years and older as certain images may be inappropriate for audiences of a younger age to watch. My target audience will be able to become involved within the story line by being given the opportunity to create their own individual perceptions of what they think may happen and eagerly watch on further to find out if these perceptions were right and what may happen next.  I think that this particular idea represents the use of some conventions within the thriller genre such as an antagonist and a female victim. However, I believe that this idea would not work as well as my first idea as it doesn't feature as many conventions and would not be as exciting. The first narrative idea helps to create elements of shock and surprise due to the use of a plot twist as well as being unique, something that hasn't necessarily been used in thriller films before whereas there are several films already created which focus on the theme of a kidnapping narrative therefore this would not be as effective.

I have decided to use the idea of a psychological thriller film therefore using my first idea to use within my opening sequence. I think that this specific idea will appeal to my target audience as they would be able to relate to it as well as feeling a sense of involvement. It also helps to create crucial elements within the thriller genre such as; shock, tension, surprise and suspense which will help to make my thriller sequence conventional to the genre. In addition to this, the use of a plot twist where the audience are led to believe one thing and it turns out to be the other will help in creating these key elements in order to make the entire thriller sequence conventional to the thriller genre.