Actual locations and audience feedback

1. Oxshott Woods

2. Guildford high street

3. Friary bus station

We collected feedback on social media from WhatsApp. This was the audience's response.

Audience feedback



Our audience had these questions because it was not yet very clear to them what was going on and what the characters significance was. They should have these questions as it is our job not to give too much away, yet there was not enough going on to get a picture of what was going on and what the story was about. We need to make sure we get shots of Maya and Ryan together to let the audience know why Amaris is trying to kill Maya and stalk Ryan. 

Rough cut

Expectation of our OS

Work in progress updates

Behind the scenes

Here you can see we are setting up the camera and tripod ready to film. 

These pictures show us filming one of our scenes.

 Here we are filming one of our scenes.

All we have left to do is make some of our props.

Change of Props

When Ryan bumps into Amaris, we were planning on using coffee to spill on Ryan but as coffee can stain, can be messy and is very hot, we chose to use water instead. We were also going to use a pen and a pad of paper for Amaris to make a note of Ryan's daily activities but because we did not know how to present it well, we chose to not do it. There was also going to be a shrine of Ryan for Amaris to praise nearer to the end of the opening sequence, which we chose not to do because we were running out of time to film and the opening sequence would have worked fine without the shrine. Finally, we were going to use a lighter for Amaris to burn a picture of Maya, but we were also running out of time to film and it could be quite dangerous so we didn't use those props in the end.

Changes to storyboarding

Originally, Ryan Wilson was going to answer the doorbell to Amaris and it would show Amaris once again meeting Ryan's eyes and looking intently into them. Due to trouble with filming schedule we couldn't get Ryan to answer the door and we had to use Maya. This was still effective as it shows how innocent Amaris looks to Maya as she lets her inside of her home. We were also going to have a much longer scene showing Amaris and Ryan bumping into each other however we decided it was going to be a lot of  unnecessary dialogue and it would have taken up too much of our opening sequence. Instead we tried to keep the initial meeting concise and to the point.

Changes for costume

In our opening sequence, we changed the costumes that we had first decided to use for example the cleaners uniform and the Ryan's girlfriends costume. In the beginning we were going to use a tunic for the cleaner but in the end we decided that she will instead dress up in all black because it is still smart and it contrasted the kitchen and it also captured the narrative theory of binary opposites. We also changed Mayas costume, instead of business wear, she wore normal casual clothes that still showed that her character was middle class. We decided to keep Ryan's costume as all black although more casual than formal. We kept it black with a white shirt because it kept his character as middle class.

Plot

A hardworking cleaner named Amaris falls in love with the man of the house, Ryan Wilson, who happens to have a girlfriend named Maya. Over time, Amaris starts to spend more and more time at the Wilson's house, cleaning and watching the lover’s relationship progress. At first, Amaris was harmless until Ryan plans on proposing to Maya, which causes Amaris to spin out of control. As time goes by, she starts to plot to take Maya out of the picture and take Ryan for herself.

Editing techniques - Sadia

Opening Sequence Editing techniques

Jack Reacher:

1) Action shot, 12 seconds: a bird’s eye view of a lorry on a clear motor way. This creates the style of genre because it builds tension. As we don’t know much of what is going on, there is no telling what kind of theory it follows.

2) Match cut, 29 seconds: a skyline is shown to set the scene. This creates suspense as the music in the background brings it all together. This gives away that it could be using the enigma code.

3) Cuts, 43 seconds: a close up of a man’s hand on a steering wheel, tapping his thumb on it. This creates the action styled genre because it implies that the character is getting impatient as if he is running out of time. This shows that the director is leaving clues to show that he is using the enigma code.

4) Iris, 2 minutes 46 seconds: this shows the camera closing in on people with a target shot of a gun. This gives away that it is an action genre because they usually involve guns. The amount of suspense when he targets the civilians shows that the director is using the enigma code.

5) Cut away, 3 minutes 52 seconds: it first shows a close up of the man’s face and then a shot fires at the civilians using a long shot and then goes back to the close up of the man from a different angle. The use of fast pacing angles show that it is action and is using the enigma code.

Editing techniques-Lilly

Jack Reacher

A smash cut is used throughout the scene, this is to show suspense and it gives the viewer the idea that something intense is about to happen.

 Jump cuts are used from 2.22s to create a level of tension. This is very effective as it creates a sense of panic for the audience.

An iris is used at 2.25s in order to make the viewer focus on one specific thing. It creates a feeling of anticipation as the actor gradually moves the telescope from one victim to the other, some with children which panics the viewer even more.

 Cutaway shots are also used throughout after 3.55s, this is used to show the amount of things that are happening after the shootings.

The cut to the van adds suspense to the scene because it shows that a scene of action is about to happen.

Editing Research

The key continuity rule is 180 degree rule.
The main editing techniques are; unfocused camera, handheld camera, layering, parallel editing, text and sped up images
The main shot transitions used were; blackout and transitional fades
The most relevant editing technique for our opening sequence would be layering.

The key continuity rule is match on action.
The main editing techniques are; jump cuts, unfocused camera, worms view.
The main transitions are; walking in and out of the camera
The most relevant editing technique for our opening sequence would be the unfocused camera.

After researching the key continuity rules, a range of editing techniques and transitions we have decided that by using a range of all the different techniques will make our opening sequence more thrilling and interesting for or audience to watch.

Experimenting with Sub-Genres - Neamh

Sub-genre photos and evaluations

Mystery thriller- This image reflects the sub-genre as it shows the shadow of the character on the floor in a dimly lit room only lit up from the outside. It intrigues the audience as to what the character looks like and what’s on the other side of the door. 

WWW: the shot was cleverly taken with the lighting and serves its purpose.

EBI: We could have tried to simply include the door and not capture the radiator etc. We could have also centred the picture more.

Religion thriller- This shows the character praying to an alter. This reminds the audience of the genre the film is. 

WWW: We went for a over the shoulder shot and this was really effective as we included her praying hands and the alter at the same time. Our image is also focused on the alter.

EBI: Could have taken the image slightly more to the right to really make a point of showing of the praying hands.

Analysis of film opening in sub genre-Lilly

Bridge of spies

The movie opens up with a fade in of a small information about a war. This gives the audience the idea that the film is historic and about a war. White text is used on a black background, this immediately shows the viewer that the mood of the movie will not be joyful.

An establishing shot is used to show the audience the location of where the movie is set at.

This close up gives the audience the idea that something is up and maybe a bit of action is about to take place. It has the noun "government" which shows that it is an important vehicle.

A medium shot is used to show the people that are coming out the vehicle. this could have been used to show the actors faces, costume and location all at the same time.

An over the shoulder shot is used to show the actor is carefully looking at a piece of information for any specific detail or evidence. the audience might think this because an iris is used to show this.

This text is shows information which will give the audience an idea of what the movie is about. The enlargement of the bottom text is used to emphasise the fact that an actors life was changed because of one case. 

This is a close up of a few actors' faces whilst in a scene, this shows the audience that whatever the case is about, the public are not happy with the man and he receives disgusting looks whenever he is going to places.

This close up also shows an important piece of information. As well as the previous text, the bottom text is enlarged to emphasise the fact that the incident changed not only the actors life but it is also impacting the rest of the world, which could be why he is given looks when he is around places.

 This is a long shot/medium shot. It shows the old aeroplane at the back which were used in wars. This shows that these people could be having an important conversation about the war.

A medium shot is used to show the director of the film. It is put in one frame without any other thing so the audience are focused on one thing and this will help them remember who the director of the film is.

A long shot/ worms eye view is used to show the audience what the actor is looking at.

A match on action/ medium shot is used to show the actors expression as he sees what he sees what he is looking. It also shows the background and location that he is in.

The last shot is the title of the film all in bold letters. This is used to leave the audience knowing what movie they are watching because it fills the screen and the audience can not get distracted by another thing. The colour red is used in this as well as the other texts, this cold be because it signifies, danger, war or a caution.

5 Titles

After researching a range of titles, we've decided to use red text on a black background for our opening sequence as the colour red symbolises, danger, bold etc and this links with our sub genre.

Thriller film production companies

Production company- Alcon Entertainment
Director- Christopher Nolan
Locations-  Canada, Alaska

Budget:

 $46,000,000  (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

 $26,068,419 (USA) (24 May 2002)

Gross:

 $67,263,182  (USA) (20 September 2002)

This appears to have been a success as the amount grossed is larger than the budget.

Production company- Warner Bros
Director- Taylor Hackford
Locations- New York, New Jersey

Budget:

 $57,000,000  (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

 $12,170,536 (USA) (17 October 1997)

Gross:

 $60,984,028  (USA) (13 February 1998)

The Devil's Advocate also shows success with a larger gross than the budget.

Production company- Polygram Filmed Entertainment
Director- David Fincher
Locations- California 

Budget:

 $50,000,000  (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

 $14,337,029 (USA) (12 September 1997)

Gross:

 $48,265,581  (USA) (19 December 1997)

This film was not so successful as they didn't make a profit.

 Production company- Newmarket Capital Group

Director- Christopher Nolan

Locations- California

Budget:

 $9,000,000  (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

 £90,642 (UK) (20 October 2000)

Gross:

 $25,530,884  (USA) (9 November 2001)

This film was also successful and made a lot of money by making over double of what they spent on the budget.

I have learnt from this task that, it is not always about how much you spend on a film that influences how much money the film will make. Some very successful films have been made with a very small budget yet they have made all of their money spent on it and much more. This means that a films success can be achieved by the editing, sound and camerawork. From this task we have learnt to take budgeting into account and as our film is very low budget we can still make our film successful by making use of resources and props that we already have and locations near by.