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

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.

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.

Sound video

Analysing costumes-Lilly

Doctor Strange

This image captures the narrative theory of Binary opposites, this is because the costume is white and the room the actor in is dark. The image is creative because the actor is positioned on the right hand side of the frame, although there isn't much for the audience to see in the centre and  the left hand side, it makes the audience notice the dark from the light which gives the audience the idea that the actor is peaceful in mind. This shot is creative because is doesn't use a shallow focus in order to focus the audiences attention on the actor a dark background is used which contrasts his costume.

This image also captures the narrative theory of Binary opposites however the costume is yellow and the background is grey. They are both bright colours but the grey could be symbolising a gloomy dull day and the fact that the actor is dressed in yellow could show the audience that something is about to happen which will change the atmosphere. this shot is creative because its tilted and its also a low angle shot, this shows that the actors character is powerful therefore the camera is looking up at him- which is the audiences view.                                                                      

                                                                             Jason Bourne

This shot captures the sub-genre of thriller/action because the actors costume is dark and simple. It could make the audience think that that the actor is not trying to make his image easily recognisable because he seems to be in a dark, dodgy area. This medium shot is creative because it also seems to be like a shallow focus, over the shoulder shot.

This shot captures half of the sub-genre of thriller/action. The actor seems to be in a rush and because he is dressed formally and is on the phone. Unlike the shot above, this shot is the opposite because the actor is in a bright suit and the location he's in seems to be quite bright. This could give the audience the idea that this character is probably the good and the character above is the bad guy. These shots together capture the narrative theory of Binary opposites.

                                                                           Snowden

This shot doesn't really capture its sub-genre, drama film/thriller. The actor is dressed in a military uniform which could give the audience the idea that this film will be about the military and government. This shot is creative because it is taken at a low angle which shows that the character is an important role.

This shot captures half of the sub-genre, Drama film/thriller because the actor on the left is dressed in a detective like costume. This shot as well as the one above gives the audience the feeling that the character on the left is always lower down than the people he is visiting because he is dressed casually. It also shows that he could be on a mission to find something out because of the people he is meeting up with. This shot is creative because both characters are dressed in dark clothes and the location they are in seems to be bright. that could signify that what they are in search for might not bring good news to someone else.

Analysing hair and makeup - Sadia

The hair and make up show that it is a psychological thriller because although it shows elegance, it is also a very strong use of makeup, which could show the darkness of the character's personality.

The narrative is shown through the use of slick back hair to show the good side of her, but the use of dark eye makeup shows that there is darkness to her.

This screenshot is creative as there are a lot of contrasting colours such as her hair and makeup are dark but her costume is white, also her costume verses the black background.

We can use these colours of makeup to contrast with costumes and background so the audience can identify who is the good and bad character in our opening sequence.

The hair and makeup show the sub-genre because of the very bold and black eye makeup and as black portrays death, it shows that it is a psychological thriller.

It also helps the narrative as it only shows one black swan compared to all the white swans, which shows that there is an evil in this film.

This screenshot is creative as it shows a white swan is blurred out in the background and the black swan is the center of attention, which shows that darkness has taken over.

For our opening sequence, we could use black to portray our bad character and blur out the good character in the background to show that darkness has taken over.

The hair and makeup is natural as it is a normal day which doesn't necessarily show the sub-genre.

The hair and makeup unfortunately cannot help the audience to think about what sub-genre it could be either.

This screenshot is creative as it could show a flashback due to the lighting of the shot.

In our opening sequence, we could take their hair and makeup features of this character and convert them into ideas of our own and do natural makeup for Amaris, the stalker.

The hair and makeup of this man is natural, which is normal as men don't usually wear make up. This does not show what the sub-genre is as many people have natural makeup on.

The makeup does not help figure out the narrative, but the screenshot does as it shows a man on stage talking about a missing woman because of the sign behind him, which tells the audience a lot about the narrative.

This screenshot is creative as the use of mise-en-scene gives away a little bit about the narrative of the film in just one shot.

We could use this in our opening sequence as we could use one shot or a variety of shots to show the narrative of the film.

The cloak over the man's head shows the sub-genre as it is worn to scare someone.

The makeup of the girl is smudged, which is not normal and means she's been either crying or been swimming. Due to her frizzy hair, it shows that she has been swimming.

What is creative about this shot is also the use of mise-en-scene as it shows that they are at sea and on a ship.

What we can steal is the use of smudgy makeup in our opening sequence and show flash forwards of what's to come.

The use of blood shows the sub-genre as blood usually portrays negative energy.

The makeup helps tell the narrative as the audience might predict death because of the blood.

This shot is creative as there is most blood on the person at the front of the shot, a tiny bit of blood on the person behind her and the girl behind the man has no blood on her at all from what i can see.

We could use blood in our opening scene whilst showing the credits.

Analysing locations- Neamh

Mr Brooks

This screenshot shows a graveyard. This could link to the sub-genre of psychological thriller as a particular character may be slightly deranged if they are hanging around a graveyard or digging up bodies. This helps the narrative because it makes the audience wonder if it was really necessary for them to be in the graveyard in the first place. This screenshot is creative as it is a low angle and shows the character looking down on the open grave as if he is looking at the body. 

This shows a help meeting which looks like it is taking place in a town hall. This could link to the sub genre as it shows that the character is trying to get help and may not realise how mentally damaged he is. This helps the narrative because it makes the audience think that everything is going to get better from now as he is getting help however things will only worsen. This screenshot is creative as the lighting is low-key and makes the scene look very formal and sinister. 

A simple stairwell is used where two people come to their death. Stairs are often used in chases and will fit with our sub-genre as it may be stairs that are never-ending. This helps the narrative as the audience discovers who the kind of people are that kill each other. This screenshot is creative as it is a high angle and so the audience is looking down on the characters with low-key lighting to make it look shifty and put the audience on edge.

UWantMe2KillHim

Hospitals are often effective as they show physical illness as well as mental illness or sometimes it is physical problems that lead to mental illness so this could be a key location in a psychological thriller. This helps the narrative as the audience sees what exactly is happening to the character and will try and figure out what is wrong with them. This screenshot is creative as it is a close up of the character lying on the bed and this makes the scene more intimate and intense. 

This screenshot shows a shot taken from behind prison bars. This is often where psychos end up as a result of them not being aware of what they're doing or having some sort of goal in life and not caring who or what gets in the way. This shot helps the narrative as it offers a sniper of information that the character is in prison however it is not particularly clear. This screenshot is effective as it was shot through the bars which could be a Point Of View shot for the audience.

The Gift

This scene from 'The Gift' was taken in a bathroom of someones home. The screenshot shows the character reaching for pills in the cabinet. This ties into the sub-genre as people with psychological problems usually need help and this can be in the form of pills. This helps the narrative because nothing needs to be physically said but just as the audience watches pills being taken they should understand why. This screenshot is effective as it shows a close up of the pill bottles and the lengths that the character will go to just to get a peaceful nights sleep. This location would be very effective for our opening scene as we could show Amaris reaching for her medicine as she is bipolar or alternatively pouring her medicine down the sink as she thinks she is all better.

Location ideas-Lilly

We could use a shot of Starbucks to show that this is where Ryan goes in the mornings before getting to work. It can be creative because it could show how Ryan and Amaris first met.

We could use the train station to show that this is how Ryan gets to and from work. It could also show that this is where Ryan and Amaris meet for the first time, showing that this is where the obsession began.

We could use this to show Ryan's profession. We could also have shots of Amaris in the same location to show that she is stalking him, showing her obsession towards him.

Props used

We used a broom to show that Amaris' role in the opening sequence is a cleaner. We also used a tea pot, mug and tray to show that she doesn't only clean for the Wilson family but she also prepares their meals for them. This helps to show that she is in lower class than the Wilson's. We also used a computer to show that that is one of the ways Amaris stalked Ryan Wilson and gained more information about him. One of the main props used, was the detergent that was poured into the Mayas' tea in order to get rid of her existence without any evidence.The sniffing of the perfume was used to show Amaris' obsession for Ryan. The picture in the frame was used to show that there is a relationship between Ryan and his girlfriend which Amaris is not happy about.

Storyboarding

Here we are writing into the first storyboard box the name of the production company. Here we have written 'Picture Productions Presents' this will fade in on the screen and stay on it for about 3 seconds and then will fade out again. In this video it also shows us that in the second box an establishing shot was being drawn. In this shot it shows the surrounding area of the house as an establishing shot.

After doing our initial ideas, we managed to put it into a storyboard, in this we decided what we were going to film, the shot types we were going to use and the duration of each shot.

5 key things we will need on our storyboard

After time of research we came up with a list of key things we thought we needed to put on our storyboard in order to make it informative and easy for someone else to be able to read and understand what is going on in each shot.

Filming Schedule