Editing

After shooting all of our sequence we uploaded the film to our computer. We used Final Cut Express to edit our thriller opening sequence. We had 14 minutes of filming and this needed to be cut down and edited to up to 2 minutes of footage. This meant we had to select the shots that were of good quality and appropriate to the genre. This took a lot of time as shots not only had to be chosen but also cut down and filtered to have a good outcome.
We used the River Rock Studios Day for Night filter and colour correction to change our shots from daylight to a false night time effect. This proved quite difficult as the colour correction filters duplicated when were copied aspects of a shots to another shot. This took a lot of time in our editing lessons.
The titles were created by hand and then captured on camera. These were then uploaded and edited in Photoshop were the backgrounds were made transparent. These were then added to our final thriller opening sequence. We are very pleased with our final outcome, and have learnt a lot from the experience.

Filming

Although we created a storyboard for filming we did not completely stick to what we had planned. We filmed extra shots that were not included originally, this is because whilst filming we saw shots that we thought would be effective and relevant to the thriller theme.
When planning for filming we had to think about our health and safety and asses any hazards we may encounter. This included setting alight to a newspaper article. We made sure we were in a safe place, off college property, and in the worst case scenario we had a bucket of water.
We ensured we used the tripod in all shots as this made sure the quality of shots was higher and they were steady in the frame.
Some parts of our thriller sequence were more difficult to film than others for example the crossing of the road shot. This was partly because we only had four people and at the time of day it was difficult to find other people to shoot as lessons were commencing.
As we needed shots that were not available in or around college grounds we took the camera home with us to shoot shots such as writing on the wall and doors opening and closing.
Overall we believe that our filming went well and we have produced some interesting and relevant shots. We hope that our final piece comes out well.

Feedback on Animatic

Our class watched our animatic film and gave feedback. Points included

• how the music fitted really well with the shots
  
• Mise-en-scene is clear and appropriate
• very evocative soundtrack which does not seem at all out of place in the opening of a thriller
• the variety of shot types is impressive and sets up various enigmas and questions
• very effective use of arrows to indicate action and camera movement
• all the pictures seemed to make sense and went well together
• the action got into it straight away
  

Props List

Zippo Lighter for a cigarette being lit.

Rollie to show the he smokes.

A polaroid picture of a crime scene showing his line of work.

Folder for writing and work again showing the line of work.

A small plastic bag containing 'drugs' (flour) showing drug dependency and the way his life is at the moment.

A gun for his job.

Computer, again for his job.

Plot

Our opening sequence is explaining the life of an inspector who's line of work has driven him to insanity. The sequence shows a present day inspector involving drug references, general addiction and an unstable state of mind. The opening is fast paced and disjointed symbolizing the mind of the inspector. The rest of the film if being shot would go on to explain and show how and why this has happened to our protagonist. This would include flashbacks of his earlier days in the force showing him in his prime. We believe that this film would most probably end in the death of the inspector.

Analysis of Past Student Work

We watched a final thriller project from last years AS work.

Whilst watching we considered the mark scheme and how they applied to the project. The overall impression of the sequence was fairly poor, as it included unsteady hand held camera work showing that the tripod was unused. They also failed to show many of the aspects related to the Thriller theme, such as violence, being fast paced, and misinformation. On the whole the opening did not set the scene for the rest of the film as it did not form questions in the viewers mind. The setting was acceptable but could of been improved as there was no use of shadows, lighting, or darker shades to suggest project theme. A flaw in costume occurred when the "killer" was shown putting on grey gloves and then after wearing black gloves, this is a failure in continuity.
There are, however, some good aspects to this sequence, they showed a variety in shot distances including a close up of the bathroom door handle and a gloved hand coming around and a long shot of climbing the stairs. Through editing the meaning has been kept apparent, and is able to be understood but the theme is still questionable. The introduction titles were used appropriately and were clearly readable. The music was applicable to the theme with an overall eerie sound, although the music did not always link to the actions within the project.