Account of shootday

Our shoot day started at about 11am. Our group had the script although it was only a lyrical song sang by the villain. We further had all our equipment with us brought by Rachel and the necessary props and make up we needed, this was all planned beforehand thus everything was running smoothly. We started the day off by setting up all the camera and lighting equipment after this was all done we started to film the opening sequence. When filming we realised that we couldn't follow step to step everything we had originally planned as the location we were filming in had some faults. Therefore, we were not able to film everything in order from the story board instead of making this a problem we decided to change shots of the filming

and the some small things throughout the film. For example in the Basement we filmed at the floor was bumpy and thus we weren't able to track the villain walking into the prep room so instead we did wide shots and over the shoulder shots quick cutting in between the two. These shot choices allowed us to build the tension up to the torture room and was therefore extremely effective in our film. We chose to quick cut between shots especially for the target audience in order for them to feel on edge and a sense of fear. Other than this change nothing else was changed.

Our film as you know was filmed in a dark gloomy basement thus we needed to use bright lighting. When we arrived at the basement the lighting was more bright then were expecting and therefore had to change things early such a locations of rooms we were filming in. We were able to use the bright lighting to our advantage and were able to convey our thriller as scary and gruesome to also add to the tension and suspense. Furthermore, we also took a plethora of shots such as a long tracking extended camera time on the villain to show is authority and calm. We also showed the girl in extreme close ups to demonstrate her fear to the audience. Both of these different camera shots suited to the thriller genre as they both have individual gains such as the tracking shot, which builds suspense whereas an extreme close up enables us to feel and think what someone is thinking. Lastly, our make-up this was put on the girl giving her beaten up trapped and scared features. The blood on her face really captured the crux of the opening sequence illustrating how one small thing can boost the thriller meaning to another level. We used blood down to the fact that we wanted to increase the eerie feel to the thriller and for our audience members to be shocked; its also a typical feature to a thriller film.

The costumes and props we chose for our thriller film were specific and all had a certain connotation. Firstly, our toolbox this was filled with knifes, hammers, saws etc this demonstrated to the audience that our villain is a psychopath killer. Furthermore, we also gave the girl duck tape and ropes which connotes the fact that she is captured and in need for help. Moreover, the pink jumper we gave the girl orchestrated to the audience the girl’s vulnerability and innocence. Additionally to this the villain used a knife to execute his kill we did this in order to link to other thriller films and how they kill innocent girl like in Scream. The knife also insinuates a sinister feel to the villain. Lastly, the villain is in all black we did this for 2 reasons firstly, it demonstrates the villain is hidden away and keeps himself on the low second of all it links to the villain in Reservoir Dogs and thus we tried to make our villain similar to the one in the film.

Our actors were also picked for a specific reason, first of all our actress Rachel Newman she is part of our group and also acted in our thriller. This was because she has blonde hair and is a teenage good-looking girl. With her being blonde it demonstrates her vulnerability, which the target audience will find intriguing and relatable. Also the fact she is a teenager gives our thriller social realism which people find interesting. Our other actor was a male who although isn’t the scariest looking he still has years of experience in acting thus he is able to play the role of psychopath and a killer to make it more realistic for the audience.

On the day of shooting we used an outdoor lighting kit we used this lighting kit as we filmed in a basement, this basement was dark with no lighting thus we had to use the lighting kit. We used the lighting kit not just for light but also for great effect in our film especially for the torture scene. We also took from other thriller films how they used their lighting and tried to replicate it. For example in Scream in the opening sequence they use outdoor lighting in order to spotlight the girls boyfriend being killed adding to the tension and fear in the film. We tried to replicate this by using the lighting kit to spotlight our actress being killed we hoped this was effective when filming our opening. We also used the lighting kit to brighten up the prep room this illustrated and conveyed the mise-en-scene in the room with the boxes and stained dirty walls highlighting this room is used for gruesome activities

When filming of course we considered the sounds the audience will be hearing even before editing it. We made sure we had a couple of core sounds in our filming, firstly the sharpening of the knives in the prep room by the villain doing this the tension of the opening sequence was further strengthened and increased throughout. In addition, we also made sure the girl being tortured was screaming to show how she is frightened of him, this also gave the villain authority and power as it orchestrates how scared she really is. By getting our actress to scream it will mean it sounds extremely realistic and it saves us less time by adding a voice over when editing.

I played a huge role in production of this opening sequence, from filming to ideas the whole lot I contributed massively to if I wasn't there on the filming day the whole thriller would of gone to the bin I was constantly filming different shots within filming. I also set up and positioned the outdoor lighting kit, spotlighting our actress for effect. However, it wasn’t all down to me and my group played a huge role in helping out. I’d say I’m the most important figure of the group not only my great filming skills but also my editing skills are up there with the best.

However hard it is too say I wasn’t the only one that made our thriller come together to the piece it is now, that would be down to the other 3 people in my group: Max, Oscar and Rachel. Every single one of us did not stop the whole period of filming whether it was acting, filming or lighting we all covered something at one point within the day. We all worked together fantastically giving each other constructive criticism and praise at the same time to get the best product out of one another. Furthermore, we all use our advantages in filming for example Max has very stable firm hands and thus he filmed the torture scene hand-helded this gave us a more flexible option of shots to really get the sinister feel across to the audience. Our good teamwork additionally helped us to get the best shots on the day taking it in turns.

Overall I was extremely happy with our filming on the day. However, I was more pleased with the mise-en-scene captured rather than the actual core shots taken. I felt that we did not shoot enough so if anything that would be one thing I would change. Apart from that small thing everything else we did that day I was very pleased with and wouldn't change anything else.