Pre-Production progress

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So far, we have decided on the first minute of our main production, and we are optimistic about the shots we are proposing to film. We have a number of different shots in mind, and have decided on the storyline for our film.

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Main Production Planning

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Today we are beginning to seriously start the planning of our main production.

Notes  will be added soon.

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Research into opening scenes/trailer of same genre

Our chosen genre is a combination of thriller, drama and it also includes scenes which verge on horror. This film shares similarities with ours.

Here is the trailer to the movie with the analysis underneath; (first minute)

9-11 seconds- Panning shot from right to left featuring the main character (medium shot). He is shaving which shows that everything is fine and normal as shaving is a part of everyday life for the majority of older men.

12 second- Extreme long shot of voice machine with a female voice calling out 'Dad' showing it's his daughter.

13-15 seconds- Close up of the males face showing him turning, presumably towards the voice machine, he also looks slightly confused. This shows that he has acknowledged the voice and been affected by the sound. This could mean that he has not seen his daughter in a long time and he is surprised to see her.
16-18 seconds- Blank screen with small text surrounded by a light glow. The text is slowly decreasing in size which gives the effect of distance which corresponds with the words 'Some memories never fade'.
19-22 seconds- Fade from black screen to a flashback of the main male character playing with a very young child. Flash back is implied by decreased contrast and natural lighting which also makes the scene look less sinister. Close ups of smiling faces and playful nature between father and daughter show that this is a happy scene.

22-24 seconds- Again, like two scenes before, light glowing writing is the main focus of the shot as it contrasts against a dark background. The writitng this time is the opposite side of the shot on the left side but still with the same effect of decreasing. The second use of this text style shows this is probably going to be a common occurrence throughout the trailer.

25-32 seconds- This shows the same man with a little greyer hair meeting a similar older looking girl from two scenes before. The woman's voice is the same as on the tape recorder from the second scene so this implies it is his daughter and the contrast levels show that it is no longer a flashback. The shot consists of medium close ups of both characters and small talk which shows everything is fine in their life. Non diagetic music is playing in the background which is relaxing and induced this feeling on the viewer.

32-33 seconds- Fade to a car on a motor way in the pouring rain which shows where the next shot is to take place. Also fade symbolises the end of something so it shows the end of the first meeting between these two characters.

34-38 seconds- Shot reverse shot of both character seated within a car previously shown on the motorway. The characters talk about relationships and we find out that the main male figure has no womanly figure in his life which gives us the viewer a bit of background information on the main character. Relaxed background music puts the viewer at ease and tells them that everything is fine.
38-39 seconds- Long shot of car pulling into a drive way. As shot fades to black the relaxed music also quickly changes to a low eerie screech that implies the atmosphere has dramatically changed.

40-41/42 seconds- Low eerie tone continues throughout this scene. Loud shout from behind 'CRAVEN' in an aggressive tone which makes the main character turn around abruptly. Quick panning from right to left which makes the background blurred. Shaded masked figure shoots a gun as the eerie tone turns to a sudden bang which signifies the rising adrenaline.

41/42-43 seconds- Quick straight cuts with 3 shots of bright lights pausing briefly on 'Craven's' face. Extreme close up of Craven's eyes wide open to show his emotion which is distressed.

43-45 seconds- Reverts back to the light glowing writing on the dark background slowly decreasing in size. Now could imply the lack of control he has over the situation. Writing says 'Some secrets' which could imply that the events that just took place were down to the main characters past actions.

46-47 seconds- Transitions from shot to shot has increased in pace which corresponds with the faster music and more distressing scenes. Close up of Craven crying and embracing his daughter on the floor. Which implies that she was shot by this masked figure but does not reveal the reason why.

47-49 seconds- Again, the pattern continues with the glowing slightly shining writing upon a black background. This time though, to coincide with the death and revenge, the writing changes from calm submissive blue to blood red to symbolise death and rage. It still decreases in size to show things are slipping away. The writing says 'Take us to the edge' symbolises the Craven's mentality at this point.

49-50 seconds- Medium close up of Craven once again embracing his daughter lying on the floor motionless. This scene ends with a very slow fade which symbolises the end of something, in this case, the end of his daughters life.

51 second- Pure black continuing from previous fade.

51-52 seconds- Shot of television screen with a news reporter talking about the incident. Her voice narrative continues over the next few shots which are very quick changing which symbolises rising adrenaline. Also contributes towards continuity.

53-54 seconds-  Long shot overlooking the scene in which the murder took place with a heart beat background music which is very slow and relaxed for these first few scenes.

55-56 seconds- Extreme close up of a police bag being covered symbolises that Craven's intentions are unlawful / outside the law.

58-60 seconds- Craven talking about the killer with what looks like a friend. Close up of both characters faces. Friend says 'This is somebody armed and dangerous' while Craven replies 'What do you think I am?' which implies that Craven is saying he is also armed and dangerous, or he is surprised that his friend believes that he will go after him.
60-61 seconds- Extreme close up of a males hand loading a hand gun which contrasts with the last scene of telling a police officer he had no intentions of revenge. It also corresponds with the covering of the police badge as he wants to do this outside the law and not as a police officer.

Resevoir Dogs - Practice Intro

We will soon be starting our final production, so last Friday we did a practice filming session, where we attempted to re-enact Quinton Tarantino's film, Resevoir Dogs. We actually started filming the intro to Juno, however due to problems with the weather we postponed filming, and then during this time we decided to change our intro to Resevoir Dogs.

Due to the weather conditions and our change of plan, we only had 20 minutes to actually film the intro so we don't feel that this intro reflects our true capability, especially compared to our Preliminary film.

In the end we decided not to upload the introduction, however the file remains in our 'Documents' on the school system.

Diagetic & Non Diagetic Sound

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Since returning from our school break, we have been looking further into the mechanics used in film production, and why they are used. Most recently, diagetic and non diagetic sound.

Diagetic sounds are all the sounds you can hear from within the scene itself, e.g. footsteps, conversation and an explosion. These diagetic sounds can be used to provide a clean transition from one image to another.

Non diagetic sounds are the unnatural sounds that are not within the scene, e.g. background music and voice overs.


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Music in a thriller film is essential, so we plan to have non diagetic music playing throughout the scenes. This will help set the mood and establish the theme of the film. We will also be using lots of diagetic sounds, including sound effects, however the only dialogue we will use is a nursery rhymne sung by the girl being held captive by our villian. Other than this, we will have no other speech, adding to the effect of the film.

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