Props and Cast

Title of Production Caleidioscopio


Casting

Girl in custody (villain) - Paulina Keller

Main Investigator – James ( Theater Teacher), Mike

Policewoman - Darina F.

Extra Investigator - Simon (Media teacher)

Main Characters (speaking roles)

Girl in custody

Strong and independent

Flirtatious with the investigator

Slightly delusional

Confident

Cocky

Arrogant




Investigator

30 year old man

Smart and overpowering

Intimidating

Strong

(Power battle between him and the girl)


Props

Metal table and chairs

Modern tape recorder

Confidential file

Security camera

Cup of coffee

Investigation room glass mirror 

Handcuffs

Lamp

Costumes

suit & tie x2

office suit (female investigator)

main character - dirty T-shirt, leather jacket, ripped jeans, boots, lots of rings, bracelets, necklaces




Set

Tilled walls

Glossy floor

Metal door

Investigation room glass mirror

Pros and Cons about our Thriller Pilot

Pros and Cons about our Thriller Video

As previously stated, the execution of a pilot before the actual shoot day is vital. We found it effective to become aware of our faults as this would help us learn so that we could grow from our mistakes. My group and I shot the video without a clear plan, nor a script nor any idea really of what we were doing. This was exciting because it allowed for us to play around with our Thriller idea wile not having to conform to any guidelines yet. Some of the challenges that we faced therefore were finding a proper cast, finding a location, writing a proper script for the cast to use and knowing anything at all about continuity. However, due to the fact that we made these mistakes now, means that we wonțt make them again. A good thing that we got out of this process is that we now know how to effectively use our time and play around with various interesting shots. 

Thriller Pilot

Shooting the Pilot

A Pilot is a short film serving as a guide for the final product. It gives the producers/directors an idea of how long  every shot is roughly going to take and how it would look. Likewise it helped us realise what works and what doesn't, as well as what changes or improvements we would have to make to when shooting the actual product. To shoot our pilot we used Flip Cameras which are very easy to work with and suite a basic film such as a pilot.

        

When watching our footage, my group and I realised that we still have to sort some aspects of our thriller out, like our script. For our pilot we didn't have a clear script therefore when shooting the continuity was not as good as we  had previously anticipated. Furthermore, because we had shot the same parts more than once, we noticed in editing that the character's gestures changed every time. So this made it harder for us to edit with a consistent continuity. Shooting our pilot was very helpful in that it allowed us to make these mistakes in advance before the actual shoot day. It was so important to learn through trial and error because it means that we are able to learn and grow from these mistakes so that when our actual thriller shoot day comes we will have a more effective shoot day and thus a better made video. 

Who is the target audience for our Thriller?

   
      A target audience is a consumer or fan that would watch the movie. These audiences are categorized by the industry as a potential market.

The profile of our target audience for Caleidoscopio.

•   16 and above age wise
•   Coming from an urban background
•   Middle Class
•   Adrenaline junkies  
•   Enjoy mystery  
•   Enjoy movies such as Salt, Columbiana, Man on Fire, James Bond, Cat Woman. 

Who would be a typical Teenage VALS?

• Innovators
• Rebels
• Cynics
• Trendies

I choose these kind of VALS because in our thriller there is intrigue, mystery, a twist of plot, and mainly rebellion. .

Storyboard

Working on the Thriller - the Evaluation of the Storyboard

          This week we have started working on our thrillers. Once we finalised our actual idea we moved on to the scrip, the timeline and the storyboard.


We have also created a collage with different pictures that inspired us and that was helpful for the start.

Due to the fact that our opening sequance is set in only one location we need to have other strong aspects to catch the audiences attention such as the script itself and our characters. I must say that it was quite hard to build up our script because the dialogue must be intriguing and mysterious, therefore we struggled when creating it. We had to think clearly about all the actions, gestures we want to include in every single shot so that it would make it more interesting when watching. For example the first shot when we will see have of the main protagonist's face and her hand to her lips. This close-up will create a sense of mystery and will engage the public. The timeline that we have created it's our first draft, I believe there will be more changes to it till the shoot. Probably the timing that we have chosen for every single shot will be longer or shorter keeping in mind the dialogue and the movement of the characters. Moving on to our storyboard, I think it was quite easy to present the illustrations on paper, it made our vision seem more clearer compared to before. If we would've spent a lot more time on it, it would've looked much better, but I do think that it is accurate, it is our first try, so we won't be too judgemental about this aspect. We explained every single shot in detail to make our job easier for later. We do need to work a bit more on it, but the fact that we have a wide range of different shots, such as pan shots, close-ups, long mid-shots, 360 spin shots, tilt up shots, etc. We already thought about the props needed for our opening sequence, we have a list prepared already that I'm going to post, we also have a rough idea about the costumes. As an overall I think we are on the right stage with our preparation. I am looking forward to the next step.

Creating a storyboard allowed us to see what would work and what wouldn't in our production in terms of timing and shot types.

This is the timeline that we have created before we started working on our storyboard.


                

 

                         

 
 

We also had time to choose to of our characters which is our main character, Paulina Kaller and one of the investigators, Darina Faizova. We choose them because we think they suit the roles well in terms of physical appearance, but also drama skills. the main character has to be flirtatious and arrogant, while the investigator has to be selfish, serious and strict.

We have also managed to choose a title for our opening sequence. I came up with the idea thinking, at the Italian Mafia and at the fact that our thriller has a lot of unexpected turning points and the direction of the situation changes a lot, therefore I thought we could call it "Kaleidoscope", but we have translated it in Italian to make it more interesting, to make it sound more intriguing. So it is  Caleidoscopio.

 

Feedback Regarding the Group Idea

       We presented the idea to our media team and the result was positive because an interrogation room it's easy to reproduce as a set, but in the same time because the visual aspect is going to be very simplistic we have to pick our actors carefully so that the audience's attention would be on the protagonists, also the script has to be very strong because there is not to much action going on.

The Group Idea

   


PLOT: A daughter of a well-established drug dealer is kidnapped by one of the most dangerous mafia clans as a revenge of her incompetent father unable to pay his debts. A twist of fate leads to the daughter’s surprising change in character, she falls in love with her kidnapper and they team up and turn against the father. Six months later during an assignment the plan crumbles, leading to tragic murder of her mother. There is a close call with the police, but getting caught only makes them stronger and the gang fight back to get what is rightfully there’s. Power.  

OPENING SEQUENCE: the extract takes place in a interrogation room at a police station/ prison. The girl has been taken into custody for the murder of her mother. The investigator is trying to get to the bottom of the situation so they can lock away the girl, because it is clear she is guilty. The girl acts calm and cocky throughout, trying to wind up the investigator while she buys her team time. She has been constantly looking at the door and her watch, as if she is waiting for something vital to occur. At the end the investigator asks her "Is there anything you would like to add or clarify?" and she replies

“Its show time” then the camera cuts to a wide shot from a security camera that is in the corner of the room and crashes out. 

 

 

                                                 MEET THE DREAM TEAM :)

 

 

Thriller Ideas

Idea No. 1

        A couple is taken to one of the Nazi's concentration camp after they've tried to run away from the country. They had a child already which managed to hide when the army came to get them. The mom was pregnant in the meantime. One morning when the alarm went off, the army choose to kill her in front of her husband's eyes because of the fact that she was pregnant and they didn't need her. He felt that the only way he could ever get revenge was to cause a war between the recruits and the Nazi Army. He gathered all his allies in order to fight for their families. In the end some of them died while trying to escape, while others did escape and manage to get back home after years of hiding. Our main character manages to go back home and reunite with his son. The interesting part of it, was how did he actually manage to arrive home.
       In the opening sequence we see our main character in the woods in a slow motion trying to walk, being very dizzy while filming him with a hand-held camera so it makes it look more realistic and we make the audience feel like they are there.We can see short flashbacks from the moment where his wife was killed. We film from his perspective, so we have blurred images of the surroundings in order to let the audience understand how does he feel in does moments. Then he starts hallucinating, he falls to the ground and start seeing his wife and his son running happily around the field. We hear the strong non-diegetic wind in the background, but also a diegetic melancholic piano song to emphasise the atmosphere and the tragedy.        

 

Understanding Film Genre

Genre is a classification of any media product. text into a category or type: for example, news, horror, action-adventure, documentary, lifestyle, science fiction, etc. Genres tend to have identifiable codes and conventions that have developed over time and for which audiences may have particular expectations. However, the concept does not just refer to a film's internal qualities, it also refers to the spectators' expectations and hypotheses about the films they watch.

Structure of Genre

Iconography

Character Roles

Narrative Structures

Visual Style

Values and Themes

Examples

Comedy            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlnUa_dNsRQ

Thriller/Drama http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlnUa_dNsRQ

Science Fiction http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmJOO6D5RvA

               

Romance

Every movie which gets categorized as a romance film has in common the love story between 2 people, usually there's a problem/complication which gets in between, and it has the stereotypical happy ending, although there are some exceptions sometimes, such as in the Great Gatsby movie.

Watch trailer here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaBVLhcHcc0

Thriller

The thriller genre is different from most other genres because on the surface many of them look entirely different from each other. While there are certain characteristics that define all thrillers, the large category can be subdivided into several sub-genres which have their own distinct formulas.

If we were to compare Casino Royale (2006) and The Game (1997) we realise that in both of the movies there is a lot of action going on and suspense. There is a goal to achieve, a mission, although the story line and the way it has been approached completely differs. In Casino Royale there is a normality regarding what happens, the audience expects the happy ending, there is intrigue, it is a action thriller, while in The Game it's all about how we interpret what is happening; it plays with the audience's mind, the theme is distinct. This is a psychological thriller.

The Game Trailer        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kqQNBR09Rc

Casino Royale Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK7PbujRUOk

The Sub Genres

• Conspiracy Thriller

        Only the hero know the truth about a particular person, group, or situation, and he or she must prove it to the rest of the world before disaster strikes and the bad guys win.

        Examples

 

 

The Conversation

                                                   

                                                           The Manchurian Candidate

 

 

• Religious Thrillers

Thrillers based on religious teachings, events, and customs. Religious prophecies, evils unleashed, and ancient scriptures often come into play. At times they can be quite controversial as they examine people's beliefs, not always in a flattering way.

 

The Omega Code

 

 

 

Angels and Demons

 

 

  The Da Vinci Code

 

 

• Psychological Thrillers

         the ones that mess with your head. in these types of thrillers the suspense is character-driven rather than action-driven. Characters play deceptive games and try to destroy one another. sometimes the conflict exists within one character's mind.

 

Freaks(1932)

 

Jacob's Ladder(1990)

 

Laura(1944)

 

Notes

Movement

When shooting a scene there are many important factors to take into consideration. Is this going to be a still shot? Or am I going to choose to put movement into it.  --> Story lead moving, following the action –-> narrative or story lead decision to add movement to the shot.

Pan = side of side, left to right (the way we read) right to left (deliberate to unsettle the audience)

Tilt = up and down camera, to follow or disorientation, good for Point of View shots-helps get a message across and could be male looking at female or female looking at female.

Track/dolly/steadicam = fixed on a track to smoothly follow and predictable or unpredictable action. 

Zoom/reverse zoom = when a camera gets closer/moves away from movement quickly, suggesting surveillance, voyeurism and intense observation: to focus the audience on something in particular. This creates tension and dramatic irony.

Position

The distance between the camera and the subject = the position selected relates to the information the filmmaker is trying to communicate.

Depth of Field = the focal length. When everything is sharp, it is deep focus = clear contest and intent meaning

Selective focus is when you only take one little part of focus on

Focus pull – the focus changes from one thing to another

Which shot are we going to use, how close, what depth of field, what should the focus be, every time one positions a camera, one has a lot to think about-nothing should be happening by chance or accident: this must all create meaning.

Editing

Putting one scene or frame next to another, which creates meaning as we go along-continuity and putting a story together – or by contrasting things, can also create meaning.

Shot duration = how long a shot is going to be open, how long is the shot going to last – usually affect the narrative context. Longer shots of people talking = more of a narrative, dramatic, emotions and romance.

Transition of shot:

Fade to black

Dissolve/cross fade

Wipe

Lengthen or shorten a shot by over or under cranking

Over = speed up the camera, so that everything is slower

Under crank = slows camera, everything is sped up

Continuity

180-degree rule!

30 degree rule which means when you cut and move a camera, you should always move more than 30 degrees otherwise it creates an awkward jump cut-this doesn’t feel right.

Continuity Editing

When cutting on action and movement becomes important to ensure that edits are invisible and images appear to flow in a continuous fashion.

180 Degree Rule: Simple Photo Explanation

Important rule to know and understand.

Editing Time

Preliminary Task: Editing

After filming our short movie we moved on into our next stage which is the editing part. In order to know how to practically use the professional program called Final Cut Pro, one of our Film Experts took as through a step-by-step tutorial. My group members and me evaluated each piece of the footage from the day of the actual shoot. We then choose the best ones and started experimenting with the different editing options. When putting them together we had to make sure there were no continuity issues so that it wouldn't look unrealistic. During the editing session we realised the mistakes we have made while shooting the movie. For example having only wide/long shots before Santiago, one of our actors enters the room where the main action is taking place. It made it look unprofessional and it didn't intrigue the audience because there was no variation. We finished editing in our second lesson and we were satisfied with our final product keeping in mind the fact that it was our first time using Final Cut Pro.

 

 

Preliminary Task Pictures

Prelim Task

For the Prelim Task I was supposed to film a short dialogue scene (script given) between to characters in order to understand how to use the camera better, to learn the diversity of using different angles such as wide shots; over the shoulder; close-ups when shooting, and to get the overall idea of filming an actual sequence. In my group I've got Tonie, Santiago and Ali, from which the first two were actors while me and Ali were filming. I believe it went really well, the shots looked really good from my point of view, the filming process went well, we didn't struggle because we cooperated and I think that is a important aspect when working as a group. We did everything that was required and now we are looking forward to the editing stage!

Ciao! This Is Bela!