Shooting maps

Here are the shooting maps for our thriller film 'The Lodger' (drawn by Phoebe):

Audience research for my thriller

Which of these 4 femme fatales do you think would be most effective in a psychological thriller?

A)

B)

C)

D)

What type of thriller is your favourite?

A) Psychological
B) Gangster
C) Action
D) Sci-fi

Do you think it’s easy to identify the difference between a mainstream and independent film?

A) Yes
B) No

What type of music would you expect to be played on the opening of a psychological thriller?

A) Jazz
B) Classical
C) Rock
D) None at all

What lighting do you think would be effective in a psychological thriller?

A) Noir
B) Natural
C) Artificial

Do you think it’s crucial to have a well known actor in a thriller film?

A) Yes
B) No

What is your favourite type of ‘baddie’ in a thriller film?

A) Cops
B) Criminal
C) Psychotic killer
D) Drug addict

Evaluation of results:

I conducted this questionnaire on 30 random people- by asking 30 people it ensured that my results would be reliable and therefore more beneficial for me (when making my thriller film). By collecting the results to this questionnaire, I have been able to establish what the audience would like from my thriller.

For question one, B appeared to be the most popular femme fatale. This character is the femme fatale (Marion Crane) from the very famous thriller film Psycho. I was very pleased to receive this result, as we are using Psycho as our inspiration and our femme fatale is similar to Marion Crane from Psycho.

For question two most people said they preferred a gangster thriller however, 10 people chose psychological. This has not affected the fact that I would like to create the opening to a psychological thriller because, in my opinion, psychological thrillers are the most interesting and gripping. And i would find it a lot easier to create a film knowing a felt passionate about it.

28 people said it's easy to identify the difference between an independent and mainstream film. I think if they were given the opportunity to elaborate on this, they would have said it depends on the time and effort put in to the independent films.

For question 4 most people said classical music would work best for a psychological thriller. This will help me when choosing the soundtrack, as the audience feel that classical will be most effective.

For question 5 natural lighting was the most popular result- which is the lighting we will be using. Noir lighting would also be effective, however it will be easier to create natural lighting and it's clearly the most popular choice from participants of the questionnaire.

15 people said it's crucial to have a well known actor, whereas the other 15 said no. In our thriller we will obviously not be using well known actors, in my opinion this will not effect how good our thriller will be overall.

The favourite type of baddie chosen was psychotic killer. This is fantastic, as we intend to use a pyschotic killer. I feel it will make our thriller gripping and intense. And participants clearly agree.

'Hunted' Preliminary task

Analysis:

We stuck to the 180 degree rule throughout the film. The 180 degree rule is a basic guideline in film making that states those two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line. The new shot, from the opposite side, is known as a reverse angle. We focused a lot on the 180 degree rule throughout the film. Libby was always situated to the left of phoebe and I was always situated to the right of phoebe.

The camera stayed steady a lot during the film however, there were times in which it seemed a bit wobbly. It was impossible to overcome this problem, as we were only able to use the tripod on still shots. If we had have had the appropriate equipment, we would have been able to overcome this issue.

We used a variety of shots throughout the film, such as: close-up, long shot, mid shot and over-the-shoulder shot. We used the close-ups to focus on a characters emotion for example, when Phoebe is concerned that somebody is following her. The close- up shot was used to help the audience to sympathise for how she was feeling. We used the long shot to help the audience capture everything going on in the mise-en-scene. The over-the-shoulder shot was used, so the audience felt as though they were looking in on the situation.

The editing of our film, in my opinion, is good- considering it was the first time we had ever edited. There are areas that could have been smoother and looking back on the film; it would have worked better with no music at the end. If we were given more time, we would have improved these areas.

Research for my thriller 'The Lodger'

Inspiration:

We have used the film Psycho to inspire us, this is because we thought that the film was extremely successful, used brilliant thriller conventions and that it was fantastically directed by Alfred Hitchcock. We have used the same idea of a woman being stabbed in the shower, however we have made the plot our own by changing the storyline- in that Abigail's boyfriend turns up and the murderer lodges at the womans house- hense the film title 'The Lodger'. We intend on using a lot of close-ups, as we feel it is crucial that the audience focus on the characters emotion. However, we're using a variety of shots such as: tracking, mid-shot and over the shoulder. We also are going to use a low angle, to show Scott's superior and intimidating.

The motive for Scott murdering Abigail is completely different to the motive of Marion being killed. Abigail is murdered because the Lodger has an obsession with her, he is obsessed with her and is furiated by the fact she has a boyfriend. However, Marion Crane is murdered because she stays at a hotel where the owner had schizophrenia and serious mental problems. So with Marion it's not a personal reason for her murder, whereas with Abigail it is. Although Psycho was my inspiration for my thriller, I think it's good to have differences to make our thriller original and unique, but still have fantastic aspects of the great success Psycho.

Location:

Libbys house and Libby's summer house

Costume:

Abigail- Balck pencil skirt, black heels, red nailvarnish and red lipstick.
Scott- Black coat, black trousers and boots.

Props:

A knife, chopping board, meat, wine glasses and two bottles of wine.

Questionnaire Analysis

Questionnaire Analysis:

My questionnaire shows that mostly female answered it, in comparison to males. The majority of the participants did not have children, however 2 did. The most popular answer for ‘How often do you go to the cinema?’ was ‘occasionally’. This suggests that the participants aren’t ‘film mad’ but do enjoy going to the cinema. My results also show that participants mostly consume films by DVD. Most participants find out about films through trailers, however a couple hear about films on the radio. The most common channel that participants watch films on is Film4 and Sky movies; however 3 participants ITV is their preferred channel to watch films.


Questionnaire:
(Circle your answer)


* What is your gender? Male/Female

* Do you have any children? Yes/ No


* How often do you go to the cinema? A lot/ Occasionally/ Not very often/ Never

* How do you, most often, watch films?

* Cinema/DVD/Computer/TV/iPod/Other (if so please state)

* Which cinema do you visit most often?

* Odeon/Vue/Hollywood/Cinema City/Playhouse/Other (if so please state)

* How do you find out about films? Trailers/Newspapers/At the cinema/Peers/The Radio/Internet/Merchandise/Other (if so please state)

* If you ever watch films on TV, which channel is it you usually use for this? Home Box Office/ITV/Film4/Sky Movies/Channel 5/Channel 1/Channel 4/Channel 2/Other (if so please state)

Initial ideas for opening to my thriller

Shots:
Panning shot of the shed, as the credits role. Close-up tracking shot of Abigail. Close-up of Abigail's hands undoing the shed bolt. Extreme close- up of Abigail's face, in the shed. Close-up of Abigail's hands scurrying around the shed, looking for something. Close-up, canted shot of Abigail opening a briefcase. Mid shot of Abigail leaving the shed. Mid shot of Scott in the shed doorway. Camera pans down and music stops.

Location:
Libby's shed.

Casting characters:
Pheobe- man in the doorway (Scott).
Laura- femme fatal (Abigail).
Libby- mainly filming.

Costumes:
man- big black coat.
femme fatal- black coat, black coat, red nails, red heels, red lipstick.

Props:
briefcase, bin bag, bits and bobs in the shed.

Responsibilities:
Libby- mostly filming.
Pheobe- some filming, some acting.
Laura- some filming, mostly acting.

Type of thriller:
Gangster/noir thriller.

Thriller film audience research

What I want to find out:

1. The audience's expectations of how entertaining an independent/mainstream film will be.
2. Whether the audience prefer psychological thrillers.
3. Whether the audience prefer glamorous or dull settings.
4. What kind of femme fatale the audience likes.


How I am going to find out:

1. Questionnaires.
2. Surveys.
3. Interviews.
4. Analysis of films.

What I expect to find out:

1. That audiences expect the film to not be as entertaining as a Hollywood film.
2. The audiences will expect it to be produced in a very cheap way.
3. The audience will expect the locations/settings to be dull and unglamorous.

Over a weekend how many seperate screenings are there in cinemas?
89

How many films in total are being exhibited?
12

How many films are being screened several times at the same cinema?
12. However, the films that have most recently been released have more showing than those that have been showing for a while.

Of these, how many are being screened at different cinemas at the same time?
9.

What conclusions can you draw about film distribution in the UK?
Blockbuster, big, films are screened for longer and more frequently. Whereas, small budget films aren't shown very often, if atall.