Thriller Opening

Devils Playground from BDC on Vimeo.

Capturing And Editing

We began to capture the footage from our filming in our first lesson after filming. We were very decisive as a group as to what footage to use, what we liked and what we didn't. Therefore, it didn't take very long for us to capture all of the footage that we wanted. The capturing was very rough to begin with until we started editing.

We began our editing in the same lesson, and creating our timeline. This is also when we began to cut the separate shots to length that we wanted, and cutting all the shots into each other so we could have all the action we wanted in the right places. This went quite well because also as a group we were able to mostly decide on the shots and edits that we liked.

Filming - Saturday 28th November 2009

We planned to start filming when it was just getting dark, at around 3 o'clock, to give a better atmosphere and light source. However, James and me were not able to get to the filming location until around half past four, so the light outside was not ideal.

The first scene that we filmed was inside the girls(Paige's) home. The house that we used belonged to The Gendall's, and we gained written permission to use and film in their house.

We decided to use this house because it is a normal house, so most people would not expect anything unusual to happen inside of it. Also, the character the Paige played seemed to be a normal person, so you would not expect anything unusual to happen to her either. She is simply reading a magazine, and when she hears some sharp knocking on her front door, she puts her phone down and walks to the front door. We put emphasis on her putting down her phone, because that would give her a sense of helplessness later on in the film, as she is running without any form of contact with anybody else.

We filmed quite a few shots of Paige walking to the front door, from different angles, so then we have more of a choice and variety if during editing, we don't like some of the shots we took, or if a shot is wrong. Also this gives us the capability to have the walking sequence in several different shots, and editing them together accordingly, making sure that the continuity is accurate.

We also included Paige opening the door when she gets to the end of the corridor, and a POV shot of her opening the door. With both shots we can leave the shot change until you see her reaching for the door, creating a more interesting sequence for the simple action of opening the door. The POV shot also included looking out of the door and then seeing that there is no-one standing outside. To make this more interesting, we also filmed a shot from the outside, through a bush looking at Paige opening the door, to create a sense of tension and also give the impression that she is being watched.

We then filmed Paige closing the door and hearing a noise from behind her, so going to investigate. This involves walking down the same corridor, so we filmed more than one shot of this as well, so we can get some variety into the shot, to avoid mistaking tension building, for boring action.

We filmed a series of shots of Paige walking all the way through to the backdoor, and then filmed a POV shot of someone walking up behind her. Paige was stood by the open backdoor, and the shot comes up close to the back of her head, and as the person reaches her, she quickly turns around to look straight into the camera. We also included a heavy, raspy breathing. James filmed this shot, so also did the breathing, so the breathing, accurately sounds like the shot is from somebody's point of view.

After this, we started to film the shots outside, of Paige running down the pathway. It was filmed a bit later than we expected to, so we had to try and improvise with the lighting that we had. It also started raining, so we had to use an umbrella to make sure that the camera or the lens didn't get wet. To get more light, we had to use the light attachment for the camera, so the you could see what was directly in front of the camera. This could add a good effect of disorientation.

We then went to film in the church. We got all the lighting how we wanted it, and then started film. We filmed all the shots that we wanted, playing with the lighting each time, if we wanted it slightly different, so that we could see the object or person. For example, the shot the is from behind the killer, but also including Paige in the distance next to the knife (foreground). In this particular shot, you couldn't see the knife properly with the lighting that the church provided, so we put the camera attachment below the knife, which gave an unusual lighting angle, allowed you to see the knife, but not the killer, and you could still see Paige in the distance. This gave a feeling of tension, and mystery. You begin to sympathize with the girl, in that you know that someone is watching her, but she doesn't. You worry for her safety, and want to know if she okay, which therefore makes you want to watch the rest of the film.

Props List

Props List
· Weapon - Knife
· Mobile phone
· Cross on necklace
· Costumes ie. Big parker jacket
· Bells
·Magazine

By Paige Lee-Edmunds

Location Information

The starting location is in the alley opposite the station leading up to the church. The alley is between the two fields and is a narrow pathway. We have chosen this location, as it is a very secluded area with fields on either side. Also there are some really old houses, which in the evening add to the affect of the thriller convention, as they look mysterious and creepy.

By Paige Lee-Edmunds

Character Information

As the opening to our thriller is very very vague, none of the characters yet have names. It could be said that this lack of naming and character background makes our opening scene all the more tense and thrilling, because it makes it impossible for the viewer to predict what the character will do next.

The Girl (Paige Lee-Edmunds) :
'The Girl' is quietly relaxing on her sofa at home when suddenly she hears a voilent bang at the door, however when she answers the door no one is there. Almost a split second after she closes the door another loud bang in the kitchen is heard and she cautiously investagates.

The reluctant manner in which she investagates these loud noises signifies that she isnt normally caught up in any trouble and lives a normal life, often when you watch a thriller you can tell the spy from a civilian by the way they react to strenuious situations. This is excatly what weve done here, which puzzles the viewers even more as to why shes being stalked.

The Man (Ben ?) :
'The Man' has very limited character information this makes the film alot more tense as his identity is not revealed in our opening. No one know why he is stalking 'The Girl' or what he intends to do when he finally catches her.

By James Davies

Target Audeience

The target audience for our 'Religous Thriller' will be adults over the age of 15, I have made this decision becuase the film contains a very tense atomsphere throughout and persons under the age of 15 could find it somewhat distressing.

Our thriller is very hard to place in a target audience becuase of the niche genre our film falls into.

By James Davies