Editing Processes- Features of a Thriller

 Editing Processes- Features of a Thriller
There are many editing techniques that are featured in a thriller or horror film. For instance, jump cuts, fast and slow paced editing, transitions and many other forms of editing are used to create a successful thriller or horror film.

Fast paced editing usually occurs when, high intense action scenes are on screen and to match the tone of the scene the cuts and editing is made to be fast paced. This feature of editing also engages the audience and doesn't leave them unsatisfied. We will use this technique in our film, in order to engage the spectator and to futher reinforce our genre tone.

Slow paced editing can be used in conjunction with fast paced editing, in order to build tension and allow audience members to process previous events. This editing process mixed with other features can make for a very intense feature and make a successful thriller or horror.

Jump cuts are a very common trope used in both thrillers and horrors, as it disoriantates the audience and can establish a characters mental state. The jump cuts jar and shock an audience and can allow for unexpected scares. This is best exemplified in the film 'The Ring' where jump cuts are used multiple times to frighten the audience and catch them off guard.

Shooting Pack 25/01/2017

Today we are going to re-shoot the burglar scene, as we were not happy with the footage. We are also going to film a variety of other shots, including Chloe getting the bus to college, the flashback for the graveyard scene, where it is revealed that Chloe is dead.
Filming locations: Leah's house / Street outside

Storyboard for this filming day:

Location photos for this filming day:

The props that we need for this scene are flowers and a gravestone

The risk assessment for this scene is to make sure there are no hazards when filming out in public, and make sure the camera is safe, so that it cannot be stolen by a member of the public. As we are filming a graveyard scene, we should also make sure that we are respectful to the people who may be around us at the same time.

Script for this filming day:

Shot list for filming:

The props needed for this day of filming consists of fake blood, a diary, a pen and Chloe's college bag.

The risk assessment for this scene consists of a risk of the cast and crew possibly being injured by the knife on scene and trips and falls.

Re-Shoots

We have decided to re-shoot the buglary scene as we believe it just being POV shots may be confusing for the audiecne to understand the narrative. Also, we need a shot of our main character, Chloe, running out of the house so we can put blood on the floor, to create a sinister crime scene. This will also allow us to get a shot of a knife on the floor which we can add to our title sequence, creating a tense atmosphere for the film.

We're also going to re-shoot the grave yard scene because the shots portray what we intended and there were many deviations from the script and shot list. Re-doing this scene will give us enough shots to edit this scene to the best of our ability.

Editing Research- Elliptical

Elliptical Editing
This type of editing is used quite often in cinema today, as it allows for film makers to cut out unnecessary shots and scenes and have more timw to focus on the main plot and characters. The process also makes an action's duration shorter in the film compared to the same action in real life. A common example where elliptical editing is used is when showing a character moving from one place to another. Rather than show the hole journey of the character moving from one place to another, shots may be cut out so that the audience may only see the character start and end the journey.

For our film, we will use elliptical editing in order to cut out unecessary sequences of characters waling and keep the audience tense and engaged with our thriller.

This sequence from 28 Days Later shows examples of elliptical editng, as the protagonist is walking through london and sections of the character getting from one place to another are cut out.

Shooting Pack 17/01/2017

Today we are going to film the scene where Chloe is with her friends and realises they're ignoring her.
Filming locations: College
Storyboard for this filming day:

 

Location photos for this filming day:



Script:

 

There are no props needed in this scene, except clothing and college badges to show that the characters are college students.

 

The only risk assessment for filming this scene is making sure that there is no tripping hazards, ensuring camera equipment is not placed in an area where it may fall over or be stolen, and ensure that other members of the public, as much as possible, do not get in filming as this could affect continuity.

Research into film posters

I decided to research into film posters of similar films to ours so I could get a better idea of how our film poster should look. This is hopefully going to give me an insight into the typical thriller poster and the other individual factors each film puts on it, to make them unique, and to aim it at their own individual audience.

From my research, I can conclude that most thriller films have a large amount of dark colours, however they have a main part of the poster (usually central) showing colour to give an insight into the film. Also, they tend to have the main character on the poster and represents them on the poster to give an insight into the type of character they are in the film. The title tends to be quite bold and stands out in its own specific way for its film. Therefore, we should take a lot of thought into how our title will look and how it will be used to represent our film. Another thing is noticed, is that all the film poster's billing block's font tended to be "steel tong" font, this tends to be the norm for all films, no matter what the genre is. I found that most thrillers tend to use every aspect of their poster to give as many hints as possible as to what happens in the film, however these hints are done carefully so they don't create any spoilers for the audience. This allows the audience to get a feel for the film, before they've even seen it, and decided if it's a film they would like. For our poster, we should take a lot of consideration into the colours and picture we use (for the character) and how it will represent our film as this is what our target audience may use, along with other marketing, to decide whether or not they'll see our film.

Research into similar film posters

I decided to do some research into posters of films that are similar to ours, in order to get a clearer understanding of what our film poster should include. A film poster should intregue the audience and make them want to view the film.

• Title of the film
• Image promoting our film
• Names of the lead actors
• A tagline
• Director's name
• Release date 
• BBFC certificate

I researched into the 'Insidious' film poster as it has similar film conventions to ours and should give me a guideline on creating my own.

This film poster features the main character at the centre, establishing that he will be the protagonist. We also get a sense of the setting by the house being place in the background, giving us a hint of what the film might be about. The tagline; 'It's not the house that's haunted' connotes that the film will most probably have paranormal elements throughout, portraying the film genre-horror. We also get a list of the lead actors, persuading the audience to see it if they recognise the names.