Inspirations- Miss Miller

We need inspiration before we can create something so that we can take successful elements from different films and add them into one into our own film. Also we need inspiration so when can get different ideas when creating our own opening sequence. You can take inspiration from films that have been made before of the same genre as the one you are creating for example if you was creating a comedy film you would watch many comical films to get different ideas on what to incorporate in your own film. When we was planning our opening sequence we watched many different opening sequences of thriller films such as Se7en, Reservoir dogs, The strangers, Scream and saw. We watched these particular thrillers as there the sub-genre of them all is completely different to each other meaning that we would get more ideas of what to add in to our own one. After watching many different opening sequences we decided that the main conventions of our thriller would be suspense and tension as we believed that the most interesting sequences included them. We also decided to create our opening sequence very similar to a successful opening sequence as it would be successful.

When finding inspirations for our opening sequence I looked at the film Saw V, i especially looked at the Pendulum scene as the mise en scene in this scene is very conventional to a typical thriller. The setting of the scene is gloomy and dark with backing light to produce contrasting colours. This gave our group inspiration to make our opening sequence all dark so that the victims stood out against all the other characters. Also by doing this you can see the facial expressions of the victims better so that the audience are more scared. We also felt that if we had low key lighting throughout our opening scene it would create a tense atmosphere which is key in thrillers. Suspense will also be built easier and quicker by having low key lighting as the audience cant see fully whats going on. From saw V we have took inspiration that our opening scene will have low key lighting throughout as it was effective in the saw so it would be effective also in our opening sequence. We will incorporate low key into our opening sequence to build suspense and tension for the audience.

Also we took inspiration from saw V as the victim was always in the middle of the scene so it showed the audience who was the main character, we decided this was important because it allows the audience to engage with the film so they know who the characters are so that they can build a relationship with them easier. It also lets the audience know on who to focus on so they become aware on who the main characters are. We decided this was very important so we incorporated this idea by having the victim always being in the middle of the scene.
The facial expressions and body language of the victim in the Saw V pendulum scene has also inspired us. The facial expressions of the victim in the scene showed that he was in pain meaning that the audience felt sorry for the victim therefore building a relationship between the two. So in our opening sequence we will make sure that the facial expression of the victim is on show so that the audience will be more interested in the film and will sympathise for the characters therefore building a relationship between them.We will incorporate all these points by showing off the victims facial expression by using a close up so the audience will sympathise for her building a relationship between them and we will also make sure the victim is in the middle of the scene so the audience understand who the main character is.We believe this will make our opening sequence effective in scaring the audience and help them to understand the storyline more.

When i was planning cinematography i looked at the opening sequence of prom night to give me inspiration as the scene was very stereotypical of a thriller. Many different shots and angles are used in the opening sequence of prom night which make the opening sequence very effective as it makes it more interesting for the audience therefore this has inspired us to add in many different angles to create the same effect. A shot that was used in prom night that were thinking of incorporating in our own sequence is a close up. In prom night it was very effective because it showed how the character especially the victim felt meaning that it allowed the audience to build a relationship with them as they felt sorry for that particular character. We will add a few close ups in our opening sequence so the facial expression of the victim is clearly showed so the audience clearly understand how they feel which makes the storyline clearer for them. Also in prom night many different angles are used to interest the audience. We are planning to also incorporate many different angles into our own sequence so it makes it very interesting for the audience and engages them in the storyline. We will incorporate a close up the victim to portray to the audience how she feels which will successfully build a relationship between them, we will also incorporate a long shot regularly so the audience can see the mise en scene which will build tension because its set in a gloomy place. We are also going to incorporate many others such as a low angle and panning to interest the audience. Prom night was very inspiring as it is very conventional to a thriller and uses different angles successfully.

When our group was planning editing styles we looked at the film scream 3. We especially looked at the scene the cutting room as the editing styles used in that scene are very conventional to a thriller. They used many editing styles in the scene to interest the audience but the main two that we want to incorporate into our own thriller is a straight cut and timing of shots. A straight cut is where a change from one view point to another/location to another. It was used very successfully in scream 3 as it clearly showed the different view points of the man and woman which built tension successfully. They also used a straight cut from a location to another. This built tension greatly as one location was calm and the other one was very tense. This inspired us massively to use a straight cut as it built tension so well which is conventional to a thriller. It also made scream 3 more interesting and gave a sense of mystery to the film which we want to incorporate into our own film therefore this inspired us also. When we incorporate it into our own film we will change the location from the victim inside to the victim outside to build tension. Another editing style that was very inspiring to us is the timing of shots used in that scene. It was very inspiring to us and we want to incorporate it into our own scene because it built tension successfully and created an element of excitement for the audience which are both conventional to a thriller. In the scene the timing of shots were very slow at the beginning which allowed tension to be built and then when the attack was coming up the timing of shots were very quick as it releases suspense quickly and makes it more jumpy for the audience which is very conventional to a thriller film. We decided that this was very successful in making it more interesting for the audience therefore inspiring us to add it into our own sequence. We will make the timing of shots slow at the beginning of the sequence and quicker towards the end of the scene so it builds up to the climax successfully.

When planning sound we looked at the film silence of the lambs to inspire us. The two main sound types that inspired us to incorporate into our own sequence is contrapuntal sound and non digetic sound. Contrapuntal sound in the film is very conventional to the thriller genre as it creates a tense atmosphere for the audience and creates suspense and tension when an attack occurs which is key for thrillers. It inspired us greatly as we want our own thriller to be full of mystery and from watching the film it showed us we should use contrapuntal sound to create that effect. The film also inspired us to use non digetic sound which is sound you add on in the editing stage to make it interesting or to create suspense. In silence of the lambs non digetic sound is used after contrapuntal sound to build tension massively and to create a tense atmosphere which is key in thriller genres. We want to incorporate this into our own thriller as it makes it interesting for the audience and shows a mystery in the narrative. Silence of the lambs have massively inspired us as we want to add all the different music elements which they use in their film as its successful in creating suspense in its own way. We will incorporate a non digtic soundtrack throughout the opening sequence so it builds tension and suspense for the audience as it will make them feel tense.

When planning characters we researched into many thrillers to see what the conventional characters there are so we could plan the characters into our own thriller. We saw typically there are is a villain and a victim. We wanted t b sightly different then other thrillers and just have one character which is portrayed as the victim and the killer. At the beginning of the scene we see her innocent so the audience will feel sorry for her which will build a relationship between them and then when she gets possessed she will turn into a different character which will mean the sympathy will turn into envy and the audience will turn against her. We wanted to have one strong character as we thought having two strong character's will be overpowering.

Researching into films before we created our thriller is very important as we could get different ideas from different films and successfully incorporate it into our own. It also helped us think of a clear narrative and conventions which are conventional to a thriller genre. The inspirations have made our sequence better as we have a clear narrative due to watching different opening sequences and successful conventions which are suitable for a thriller genre.