What I learned from the Revenge project Overall, I think that the revenge project went well.

There were some areas where our group succeeded, such as time management, planning and filming. However, other areas such as editing as a group and choosing sound were more difficult, and we had our most significant problems during these stages in the project. Pre-production Storyboarding We knew that making a storyboard would give us the ability to remember what would be in our film, to make sure we had a variety of shot types and to make sure that our narrative made sense before filming. But before we made the storyboard, we discussed what type of Thriller conventions should be included in our film. As the storyline was already given to us, A character, seeking revenge, with a weapon in hand, climbs some stairs to find another character, we decided that themes of voyeurism should be present, as we thought that there would be more tension created within the audience if they knew something that the protagonist didnt. We also decided to use mirroring, as we thought that if the protagonist saw the antagonist in a mirror, creating a reverse over the shoulder shot, this would add more tension. Using this type of shot also means that the audience would be able to see both characters faces, showing their expressions and emotions. Our storyboard consisted of twelve post-it notes with pictures of what was happening in the narrative, the shot type and the angle of the shot. We found using post-its useful because it meant that we could change the order of our story without having to re-draw the whole thing. Other planning When we had finished the storyboard, we discussed setting and props. We decided that my house would be the most suitable for filming, as there are a lot of large mirrors, and the staircase is straight and wide, making it easier to film the antagonist coming up them. Also, we wanted to use lighting, and filming at my house meant that we had access to professional lights. In terms of props, we decided that we needed a murder weapon, but were not sure what type of weapon to have. We also decided that the protagonist should be wearing light coloured clothes, and the antagonist dark clothes. We chose these colours because of the usual conventions to do with colour; usually white is associated with innocence and black is associated with death or evil. We thought that if we dressed our characters in these colours, the audience would know immediately who is the protagonist and who is the antagonist.

Production Experiments On the day of filming, we started by experimenting with how different murder weapons looked when being carried up the stairs, and also how dramatic they looked when silhouetted against a light. We decided on the axe, as it had the most recognisable shape compared to a crowbar or a spanner, creating a more shocking effect for the audience, it would make it easier for them to realise the intent of the antagonist. Lighting Where the protagonist was being filmed (in a bedroom with large mirrors) we set up one light where the window was. We turned the light on a low setting, so that the protagonist was lit from one side, but the rest of the room was quite dark. This gave the impression that the time was evening or night, but the lighting of the protagonist meant that the audience could still see her facial expressions. Lighting for the antagonist was more difficult, as we had to film her in several places to show her movement towards the protagonist. In the hall, we decided to film her as a silhouette to add mystery, and so had to light her from behind. This took several attempts to get it right, as we had to position the light and the antagonist so that the light stand couldn't be seen. We also used a large circular gold reflector to emphasise the presence of the axe, as the light was too concentrated to highlight the axe well without the reflector. When filming the antagonist climbing the stairs, we left the light downstairs, but aimed it at the wall so that it was obvious that the shadow was the main thing to focus on. When filming the antagonist walking along the landing, we just used normal overhead lights. This is my least favourite shot of the whole film, as I think that it causes a lapse in the tense atmosphere that had been built up beforehand; the mystery around the antagonist is lost as they are now in full view of the audience, and the dark lighting that added to the mise-en-scene before is now gone. However, we were obliged to film the shot like this, as the landing lights were on when the protagonist was being filmed in the bedroom, and so it caused a flaw in the continuity of the film if the antagonist was walking along the landing with the lights off. At that moment, we had little time left to refilm anything, so the problem could not have been resolved. However, if I had the chance to do this again, I would have filmed the protagonist in the bedroom with the landing lights off, and added a light just outside the bedroom door so that some light was still being cast onto the landing. I would then have filmed the antagonist walking along the landing with the same light, so that the background remained dim, and the antagonist was only partly exposed. I think that this type of shot would have made the film appear more seamless as a result. Filming We wanted to use a variety of shot types and camera movements in our film. At the start of the film we used a pan shot to establish the setting and to introduce the protagonist in a more unconventional way. The audience is introduced to her back first of all,

adding mystery. She is also filmed from a slight high angle to give the impression that she is vulnerable. In hindsight, we could have showed the protagonists face in the first shot, as this would have made it clear that she is the one who the audience should be 'rooting for', but I think this shot still adds to the atmosphere in the film. In contrast, we filmed the antagonist from a lower angle, to create an image of power or dominance over the protagonist, although we also decided to film her from behind aswell. The use of lighting in this shot also helped to create mystery because she was just a silhouette. We kept the camera still while the antagonist walked away from the camera and towards the stairs, meaning that as she got further away from the camera, more and more of her body was gradually introduced to the audience. I think this shot worked very well, as the antagonist is walking with determination and the audience can see the axe she is holding, creating tension. When filming in the mirror, we shot from an angle so that the camera and lights couldn't be seen in the mirror. We found the angle quite effective, as the audience has a better view of what is happening. For example, when the door opens this can be seen in the mirror, whereas if it had been shot head on, as if the viewer were the protagonist, this shot would have been less effective. However, we also shot some scenes where the camera was in the position of the mirror. We used a Big Close Up shot here, so that the audience were more aware of the growing feelings of anxiety of the protagonist. We also used a Point Of View shot, from the protagonist, where the antagonist enters the bedroom wielding the axe. We found that using this type of shot here was effective, as the audience were aware of the extreme danger that the protagonist is in. I think that this shot also creates shock and tension in the audience, as they see the antagonist coming straight towards them with the weapon. We weren't too sure how to film the actual 'action' scene, as we didn't want to make it too graphic, and we decided that it was too dangerous for the antagonist to actually swing the axe at the protagonist. Therefore we decided on filming this scene as shadows on a wall, so that the audience understood what was happening, but there was no actual graphic detail. I think that this shot was effective, as it seemed more tasteful and mysterious, however during a feedback session with the rest of our class, some said that this scene was a bit of an anticlimax after all of the tension built up beforehand. If I had the chance to do this project again, maybe I would have made the scene more graphic, but I would have to buy a few more tubes of fake blood first! We did use some fake blood in the last scene, where the protagonist is laying on the floor, apparently dead. We intended the camera to be slightly shaky here, as it panned along her body and onto the phone, as we thought that this would accentuate the aftermath of the murder. I think that the movement and use of Close Ups in this shot were effective, especially the last part, where the camera lingers on the phone.

Post-production Visual editing We did have some issues when editing, as there were four of us and we all had different ideas on how we could use editing to show the narrative. However, everyone's ideas were discussed and, after experimenting with different techniques, we all decided together which would work best. In future, I would much rather work in a smaller group, as there would not be so much conflict, and everyone would have the chance to add something to the project. We started by cutting up the footage into seperate scenes, arranged them into a general order so that we had the main skeleton of our storyline. We then focussed on the smaller details. These included: 'trimming' scenes so that the transition between cuts was seamless and there were no extra pieces of footage in between using mulitple pieces of footage to make match on action (where the protagonist turns towards the window, and turns back to the mirror) look seamless and natural Making copies of pieces of footage to insert in different places to build tension (the same footage of the protagonist brushing her hair directly infront of the camera is repeated twice) I think that the editing clearly showed the story, and when we showed our film after initial editing to some people from our class, they agreed that they could understand what was happening in the film. Transitions We didn't really use a wide range of transitions between cuts, mainly because as a thrilller we wanted it to be tense and fast paced. Using an effect such as a wipe or a dissolve wouldn't have given us the atmosphere that we wanted to create. Therefore the majority of the film moves suddenly between cuts, with the intent of surprising and shocking the audience. I feel that using this type of editing created the desired effect. However, at the start of the film we used a fade effect from the opening titles to the footage, to open the film and gradually introduce the audience to the setting. We also used a fade effect at the end of the film, where the camera lingers on the phone, to close the film and create a black screen for the end titles. This worked well because it had the effect of opening and closing the film, and was a more smooth way to go from the titles to the feature and vice versa. Sound We were not too sure at first how to approach the problem of adding sound to our film, as we wanted something unusual and unconventional, but didn't actually have many ideas. I experimented at home by using Cubase to layer some different diegetic and non-diegetic sounds, and presented them to the group the next day. I recorded some television adverts and put them over the top of a thunderstorm wav file that I found on www.freesound.org.uk. I included the thunderstorm to add pathetic fallacy to the film; thunder and lightning and rain is generally used to premonate a sinister event. I thought that having tv adverts in the background would also add a sinister quality to the film, as it suggests that life carries on as normal even thought the protagonist is about to be murdered. When I presented these ideas to our group, they liked it, and we used the adverts and thunderstorm, but also added some high pitched sinister music when the protagonist sees the antagonist in the mirror, to highlight that this is the climax of the film. During the part of the film where the sinister music was playing, we turned the volume of the adverts down, and brought that volume back up for the end titles. This proved particularly effective, as the

advert playing at that moment seemed to be promoting some sort of thiller programme, as we hear a woman screaming something along the lines of I want to kill you. This created a very eerie atmosphere, which we were all very pleased with. I think, overall, the sound worked very well with the film, and created the tense and chilling atmosphere that we aimed for. Titles We agreed that the titles should be in the centre of the screen and in quite an understated font, like the titles from 'Saw' or 'The Shining'. We used a tv static effect to fill the font, linking to the use of tv adverts in the sound. The name of our film, 'Revenge', is in large red letters, in a different font, to make it stand out against the other titles, and to establish the genre of the film; audiences would associated the colour red with blood, and consequently, murder. Also the spiky appearance of the word 'Revenge' suggests that violence could be present in the film. The end titles featured the names of our group, and the phrase 'We're watching you', again in the font with a tv static fill. We added the phrase at the end to make the audience paranoid, as they don't know what has happened to the antagonist- she could be after them next! We thought that we had used titles correctly here, however after a trip to the BFI in London, we discovered that the titles had to be incorporated into the film, for example in between pieces of footage, like the opening of Dawn Of The Dead. In this opening, the director used a montage of clips introducing the narrative, but without giving away too much, in between titles against a black background. Our project turned out to be more like a short film rather than an opening, and we only had titles at the beginning and the end, and not inbetween clips like in Dawn Of The Dead. If I could redo this project, I would have included titles inbetween the shots of the protagonist brushing her hair and the antagonist climbing the stairs. I also would have ended it when the antagonist comes towards the camera wielding the axe, as this would have created tension and uncertainty; the audience would want to continue watching to see what happens to the characters.

Conclusion What went well Very good time management Planning was good, although we could have done a little more research on different techniques used in thrillers, and watched some more thriller openings, to have a better understanding of what the opening contains Held the camera steady where it needed to be steady Framed each shot deliberately, thinking about how it would affect the atmosphere and the audience Payed careful attention to the angles we held the camera at Tried to use a variety of shot types that were suitable for the thriller genre, such as the Close Up and the Pan shot. Thought very carefully about lighting e.g how using one-sided lighting affected the atmosphere of the film (added mystery) Payed attention to what types of transitions we used and how they fit in with the thriller genre Made sure that our editing supported the storyline and was understandable to others Used different sounds and music to add to the tense atmosphere Tried to use titles effectively, used a font that suggested the genre of the film What didn't go so well Working in a larger group made it difficult to collaborate well Having to sacrifice atmosphere for continuity (antagonist on the landing with the lights on) Some indecision on what sound to use at first/where we wanted sound The titles were not sufficient/ not in the right places. We were not supposed to have 'credits' How these problems could be improved next time Work in a smaller group of two or three people Plan exactly what lighting will go where, and make sure unnecessary lights are switched off when filming Plan what types of sounds are needed and where they will go. Perhaps a time line would be better than a storyboard in this case Add more titles such as 'producer, director' etc. and distribute them throughout the film