soundtrack of thriller production

A soundtrack is important as it is a very effective part of the production as the soundtrack can pull the whole production into place. The production is not complete without the soundtrack. The soundtrack plays a big part in what emotions and feelings the audience feels and can set the overall mood and atmosphere. The right soundtrack can create a huge amount of tension, suspense and fear in the audience.

A thriller may include a voice over monologue in the production. This is non - diegetic sound. This can be used to explain what is going on in the narrative which would helps the audience to understand what is going on better. It can also be used to express the thoughts and feelings of a character which can help the audience to empathise with the character and have a better understanding on the situation they are in.
Secondly, diegetic sounds such as screams from victims are extremely conventional to a thriller. These sounds have such an impact on the audience as it is real sound from a real person which makes the audience feel like the whole situation is real and can create the most fearful excitement. This allows the audience to fully empathise and sympathise  with the victim and create a huge amount of emotions within the audience.
Finally, off screen sound such as creaking doors and floor board, wind and footsteps are conventional to thrillers as the can create a huge build up of suspense within the audience.


My group used 2 programmes to create our overall soundtrack. We used 'Garage band' as it was simpler to use and it features a wide range of sounds and instruments we were able to put together to come up with the right types of sounds we needed to input into our production. Also, it allowed us to be able to record non-diegetic sound that we needed to input into our thriller.
*image of garage band*

For example the news reporter voice over at the beginning was created using Garage Band.
*image of beginning scene*

We then used 'Logic Pro' to created certain parts of the soundtrack that we couldn't get accurate on Garage Band. Also, to finalise our soundtrack as it made it easier to combine our video footage and our soundtrack together.
*image of logic pro*

For example, the music in the final scene was created using Logic Pro after experimenting with Garage Band several times and not being able to get the exact music we wanted.
*image of final scene*


Soundtrack played a huge part my overall production. We decided to use slow paced eerie music through the parts of the production that are slow paced edited in order to create a build up of as much tension and suspense as possible. For example when she is walking home the music is slow, eerie and quite low in sound. Whereas the high point in the production when she sees the ghost in the bathroom has faster, louder music. I would say my group were slightly inspired by the Final Destination soundtrack in the sense that the victims tend to not know anything bad is about to happen but the quiet, slow paced music tells the audience something bad is about to take place, which is what we attempted to do with the scene when our victim is walking home. We decided to make our soundtrack like this in order to get the audience to respond how we wanted them to; which is to feel sorrowful towards the victim despite her being the one that did in fact kill the ghost child.

I would say our soundtrack is very effective as I believe we made the soundtrack good enough to get the audience to feel the emotions we would like them to, such as; fear, tension, suspense, anxiety, empathy, sympathy and one of the most important emotions we want them to feel is shocked at the overall twist of our narrative.

In conclusion, I would say my group were able to develop a conventional soundtrack to match our thriller that convinces the audience that our thriller is in fact successful in being a conventional thriller movie. The uses of our different types of sounds, such as; the victim's scream, the new reporter voice over, the slow paced - quiet - eerie music, along with the loud - fast paced music allows the audience to have a better understanding of the narrative as they are able to keep track of the events that are taking place. These sounds allow them to feel a range of emotions, including anxiety, shock, fear and more, which will hopefully make them enjoy our thriller opening and class it as successful.

Research: Questionnaire & graph

Planning: pre - production paperwork

 
It is important to have all pre-production paperwork before filming to ensure that the group is working on a schedule, make sure that the cast and crew are organised and are in the right place at the right time. As well as, to make sure we are aware of any health and safety risks and how would could avoid them.




production schedule:
This is the overall timetable of all filming. This is needed to ensure all cast and crew know where they are supposed to be and when.

Risk assessment 

 This is important because it allowed us to identify any risk that may have occurred and allowed us to find ways to prevent them from happening.

Consent form



This is important because we needed each person who starred in our production to be sure of what it was we were asking them to do and to have their consent to be filmed.

Location release agreement

This is important as permission can be needed to
film in certain areas. For example, we needed the councils permission to film in the park.











Location reccee

Location recee

Q7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

What was the preliminary task and what were its main aims?

The preliminary task was to create a 30 second clip and the aims were to practise and learn how to use the camera, film using different types of cinematography, practise working in a group with the assigned group roles and learning how to edit a scene.



Where my technical ability has improved

Filming :I am now more familiar with how a camera functions and I become able to function and film using a camera confidently. For example I can frame my shots a lot better making sure that there is no unwanted background space.










Filming: I now know how to operate a tripod and it has made me able to set up for the camera operator in my group and assist him confidently. This meant that with shots like close ups I could use the tripod effectively to make sure that the shot is filmed to good standard.





Editing: I have had the opportunity to practise editing using final cut pro and I am familiar with various editing techniques which has made me able to have a greater input with the editing for my group.


Editing: I can now more confidently edit my different camera shots into looking like one piece. I can extend shots and make them shorter where appropriate which is something I didn't do in my preliminary as my final production was better planned.




1) This is an example of bad framing  as there was a lot of unnecessary background which I improved in my final product as I made sure the shots only included areas that needed to be seen.

2) This shot was too far and made the subjects look too small and hard to identify.
Where as, in my final product I made sure the subjects were always clearly visible in the scene.

3) This point of view was very shaky that didn't add any value to scene. In my final product I made sure my point of view shots were effective to the scene.
 

Planning: Mise en scene

The  mise en scene i plan to use in my thriller consists of the following:

• Lighting:

My thriller is split into 3 sections. The first section has natural lighting; this is so the opening is calm which will make the build up of tension more effective.
The second section has low key lighting. This is because it is set in a forest at night time to create more fear.
The third section has high key lighting. This is to make the audience see how venerable she is and also to catch them by surprise.

• Setting:

The first section of my thriller is a montage set in 2 places; on a street next to a car and in a children's park.
The second section is set in a forest. This is where the real thrill starts to occur and tension starts to build up.
The third section is set in a bathroom. This is somewhere that should be safe and the fact that her privacy is invaded in such a place should cause fear amongst the audience.

• Iconography:

The iconography used in my thriller is firstly the car that is used to show the audience the link between the 2 characters.
The little girls doll is a key piece of iconography. This is what alerts the older girl that the little girl is still around haunting her.

• Costume:

Older girl: Light blue jeans, white,pink or cream top
Little girl:  Pink dress in the first section. White hospital looking dress in the 2nd and 3rd section.

• Body Language and Facial Expression:

The victim is the older girl. She is in her late teens, she's girly and behaves very girly showing how venerable and weak she is. She acts very scared and defenceless throughout the thriller.

The younger girl is around 10 years old. She originally behaves very childish so the audience thinks shes innocent and cute. However; her character slightly changes and she becomes very scary. She moves very slow and emotionless to create slight discomfort and fear into the audience.

Planning: Cinematography, Sound & Editing

Cinematography is important because it helps to highlight important features of the film we want the audience to focus on and helps the audience to understand and build and interpretation of the narrative and the characters.

Some examples I plan to use are as follows:

1) A close-up and an extreme close-up will be used to near the end of the montage in the first scene when the news reporter announces that the little girl has died; we see a camera zoom and a close up of the little girls face so show the change in her facial expression as she starts to look sad. The camera then zooms in more into an extreme close-up. We are going to use this to show the change in atmosphere as originally the film is made to look like it has a positive narrative but as the news reporter reports bad news the change in the little girls facial expression should indicate a negative narrative. We are hoping the audience will respond by becoming anxious about where the narrative will go and feel sorry for the little girl who they now know has died.

2) A high angle will be used during the montage in the first scene when the little girl is playing in the park. As she is playing she looks up at the camera and smiles and waves several times. We are going to use this to make the little girl come across small and vulnerable to the audience. This will hopefully make them believe she is sweet and innocent and incapable of becoming the antagonist.

3)We will use another close up on the older girls face when she is walking through the park and starts suspecting someone is following her. This will be used to make it clear that the narrative is now definitely becoming negative and we are hoping the audience will start to becoming even more anxious and start to worry for the older girl.

4)One very important close up will be used when the older girl finds the little girls doll in her pathway as she is walking through the park. This will be used to show that there is a twist to the narrative and we're hoping the audience will start to question just how innocent the little girl is.

5) We will use a point of view shot of the doll when she finds the doll. This is so the audience is anxious about what it is she is looking at as well as it being a close up.

6) We will use a point of view shot from someone behind a tree watching the older girl walk home. This is to put forward the idea of her being haunted and she is being watched by something the audience cannot see.

7)Lastly, we will film the older girl possessed in the bath from a high angle, this is to make her seem inferior and show that although she is evil and possessed she is the victim in the narrative.


Sound is important because it can help determine the atmosphere and help create the emotions and feelings we would like to audience to feel. It can also help with how the audience interpret the characters and build tension.

Some examples I plan to use are as follows:

1)We plan to use non - diegetic sound in the opening scene as a news reporter is reporting through a voice over the home video montage. This will be used to fit the information we  need the audience we know in and also we are hoping it will have an effect in making it a strong opening. This should set the scene with the audience feelings slightly confused and definitely anxious with several questions about what might be about to occur.

2)At the end  of the home video montage scene we are planning to edit non - diegetic siren sounds followed by a car crash sound. We are using this as we think it will make the first scene very strong and should leave the audience anxious and with a lot of questions. We are hoping these sounds along with the cinematography will help the audience to understand the narrative so far and that it was in fact that was driving the car that killed the little girl.

3) In the park scene we are planning on using diegetic heavy breathing along with point of view shots from behind the bushes to allow the audience to identify that she is being watched. This should build up tension and suspense amongst the audience.

Editing is important because it is the final piece to making the production. The right editing can cause a huge effect on the audience as it pulls the whole production together.

Some examples of editing I plan to use are as follows:

1) A home movie effect on the home movie montage to make it clear to the audience that they are in fact home movies of the characters. This will help the audience have an understanding of what is going on in the film.

2) Straight cuts will be used in the middle section to prevent confusion amongst the audience and to make sure they have a clear understanding of the narrative so far. Also, it will be slow editing to create tension amongst the audience.

3)In the bathroom seen the contrast will be edited to make the lighting look more high key. This is to create excitement and fear in the audience. This allows us to stay conventional as we show the ghost child but at the same time have a twist and do something the audience wouldn't expect and make the scene look high key instead of low key and dim.

4)In the last scene we will use a number of jump cuts and fast paced editing. This is to create as much excitement and fear in the audience as possible.

Planning: Preliminary task

The purpose of the preliminary task was to practise and learn how to use the camera, film using different types of cinematography, practise working in a group with the assigned group roles and learning how to edit a scene.

Here we learnt how to use the camera properly and  film from different angles, as well as editing different shots into one full fluent scene.


The scenario that was used was a that I had dropped my bracelet from the middle floor to the bottom floor and Lashane runs to go get it back for me. This was because we could then be filmed walking down the stairs from a low angle, film our conversation using a 180 degree rule and we could film Lashane going to get it from a point of view shot and end it with a zoom close up on the bracelet.

Difficulties whilst filming:
We struggled using the camera at first as it was our first time using this type of camera. It took a while to come familiar with what buttons to press and how to film from certain angles.




Difficulties whilst editing:



I overcame these problems by experimenting with the camera and finding out what different buttons are for and practising using the camera on the tripod as well as hand held.


Overall, this preliminary task was beneficial because it allowed my group to identify our strengths and weaknesses. We now know who is the best person for each role; for example, Lashane would be the best person to be the camera operator and whenever Jordan got stuck with how to oporate it Lashane helped and became familiar with the camera quicker than Jordan did. Also, that Jordan would be the best person to edit as he took the lead on teh editing and became more comfortable using the software than me and Lashane did. Lastly, we identified that I would be the best person to take on the rold of director and I took the lead in organising the group, putting forward our narrative and often put forward my ideas for different types of shots and editing.