Using Final Cut Pro

I have used Final Cut Pro to edit my film.This software allows me to put together my thriller opening to professional standards.   

The effects tab enabled me to create a realistic atmosphere of a generic thriller.I used the effects of bad TV and fun house to portray the idea of being on edge or distorted frame. 

  This is a screenshot of my film.Notice the use of
effects can show the idea of distortion,this also to create a spooky atmosphere.Using white minimalistic writing has allowed me to  reflect conventions of a generic thrillers. 










The blade tool allows you to precisely cut and tailor pieces of footage to fit exactly into .This has enabled me to get my footage exactly to end and start when i want.

This transition of cross dissolve allowed me to change from clip to clip by blending out of one scene to another,this transition is used in thrillers to build suspense of what the next scene awaits .The screen shot to the right shows how long or short you want to make the transition.

This shows the music you have used and you can apply and edit your music here.Also by pulling the music tab up it allows you to make the music louder or quieter.

Music used in my video

 

I have found royalty free music to be used in my video.I found my music on youtube.com after using this website to search for inspirational ambient music.I then realized that this music fit my thriller well.I decided to use this music in my film.

Character

For my thriller I will be using a male actor aged 18, this will be jack gibbins.This is due to my target market research showed how majority of people wanted to have the main character (jack) be of a similar age to them, this is so they can relate to him and what’s going on in the film, I believe using a boy will help add to the overall feel of the thriller as boys don’t like to show they get scared where as girls usually are more open to emotions. I want to show when a boy is alone or scared that in fact he can be freaked out just as much as a girl can even if they won't admit it. I have used him also due to trying to make the thriller like an everyday person/situation and its only what happens to him that’s abnormal, its also reflecting the story that you don’t know what a person is really like even though someone seems normal they can have something going on in there head that isn't.

This is jack,the actor in my thriller. He is happy to be a part of my film and says hes looking forward to the final outcome of the film.

I will be playing the faceless phantom who is chasing jack. I have decided not to give this charater a face/ identity as it adds to the over all suspence,also the power of imagination which leaves it up to the viewer to decide what this charater could looks like.A human can't make up a face in there mind they can only recreate one they have seen before even if it's someone you saw down the street this meaning the figure can reflect all kinds of people and what troubles they hide.The mask is red and black which are colours frequently used throughout this genre, they contate - Red meaning excitement,danger and blood. Black meaning power,mystery,fear and remorse. These are all things which could  contribute to the vibe we can collect from this charaters mask.

preliminary task

 During the preliminary task we were give instructions as to what shots we had to do. We had to 're-create' a small film. We did this task so we knew how to use all the equipment we needed, including the camera and how to do the types of shots we wanted. This made our opening sequence better because we went in knowing how everything worked, and so we didn't need to waste time figuring it out.  
At the beginning, it was hard to film the types of shots we wanted because we weren't used to the camera, however, as time went on, we started figuring out how to use it easily and efficiently. When we had filmed all of the shots we had to, we moved on to editing. For this we used a programme called 'Final Cut Pro'. I was really glad that this task gave me the opportunity to figure out how to use 'Final Cut Pro' because it is a very complicated programme and I needed practice before we had to edit our opening sequence.
Even though we made a few errors in our task, and this meant it wasn't the best we could do, the main reason for doing the task was to practice using all the equipment. We had learned from this task and we knew we mustn't repeat them when it comes to filming and editing our opening sequence

The task was made up of 11 shots:

1. There is a long shot of someone walking down a corridor
2. Then there is a cut to a close up of a hand opening a door
3. Next is a cut to a medium long shot of them walking into a room
4. The next cut is very fast and it is a medium shot of another person sitting at a desk
5. The following cut is to a 2-shot and long shot of the two people in the room
6. There is then a cut to an over the shoulder shot of the person sitting at the desk and a medium close up shot of the person who entered the room and also dialogue: "Can I borrow a DVD?"
7. There is another cut and again, and over the shoulder shot is used but this time of the person who entered the room
8. It then cuts back to the first over the shoulder shot of the person at the desk
9. Another cut goes back to the second over the shoulder shot of the person who entered the room
10. Next there is a cut back to the original over the shoulder shot of the person at the desk
11. The last shot is a cut back to the second over the shoulder shot, it is then ended with a fade out to black. 

shooting schedule

This shooting schedule which I have devised below will help me keep to timing on when, where and what I have to film in my weekend. I am trying to keep my filming done over a weekend period as the actor used is my brother who can come home from university to feature in my thriller. All the locations are walking distance or at my house so I don’t need to spend time travelling which gives me more time to film and It can give me 2 days in which I can get at my footage done. Also thinking about when it gets dark which is around 4:30pm this isn’t ideal due to it giving me less hours to film that if it was summer time but is useful seeing at I want to film some scenes when its getting dark and don’t want to be staying up too late as we have to get up early the next day to film. The reason I want to film when it gets dark is get a feel of a different atmosphere of my thriller opening but also due to darkness is a key aspect of a thriller convention so this will help me try out that time of day to see if it gives me the right spooky atmosphere in which I want to create.
           

camera angles

taken from google images

                                  
I have refereed back to my theory work to understand what camera angles and shots to use in my thriller opening.this can also help  create a suspense filled atmosphere.

taken from google images

Questionaire

I have come up with a few questions from from target market age to what they think of films in general but also there preferences when it comes to thrillers. I also asked what they want from this genre to ensure it helps me narrow down what they will enjoy about my film.
These where the questions i asked 8 people from my target market the numbers by the answers are how many answered that choice:

 What gender are you? 

Male 2      Female 6

 How old are you? 

16-19 8


 What is your favorite sub genre to the thriller category? 

Horror 4 philological 2 disaster 2 

 What is your favorite thriller and why?

• The shining as you get random shocks that you don't expect.
• 
  Inception:  it has a great cast and sub plot compliments the main plot. 
• 
  Hunger games as its exciting!!!!
• 
  
• The shining: good plot and  great settings 
• 
  The mist as its so scary but ends really funny 
• 
  Anything by martin Scorsese because he is a legend!his films are always very artistic but also have a great storyline that stays with you long after watching.
• hunger games is great
• the maze runner has a great plot

 
What qualities make a good thriller film?

• Good plot and props 
• 
  Storyline must be thrilling with a creative soundtrack to add to the mood.
• 
  Props and realistic setting
• 
  Tense,exiting,sitting on edge of your seat and nothing boring.
• 
  Dramatic,suspense an good storyline 
• 
  Good music,and action
• 
  Good but subtle storyline 
• 
  Elements of surprise    

Do you think a good sound track effects increases the quality a thriller?  
                                                       yes 8


 What do you expect in the opening of a thriller movie?

How often do you watch thrillers?

• 2 a month 
• 1 a week 
• hardly ever 
• not too often
• now and again
  

 How do you feel when watching a thriller?

• scared, excited 
• need someone to cuddle up to 
• pumped 
• on edge of seat
• Interested to see what happens 

Do you think a main character you can relate to adds to a film?
                            yes 7    doesn't matter 1



This information i have now collated will help to know what to add to my thriller to ensure it appeals to my target audience.