AS Thriller Evaluation

We was asked to create a two minute opening sequence to a thriller film. This opening sequence had to demonstrate our knowledge of thriller conventions, our use of editing and we also had to include characters. On top of this we had to create blogs explaining each stage of our planning and research.

In my group was Me, Joe Smith and Reggie Witham, and we had to occupy the following production roles, director, director of photography, actor, editor, producer, costumes and music. In our group I had the role of an actor (antagonist) and director of photography. In the role of an actor I had to play the antagonist, this meant that I was responsible for striking fear into the audience. During this role I have learnt how to portray certain emotions across to the audience using the conventions of a thriller such as weapons and masks. In the role of the director of photography I had to plan and film the shots that would be used in our opening sequence. This role required someone who could use a camera well and I felt I was most experienced with a camera in our group. I was responsible for every shot that we would be putting into our opening sequence, to make sure we had a variety of different shots to choose from I decided that we should film each shot at least three times. From this role I have learnt how to create a certain atmosphere through the different types of camera shots that can be used, for example a low angle shot makes a character look superior.

Overall I thought that the communication within our group was very good, we organised group meetings once a week in which we discussed how well the project was going so far and what we felt we needed to improve on. We also used a meeting log that recorded every meeting we had and what was discussed, this allowed us to keep organised. Assigning each person within the group a certain production role was another good way of keeping everything organised as it meant that each individual knew their responsibilities and what they had to do to contribute.

In my opinion I believe that as a group we made a very successful thriller film, we included a lot of thriller conventions in our opening sequence.


Characters - Firstly we had a young female victim which is a strong convention of the thriller genre. Using this convention enabled us to make our victim look vulnerable and therefore make the audience feel although she is in more danger. This victim also allowed us to make our audience relate with  the victim as they are in the same age bracket. Furthermore we also used a hidden identity for our antagonist, this convention creates an enigma for our audience. This encourages them to watch on to see if the killers identity is revealed. Furthermore, I believe that using an hidden identity has made our opening sequence even more successful as it creates fear and suspense for the audience.  

Soundtrack - In addition, I believe that the soundtrack that we used within our opening sequence made it successful as it was an eerie soundtrack. The sounds we used were disturbing and went really well with the bad tv effect. I also believe that the soundtrack that we used connoted danger, this enabled the audience to be aware when something bad was going to happen and therefore created suspense.

Editing - In my opinion the editing of our thriller was the most successful aspect. Using the effects and cuts that we did made our thriller seem much more conventional and added a professional touch. I also believe that the editing we did, such as the bad tv and recording camera created suspense very well. The transitions that we used worked very well however I believe that we could have improved on the speed of cuts during the execution scene.

Lighting - I thought that the lighting we used contributed to our thriller success. We used a lot of low key lighting as our opening scene was set at night, this created tension and suspense among the audience. I liked the amount of lighting that we had surrounding the antagonist, it was enough that you could see him, but there was still an aspect of low key lighting to leave the audience in fear. 

Iconography - Finally, the iconography the we used in our opening sequence worked well with the plot. We used a mask for the antagonist, this enabled the audience to identify that he was evil, and it also kept his identity concealed leaving the audience wondering who he is. We also used a lot of iconography surrounding the female victim such as mobile phone, handbag and a girly outfit. All of these are stereotypical objects you would expect a teenage girl to have, this enabled the teenage audience to relate with her and therefore feel more tense when she is in danger.