Research- Other Students Work

Chloe Mar-Gerrison

Thriller

- Begins as a black background with the studio title on. The red and white fonts work well in contrast with the black background. The font is serif which suggests that perhaps this opening is a little more old-fashioned and not as geometrical as if it was sans serif.
- Black and white video at the back of the character brushing her hair. The music begins but it is very dark, not percussive and very thrilling. The credits presented are at the very bottom of the shot in white typewriter font which allows it to not detract attention from the extract but important enough to contrast well with the black and white theme of the filming.
- Close up of the make-up on the stand and the character grabbing it allows me to understand that the character is feminine and getting ready for something. Because we have not identified the character yet, this is known as being mysterious due to the woman being unidentified and unknown regarding personality and appearance.
- The camera pans across the table with the make-up and of the character painting her nails. Because it is black and white, we are unsure of the colour of the nails which could represent something. Due to this naivity regarding this, it becomes even more exhilirating and thrilling to me.
- An extreme close up of the painting of the nails then becomes significant and the music becomes slightly louder and much more thrilling. No dialogue or any sort of identification has been apparent yet and this creates a gloomy atmosphere.
- Another extreme close up of the character blowing on her nails is now shown and because we are able to see the characters mouth, a slight amount of identification is shown. This makes it even more mysterious as we still have not seen the complete face.
- There continues to be short shots of the character applying make-up such as mascara and lipstick.
- Then, there is a close-up of the characters phone displaying that there is a phone call with no caller ID. The vibration of the phone creates a dark and sinister vibe as this is the only sound that has been presented yet apart from the non-diegetic music.
- There is now a shot of the characters' expression to the side and of her being a mixture of confused and shocked. This expression makes me feel more uncomfortable due to the naivity and that we have no knowledge of who is calling and whether it is dangerous.
- The character then ends the call without answering which is very thrilling and well done due to it showing either casuality or fear as there is some reason why she is refusing to answer.
- There is then a shot of the characters shoes walking up the stairs and a very sinister voice-over stating 'WE'RE HERE'. This is more of a convention of a horror movie due to it being very sinister and spooky, however it is still thrilling and deep so this is a convention of a thriller movie too. 
- There is a repeated shot of the character ending the call and another voice over stating 'WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID'. Although this is very well-made, it is much more horrifying instead of being thrilling and also very typical and common. 
- Dialogue then begins when the character answers the call displaying no caller ID. However, the voice is quite far away and distant so it is not exactly clear. Despite this, it also creates a tense atmosphere in the opening.
- More deep voice-overs occur.
- A repeat of the same dialogue from the character occurs and we are now aware that the situation is dangerous, especially as the music continues and becomes more eerie and sinister.
- The scene then ends with a character in a black hoodie which is covering his identity appears in the room and the female character is clearly shocked. The shock, however, is quite artificial and not at all convincing which is a weakness in this opening.
- The last scene is of the phone displaying that the call is still ongoing and then a voice from the phone states 'MARK MY WORDS, YOU WILL PAY.' This is very horrifying and sinister.

The strengths of this opening would be definitely the multiple amount of camera angles used and the black and white effect in editing which made it much more thrilling and inviting. I enjoyed watching the extreme close-ups in the beginning of the character applying make-up and ending the calls.
The weaknesses, however, is definitely the scene when the hooded character enters the room and the female character is not at all convincing that she is terrified. Also, the extract seemed much more horror-based instead of being a thriller movie due to its extreme sinister and alarming features.
- The title 'MARK MY WORDS' links to the last word of the extract and is a very thrilling title. This is because it is short yet effective which is typical in thriller films. The title shows that threatening theme in the extract and allows the audience to understand that the film has elements of threat and thrill.

Blog

-This students blog is very well organised and neat. It displays clear tabs so that her work and progress is very easy to find and identify. For example, in the tab 'PLANNING' at the top of the blog, it clearly presents all of the process of her planning. It includes her filming schedule, her risk assessments and various other plans such as her shot plan and costume plan. This can easily be read due to her writing being minimal but detailed and multiple screenshots being presented in every post. This balance makes her blog very easily understood and is very inspiring.
This students' blog is grammatically correct which includes her punctuation and spelling being perfect. Her fonts are the same on each blog post as well as sizes and layout. Her layout is very well organised due to her planning being in bulletpoints or short paragraphs. This is better than it being in very long and tedious paragraphs as this would be very overwhelming and boring.
Another good thing that this student did was that they showed a clear representation of their audience research/questionnaire. This questionnaire is very helpful as I can find out what typical audience want and enjoy about thriller movies and what I should avoid.