Samirs second attempt at the soundtrack.

Even though I had nothing to work with (the picture was still being worked on) I attempted a soundtrack with hopefully suitable sounds. It is not the finished piece- a second draft if you will.

My sample music

As I have been put in charge of producing sound for our thriller I decided to make a selection of sounds that i thought would be good to have as sample sounds. It is by no means the finished product and most of these sounds will not be used. It was a useful excercise nonetheless.

The element of conspiracy in our thriller

Our thriller has elements of conspiracy within the story.

This is clarified by the scenes involving the patient and the person coming to visit her.
Wikipedia defines conspiracy thriller as:

The conspiracy thriller (or paranoid thriller) is a subgenre of thriller fiction.

A common theme in such works is that characters discovering a secretive conspiracy may be unable to tell what is true about the conspiracy, or even what is real: rumors, lies, propaganda, and counter-propaganda build upon one another until what is conspiracy and what is coincidence becomes an undecidable question. The protagonists of conspiracy thrillers are often journalists or amateur investigators who find themselves (often inadvertently) pulling on a small thread which unravels a vast conspiracy that ultimately goes "all the way to the top".^[1]

Conspiracy theory in the US (and echoed in other parts of the world) reached its zenith in the 1960s and 1970s in the wake of a number of high-profile scandals and controversies, most notably the Vietnam War, the assassination of President Kennedy, the Chappaquiddick incident, and Watergate. These works exposed what many people regarded as the clandestine machinations and conspiracies beneath the orderly fabric of political life.

Because of their dramatic potential, conspiracies are a popular theme in thrillers and science fiction. The subtle shades and complexities of historical fact are recast as a morality play in which bad people cause bad events, and good people identify and defeat them. Conspiracies are often played out as "man-in-peril" (or "woman-in-peril")^[2] stories, or yield quest narratives similar to those found in whodunnits and detective stories. It is perhaps no coincidence, then, that the English word "plot" applies to both a story, and the activities of conspirators.

Thriller timeline

Deadlines and time lines:

Thriller Project Timings & Deadlines

11th Jan to 15th Jan: Thriller introduction.

18th Jan to 22nd Jan: Analysis of real and student examples/ Production logos.

25th Jan to 29th Jan: Planning and delivery of pitches.

1st Feb to 5th Feb: Storyboarding, shot lists and other planning.

Cameras are available from Friday 5th Feb at 4.10pm until shooting deadline of 9am Monday 8th March. Students can have 2 overnights or one weekend to film. There are three weekend slots available ( 6th & 7th Feb, 27th & 28th Feb and 6th & 7th March).

8th Feb to 12th Feb: Filming.

15th Feb to 19th Feb: HALF TERM. NO CAMERAS OUT.

22nd Feb to 26th Feb: Filming and editing.

1st March to 5th March: Filming and editing.

8th March to 12th March: 8th March Shooting deadline. 2nd lesson of this week is Rough Cut Deadline. Third lesson of week, rough cut feedback.

15th March to 19th March: End of second lesson of the week is Final Cut Deadline. Last lesson of the week, feedback on final cuts and re-introduction to Evaluation questions.

22nd March to 26th March: 9am 22nd March is Interim writing deadline. Lessons this week are for feedback on interim drafts and revisions/writing.

9am 29th March: Final writing deadline.

Filming tips

1. Buses are hard to film on- choose a busy route
- film on a double deck bus if possible
- go early
2. Keep all pets out of the way

3. Make sure you all turn up on time- organisation.

4.Keep it simple- make simple things look effective, different shot types.

5. Do all lighting tests.

6. Make sure camera battery is charged.

7. Rewind tape.

8. Be organised when filming- make sure the camera is recording.

9. Press record- say shot number/types- then shoot action.

10. Tick off shot type.

11. Keep close for speaking part.

12. Put in a performance

13. Take more footage than you need.

14. Plan plenty of editing time.

15. Beware the public- film quickly and effectively.

16. Ask permission from public.

Ideas for title sequence

Titles:

A Nip it Production presents:

Cast members: Alex Stockley, Lois Edwards, Samir Osman.

Costume designed by: John Stewart

Art direction by: Alice Walker

Film editing: David Forster

Cinematography by: Peter Lambert

Production design by: Alex Stockley

Casting by: Lois Edwards

Original music by: Samir Osman

Produced by: Alex Stockley

Directed by: Lois Edwards.

Main title:

Thriller research

For background research into the Thriller genre of films we have watched various film clips on YouTube.
All the presidents men, enemy of the state and pelican brief are examples of the political thrillers, 22

psychological, political, action, crime are several examples of the sub genre in Thrillers.

The exercise of watching thrillers was very useful because it helped us to fully understand the genre of thriller and the sub genres as well. We learned that to be a good thriller a film has to fundamentally excite and torment us to an extent. We tend to take the side of the good guy in thrillers because it is him (or her) who experiences something (like a death of a family member for example) and/ or discovers a secret that the authorities don't want to be leaked.

Thrillers tend to be seen or played out through the eyes/perspective of one group.