Evaluation and analysis of our thriller- ‘Grounded’INCLUDING CRITICISMS AND CREDITS. ALSO INCLUDING CAMERA SHOTS AND EDITING SKILLS THAT WERE USED IN ‘GROUNDED’

Introduction

This presentation will show the skills we had to use when filming ‘Grounded’ as well as the problems we had to deal with which came our way during the whole time we had to complete the task. I will be outlining the pros and cons of the final product as well as pointing out the different camera shots and editing techniques we used in the thriller and why.

Production company logos

The production company logos are a representation of audio and visual codes.

Icon film distribution’s logo is an audio code as the lightning music is always included in the logo whilst it is played. This is symbolic as the audience expects to hear the audio that is included when they see the icon appear, which is the visual code.

The production company that we made, ‘Blood Heart Production’, was used as a visual code only as there is no music what was included as part of the title. The visual effect indicates to the audience that they are expecting a gruesome thriller. The blood pouring out of the knife may hint to the audience that a murder may happen in the movie.

Opening shots

The opening shot is typical of a thriller. The setting is on the street, however it is a ‘film noir’ movie as it is dark at night and we see a lonely character. The audio codes from the non-diegetic music of the high tempo music portrays danger and vulnerability. There is a cut to filming Sophie's back which is a connotation that she is being followed or tracked by someone. This has already created a victim in the thriller.

The kidnap scene

The kidnap scene makes the audience ask further questions that they may need to answer. They may be thinking:

Who is the kidnapper?

What is the reason for the kidnap?

Where is she being taken?

Is there any history between these two characters? Do they know each other?

The question and answer model is an example of concealment as these questions are not answered in the opening title sequence.

The Title -

The title appears after Sophie has been taken. This is significant as the title has more meaning after the audience have a sense of what is happening. The title therefore links into the thriller.

The footage before the title appears only consists of Sophie being taken. Therefore once the audience understand that the thriller is named ‘Grounded’, they may expect to see a buried scene.

We chose the name for the thriller as ‘Grounded’ as it has relevance to what happens in the plot and does not reveal any information of what may happen in the rest of the thriller. For example, if we named the thriller ‘Escaped’, the thriller would be pointless to view as it has already revealed the rest of the storyline. ‘Grounded’ was simple and did not give anything away but still entices an audience.

The family scene- the household

The parallel editing then takes us to the family household.

Instantly, the audience identifies that there is an ellipsis as there has been a change in time quickly. This is identified as we see in the family that it is the next morning as there is natural lighting from the sun and the scene is filmed as high key lighting. The dialogue also emphasises it is the next day as Nicole says “good morning” to Francesca.

The family scene has killed the tempo from the previous scene as it all seems like a normal environment as the editing of the scene becomes a slower pace. This is known as a Juxtaposition as it is the complete opposite of what has previously occurred. We feel like the house and the characters in the house are safe. This is also an equilibrium as there is a state of rest and balance which puts the audience at ease. The audio codes in the dialogue establish the possible link to the previous scene.

The family used in this thriller represent the ‘norm’ as they are a nuclear, aspirational family in a middle class home. This causes more disruption and more scare for the audience as it shows a kidnap can happen to anyone.

The buried scene

There is a constant use of parallel edit from the family scene to the buried scene.

The buried scene is typical of a thriller as Sophie is in a claustrophobic situation which raises the tension and suspense of the thriller which is an action code and this raises tensions.

The audience can gain visual codes from this scene as we see her clothes are ripped and she has a black eye.

The buried scene creates enigma as she is in a puzzling situation.

The buried scene creates further questions:

What has happened to Sophie in the time between her kidnap and being buried in a box?

Was she drugged in between as she wakes up in the box?

Was she abused or sexually assaulted?

The Camerawork The overhead shot makes Nicole look vulnerable when walking up the

stairs. This is a symbolic code and is an indicator to the audience that she is about to realise something is wrong. You cannot see her facial expressions from this angle however, this could have been a good shot to use if we had not seen who she was beforehand. We wanted Nicole to look vulnerable on purpose as she has lost her child and the camera angle emphasises this as It is an aerial shot

The Point Of View shot with Nicole searching in Sophie’s bedroom allows the audience to empathise with victim. Furthermore, the point of view shot allows the audience to put themselves in the characters shoes as it allows the audience to engage with the thriller. The audience are placed in the victims role, which is typical of a thriller. The point of view is a key gratification of media consumption as you see the identification of the character and makes it feel more real for the audience.

We zoomed into an extreme close up of the phone when Sophie answers to the mystery caller.

The editing

The cross cutting between each scene keeps audience to stay connected and maintain their interest in the storyline. The dissolves from scene to scene adds to the suspense and creates mystery. The parallel editing is a use of ellipsis. This is because we have had a quick cut down of time as she was taken the night before they have realised Sophie has gone missing. The use of parallel editing allows the audience to have more knowledge of what is happening than the characters as we see that Sophie is buried and the mother does not realise she has gone. There is also match on action from when Nicole opens to door to being in the room.

Sound

The non-diegetic sound of the music increasing in tempo influences the audiences’ mood. The non diegetic sound of the music builds up the tension as it emphasises a sense of being isolated and lost. The diegetic sound could have been improved by the quality of the sound of phone call. If we had a better budget we could have used an additional software to make the dialogue clearer.

The Dialogue The dialogue helps the audience to understand the plot as signposting the

development of the story. The dialogue between the members in the family helps us understand their situation and the phone call from the mystery caller leaves the opening title sequence on a cliff-hanger. This was extremely important to include as we wanted the audience to carry on enjoying and watching the rest of the thriller. We wanted to create the sense of concealment- meaning the suspense is created by hiding something from the audience. We created concealment through the mystery caller as their identity is secretive.

However, as a group we criticised the dialogue as it may have allowed too much information for the audience as they may want to work some parts of the plot themselves. In addition, we could have improved the quality of the dialogue and we should have kept to the script strictly.

As a result of allowing the characters to go in the direction they may choose to go in, the dialogue was not as successful as we liked it to be.

Moreover, we were rushed for time because we only planned to include the Sophie scene for the whole thriller, however when we finished editing, we were told it was too short as it only came to one minute thirty seconds. We had to come up with an additional idea quickly as well as fitting it in that was a convent time for us and the actors we had to find.

Lighting The lighting towards the end of the scene was poor as the

outdoor lighting kit ran out of battery, although it was fully charged from the start, however if we stuck to our schedule in a stricter manor, this problem may not have occurred.

As a result of this, the lighting in the coffin had changed but we could not have helped this at the time. We did further research on how to solve his by using the editing system which was a possibility by masking over the light from another scene. However the editing software was an old version and the facilities of solving this problem was limited on top of us students having little experience of using adobe premiere pro. If we had a bigger budget to work with and more time to investigate into the software, we could have solved this issue.

What was achieved

Finally, all thrillers must have enigma. Enigma is holding back the story line and not giving too much information away to the audience. This gave the story a rollercoaster effect as there is a gratification of suspense. The rollercoaster effect is a key generic element that should be used in a thriller as it includes the audience actively.

A thriller also needs to create a combination of feelings to make it be more successful. For example, the audience needs to feel fear as well as excitement

We also wanted to include audience gratification, which is when the audience will be on the edge of their seat and expect surprises. Enigma may also include an active audience where they have to work the plot out.

What was achieved

We have achieved this by ending the thriller on a cliff hanger, the intense cross cutting between Sophie and her family and the mystery of the character that took her, where she is and why she is there. All these questions can be answered by the audience therefore we have achieved enigma in the opening title sequence to our thriller.

‘Grounded’ also has the probability and desire factor. This is when the protagonist is at its most vulnerable stage, the highest point of suspense is achieved.

Was there any problems in the storyline?

The phone call has raised problematic issues. Sophie appears to have a phone on her from the start. She has turned on the torch to try and gain some light to see whether she is physically able to get herself out of the situation.

After the audience realise she is stuck and there is no way out, they may question why she has not called the police.

However, the film states clearly that the phone cannot make outgoing schools. However, from the dialogue from the mystery caller indicates to the audience that it is not Sophie's phone. “I see you found the phone” is the significant piece of dialogue that states this.

We also see Nicole trying to call Sophie from her phone, however she does not receive a call which confirms to the audience she is left with a different phone.

The phone used by Sophie and Nicole, and the TV in the home, represents a modern and up to date society.

Was there any problems in the storyline?

The camera zooms in to “No caller ID” which is linked to the thriller as is adds suspense and the audience are apprehensive by the anomalous caller as they do not know what to expect, which raises more questions:

Will she be threatened?

Can she get herself out of the situation?

Who is the caller and what further information do they want?

The phone call adds to the cliff hanger as the dialogue from the mystery caller influences the audience to want to carry on watching the thriller. The audience want to know who else the caller has under his radar and what will she find out soon.

Conclusions

Overall I would have liked to have changed the dialogue between Nicole and Johnathan if we had more time. I would have changed the lighting in the coffin in the last time it cut to the coffin scene if we had a wider knowledge on how to use the software. I enjoyed the experience I gained from using the camera equipment and the editing software and working in a team.

By Marc Crown