Software and technology

The software that we used throughout the thriller process was:

• Garageband
• Final Cut express
• Photoshop

We used Garageband to edit our soundtrack, Final Cut express to create the final cut of footage for the thriller and Photoshop to edit our company logo. The technology we used included HD cameras, and also digital cameras. We used the digital cameras because our opening revolves around photography and processing, and so we had to use the camera to take pictures to put in the opening sequence as montages. 

Music

We wanted the soundtrack to be different to most thriller's soundtracks. We also wanted it to be dominant throughout the opening, because we decided not to have any dialogue in it. We decided this because we wanted to story around the stalker to stay a mystery. Our soundtrack features a low drone that carries on until the end, and then a beat, that resembles a heartbeat, comes in and carries on till the end. Towards the end, we faded out all the other sound except for the heartbeat, because we wanted to create an effect of increasing tempo towards the end. We then stopped the drum element, and brought in a faster, disturbed heartbeat at the part when the lips are on the screen, signalling a secret, to show that that was the end of the opening. We used Garage band to edit the sounds that we had found, which were mainly drones and heartbeats.

Production companies

These are a few production companies that we would consider using to create our thriller:

• Hammer Film Productions - Started in 1934. It is a London based production company. It is in charge of producing the new "Woman in Black" remake.

• Universal  Pictures - Division of NBC Universal. Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle. One of the oldest and most respected production companies.

• Sony Pictures Entertainment - Japanese company. Founded in 1989.Used to be Colombia Pictures Entertainment. Produced ghost busters and Men in Black.

• Newmarket Films - Founded in 1994. Produced Christopher Nolan films such as The Prestige.

• Coffee Film - British independent film company. Founded in 1996. Produces smaller budget films.

Changes after our draft..

Once we edited our first draft of the thriller, we went back and watched it repeatedly in order to gain an idea of what we wanted to change and what we wanted to keep the same.

Feedback
We got feedback from a media teacher, who had experience on working on films, and he gave his views as to what parts may need to be changed and or expanded on. One of his ideas was when the camera zoomed out and revealed the whole wall, but he felt this gave too much of the story away in one go so therefore we changed it so it only revealed the newspaper cut out which we felt worked alot better. Also he said that we needed more images of the stalker, but we felt that we didnt want to ruin the indentity or give too much away and so therefore we did not add any extra shots in.

Our own ideas
So once we did this, our first aim was to change the way in which the film unfolded because we felt it didnt really lead up to anything but instead it was slow and tension was not built up. In order to change this, we decided on having the speed of which it was played, sped up when it was on the reverse and also added more shots in to heighten the anticipation that the audience was feeling.
Aswell at we needed to add our soundtrack to the clip, which wasn't finished when making our draft. We made the track to emulate what was going on in the piece and therefore more layers were added as it went on although near the end we felt that the heartbeat on its own created an eery feel and therefore played on the emotions once again.

FINAL THRILLER OPENING.

Strategies to Market and Advertise our Thriller

Advertising and informing people of a new upcoming film is incredibly important in ensuring the success of the movie; there are many different ways we could go about doing this.

• Posters - for billboards, buses, cinema's, public places. A poster is the first thing that catches the audiences eyes and makes them interested in seeing the trailer and film. They have to be bright and informative so they stand out from others and give off vital information about the thriller, for example:  

• Trailers - for television and youtube. The trailer is the essential part of advertising a new film, it outlines the plot in less then 2 minuets giving the audience a snippet of what the film will be like. The main characters are also introduced, if they are famous actors and actresses then advertising that they're in the film will add to the popularity of the movie. An example of a thriller trailer is: 

Catch me if you can (2002)

• Film Review Websites, for example 'Rotten Tomatoes'. Having our thriller reviewed and discussed by different people with different opinions helps to advertise the film by one of the most important ways of communication, 'word of mouth'. This means that many people will start talking about it to their friends, thus spreading information about it. An example of a review is:

Review of foreign cinema thriller trailer

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) 

From the trailer of a film you can learn a lot, it is very important as it is used to sell the film and to encourage the audience to view the whole film. This trailer of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was made in Sweden and has English subtitles, this means that the trailer is incredibly important to encourage the audience as many people are not in favour of reading subtitles throughout a film. 

From the trailer we learn about the main characters and some of their background. We're told about different characters that lead us to wonder about their role in the film and whether they'll be the protagonist or antagonist. We're also informed of a murder; this tells us that it plays a large part in the thriller and other scenes revealed in the trailer give snippets on how different events and people are impacted by it. 

What thriller conventions does the trailer meet?

• The narrative centres around a crime eg. a theft or a murder. 
• The protagonist will be seen 'in peril' in one or more scenes before the resolution.
• The narrative presents ordinary situations in which extraordinary things happen.
• Micro elements combine in a build up of suspense.
• Themes of seeing, reflection and mirroring. Manipulation of perspectives, visual McGuffins, and optical illusions are common.
• A series of/ one important enigma(s) are/is set up in the opening sequence of the film, is further complicated during the first part of the film and only resolved at the very end.