Opening Titles Filming Stage

Us 4 in these 2 pics to the right and the top split the roles up in the final piece;
Me (white shirt guy in the middle)- focused on the electrical music , acting, and a large proportion of the 1st version of the opening
Sam (Hooded guy on the right)- did the final piece of editing for the 2nd revamped version of the opening titles, as well as playing the assassin
Bradley (white shirt guy to the left)- cameraman as well as minor acting and editing towards the 2nd version of the opening
Jack (white shirt guy to the right)- main cameraman and guy behind the typography/ credits of both tasks, and actor

 Last week, we begun the majority of the filming; making sure we kept the continuity in our hairstyles & outfits. A picture of me, Jack & Bradley (my peers) at the top shows us as typical-looking
 businessmen in a black & white clothing to set the thriller scene with the white corridor/ window scenes (quite area of the school; especially during lessons) we were going to have in the top of level of our school.
My friend Sam on the left is equip with his dark hooded Assassin look to contrast the other characters who are working with each other in some way, and as we've decided this opening should be recorded without a mic, and left with my made- up thriller music/ theme (that runs for 2 minutes), it's a good idea to have this contrast, so that the viewer can distinguish possibly who's the bad guy/ opposing side.

We will be probably uploading 1/2 video blogs soon about us explaining, as a group, our different roles, and what we have done to make the opening in a nutshell to these blogs.

After talking a lot between ourselves, we got my peer Jack primarily to guide/ direct what was happening in the opening, and regardless of planning a story before, we did make up what we were going to do on the spot, as we feel this works so much better for us if we plan what is going to happen and worry about the location on the day by mutually agreeing.

We planned and we have filmed a death scene to go in our titles, but if we come to the editing, and find that after a bit of research, not many other thriller opening have death scenes e.g. breaking of necks, we will probably scrap the strangling and leave the opening unclear as opening should be to an extent i.e. the hint that the assassin is probably going to kill the businessman (I).


Without planning exactly for any particular weather, it turned out to be raining outside by the window/ staircase we were going to film with me, Jack and Bradley (guys focusing on directing and filming this piece) meet up with a briefcase and move to our work stations whilst the Assassin is following us. If the rain is noticeable in the shot of the final opening, that would go well with a miserable, dark, black & white mood.
The filming studio, which is right next to the staircase (where the Assassin will come in to kill me whilst working at a desk) has got a lot of empty boxes and lightning dotted around which involved us having to move this stuff to the other end of the room away from the filming- specialized computer; the Tricast, so that nothing unnecessary was in shot of me walking to the desk, sitting down, and having my neck broken whilst working.

During filming the staircase/ window scene, we filmed a medium a shot of me in a smart/ broad posture gazing out of the window at the poring rain; waiting for Bradley to come up a staircase to hand me a case- and then with a silent, gestured discussion, Jack comes into shot and instructs us to follow him out of the shot down a corridor- leading me to singly go into the studio (my workplace to be unknowingly killed). With the staircase, the other camera filmed a shot of the Assassin in the corner of the shot looking up from the bottom the staircase; watching us 3 interact and walk off (pretty much a POV shot).
These shots where a lot of the characters and surroundings are still should make putting in the opening credits simple enough of a job in terms of similar colour, layout etc. etc.


Whilst filming in the studio, we noticed with all the lightning and other equipment was a health and safety hazard with their wires going across the floor, and likely to trip us up, so when we were moving all the stuff to one end of the studio, we made sure the odd wire was tucked/ put somewhere away from where I would be walking into the room and sitting down briskly.

For the studio, we turned the room light off and replaced it with a dim lighting facing me at the computer to make the screen's brightness stand out more, and the focus of the shot to the audience.
With my friend Sam's creativity, we got the 2 HD Cameras to film my death scene, by one of the cameras being hidden underneath of the 2 monitors looking up at me, as well as a medium shot of seeing me side on; having my neck broken by Sam- that way, when it comes to the editing, we have more choice in shots available.
We collectively set up dim lit lightning onto me whilst i'm working at the desk to give that dark/ eerie feel, and even a sense of insensitivity.

For the editing,  my peer Bradley and I  plan to share a role in the editing of the film, an fortunately I have the software adobe Premiere at home which should come in good use when working outside of lessons with my peers/ individually- with obviously coming to a general mutual agreement on what to include and how we should do it.

Opening Titles Development 7; Music & Costumes

For the opening, we will be having 2 characters; an assassin and 2 guys/ men who look like they are in a business (simple black and white dress code which hints at the deathly/ thriller theme of the opening). The main work came to thinking up of a good costume for the assassin and between us 3, we came up with the best ideas shown in these pictures of my friend Sam. Sam came up with a choice that we either cover his whole face, under the hoodie, in his buff to look very mysterious and that the killer could be anyone/ anonymous, or bring it down a bit to reveal his eyes only to look mysteriously creepy to the viewer.
For thriller it would seem strange to have a pianist who is also an assassin, and that way I think we can create a really good opneing.

I personally have been making an electrical piece on the music software, FL Studio, which is an eerie/ thriller theme that last just over 2 minutes. The software used a virtual keyboard to visually place notes and their lengths. 

For this piece, me and my friend Sam worked practically on a keyboard with another friend called Toby who takes Music,and found the D minor scale would be best suited to this opening.

Doing this will mean more originality and issues with finding/ sourcing music that isn't copyrighted.

After a play-through with Sam on a piano in a music room in which all 4 of us agree to film the piano scene, for his sake (regardless of small takes rather than a long cut of Sam playing the whole song) he asked me to make the piece easier to play with 2 hands and possibility ridding the little quick improvisation parts that are across the piece.

I have now create an easier version of the theme for Sam which should have a lower key range with using both hands separately.

Now it is a case of finding a small music room in our school's music department which is free for playing on a piano (my peer Jack reckons a grand piano would best suit us) to film Sam playing the piano seen in his costume, and then we will do about the corridor scene (an easy place to film right outside our classes) which won't be a problem during lessons when people aren't making lots of noise across the area of the school we usually house in.