Thriller Opening - First Cut & Latest Cut

These videos include the first shoot that I did at the primary location along with the behind the scenes footage, and the latest cut of the film (though still unfinished). Through this, I can show the development between the different stages of my work. The second location worked much better as it had better access, an easier surface to work on, and I got luckier with the weather. Therefore, it was much more flexible.

Thriller Opening 1st Draft

This is a draft version of my thriller opening, I still need to finalise the music (the drums are a bit too loud and need to be more in the background) and I need to re-shoot the sequence that features the two main characters walking towards the shed. This is for 3 reasons: there are water droplets on the lens, my shadow is on the floor, and they both smile as they pass the camera. I will also need to film the final sequence that will join onto the end of this sequence. I have also spelt the title wrong, and therefore, this mistake will need to be sorted out. This video will also act as a reference for the actors so they know exactly what they were wearing so there are no continuity issues in costume.

Director Profile: J. J. Abrams

Born: 27 June 1966, New York City, New York, USA as Jeffrey Jacob Abrams

Inspiration for Thriller Opening – Over exposing light to create flaring effect (Star Trek, 2009)

Trade Marks:

• High-tech, action-packed entertainment
• [Cold opening] A suspenseful sequence prior to the opening credits used to pull the audience directly into the story (Mission: Impossible 3 2006, Star Trek 2009)
• Often uses music by Michael Giacchino

Biography:

Abrams' first job in the movie business started when he was 16 when he wrote music for Don Dohler's film Nightbeast. During his senior year at college, he teamed with a friend to write a feature film treatment. Purchased by Touchstone Pictures, the treatment was the basis for Taking Care of Business, Abrams' first produced film, which starred Charles Grodin and Jim Belushi. He followed that up with Regarding Henry, starring Harrison Ford, and Forever Young, starring Mel Gibson.

Abrams collaborated with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay on the 1998 film, Armageddon. That same year, he made his first foray into television with Felicity, which ran for four seasons on The WB Network, serving as the show's co-creator (with Matt Reeves) and executive producer. Under his production company, Bad Robot, Abrams created and executive-produced ABC's Alias and is co-creator (with Damon Lindelof) and executive producer of Lost. He also served as executive producer of What About Brian and Six Degrees, also on ABC. Abrams directed and wrote the two-part pilot for Lost and remained active producer for the first half of the season before moving on to work on Mission: Impossible III. He later co-wrote the teleplay of the third season premiere A Tale of Two Cities and continues to participate in creative meetings with Damon Lindleof and Carlton Cuse about the direction and mythology of the show.

Abrams contributed in the writing process in Superman Flyby, and co-wrote and produced the 2001 film Joy Ride. He made his feature directorial debut in 2006 with Mission: Impossible III, starring Tom Cruise. He also directed the 2009 blockbuster film Star Trek. Abrams is also the producer of the 2008 monster movie, Cloverfield. His partnership with Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof has grown into the duo producing Star Trek together and while it was speculated that they would be writing and producing an adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels, they have publicly stated in November 2009, that they were no longer looking at that right now.

He composed the opening theme music for Alias, Lost, Fringe, and co-wrote both of the opening theme songs for Felicity. Abrams signed deals with Warner Bros. for new television shows and Paramount Pictures for new films worth around $50 million.

Filmography:

• Taking Care of Business (1990) (writer)
• Regarding Henry (1991) (writer, co-producer)
• Forever Young (1992) (writer, executive producer)
• The Pallbearer (1996) (producer)
• Gone Fishin' (1997) (co-writer)
• Armageddon (1998) (writer)
• The Suburbans (1999) (producer)
• Joy Ride (2001) (writer, producer)
• Mission: Impossible III (2006) (director, co-writer)
• Cloverfield (2008) (producer)
• Star Trek (2009) (director, producer)
• Morning Glory (2010) (producer)

Television:

• Felicity (1998-2002) (co-creator, writer, executive producer, director-2 episodes 1999)
• Alias (2001-2006) (creator, writer, executive producer, director-5 episodes 2001-05)
• Lost (2004-2010) (co-creator, writer, executive producer, director-2 episodes 2004 [pilots])
• What About Brian (2006-2007) (executive producer)
• Six Degrees (2006-2007) (executive producer)
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2006) (Guest director)
• The Office (2005-present) (guest director)
• Fringe (2008-present) (co-creator, writer, executive producer)
• Anatomy of Hope (2009) (director)
• Undercovers (2010) (co-creator, executive producer, writer, director)

Awards:

2005 – American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP)

Won, Top TV Series for Lost

2006 – ASCAP Award

Won, Top TV Series for Lost

2007 – Academy of Science-Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, USA

Nominated, Saturn Award for Best Director for Mission Impossible III

2007 – BAFTA

Nominated, Best International for Lost

2005 – Directors Guild of America

Nominated, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series for Lost

2009 – Emmy Award

Nominated, Outstanding Drama Series for Lost

2008 Nominated, Outstanding Drama Series for Lost

2005 Won, Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for Lost

2005 Nominated, Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for Lost

2010 – PGA Award

Won, Motion Picture of the Year, Theatrical Motion Picture for Star Trek

2007 Nominated, TV Producer of the Year in Episodic, Drama – Lost

2006 Won, TV Producer of the Year in Episodic, Drama – Lost

2004 Nominated, TV Producer of the Year in Episodic, Drama – Alias

2009 – Writers Guild of America (TV)

Nominated, Long Form – Original for Fringe

Nominated, New Series for Fringe

2007 Nominated, Dramatic Series – Lost

2006 Won, Dramatic Series – Lost

2006 – Golden Globe Award

Winner, Best Television Series, Drama – Lost

2007 Nominated, Best Television Series, Drama – Lost

Relocation

After encountering many problems at the first location - primarily the weather, I decided to change the site of the project. This came with its own set of difficulties as I needed to find a suitable indoors location quickly and be able to use it more or less straightaway. However, one of my friends who was acting in the film mentioned that he had access to an old barn that he was building his car in. We all went, not sure of what we would find. I liked this location more than the other one, and as we hadn't got much time, we shot then and there. I had to make a few changes to the film but the overall plot remained very much the same.
The lack of light in the barn allowed me to experiment with the exposure levels on the camera which produced interesting effects in the film as you'll see in the pictures.

I think the random objects in the barn added to the feeling of mystery and the fan seen in the bottom right image contributes to the old, rustic appearance of the setting as well as being the only source of natural light in the building, which highlights the characters that are trying to save the girl, while the others are often in shadow.

Tracks

Here are the tracks in use at the location for the Thriller opening. The tracks allowed for steady tracking shots that are not possible through the use of handheld camerawork. I obtained some goods shots in the short time that I had.

Track Construction

After reviewing the footage from my first attempt at filming my thriller opening, I decided that in order to overcome the difficulty of the uneven ground surface I would construct a track that I could raise above the ground. I would then build a platform that would serve as a base for my tripod and camera. This platform would roll along the tracks giving me smooth tracking shots and the ability to film more complex shots.

The tracks and trolley are made out of wood (excluding the wheels) and the tracks are 8ft long which is long enough for the shots I wish to accomplish and long enough that it still fits in my car.

This is a diagram of what I was planning to build and it turned out more or less exactly the same.

This is the construction so far, all that is left to do is to fix the tripod to the platform and join the two lengths of track together.

Director Profile: Michael Bay

Michael Bay           Born 17th February 1965, LA, California

Bay made his first feature film, Bad Boys, in 1995, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. The movie became a success with a total of almost $141million in ticket sales worldwide and generated a huge profit for producers Jerry Bruckheimer, Don Simpson and Columbia Pictures. His follow-up film, The Rock, 1996, starring Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris won a number of minor awards including 'Best On-Screen Duo' for Connery and Cage at the MTV Movie Awards as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Sound. 

Armageddon, 1998, was nominated for 4 Oscars at the 71st Academy Awards including Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing and Best Original Song. It went on to gross over $550 million worldwide. Bay has collaborated with producer Jerry Bruckheimer for five feature films. 

Michael Bay is probably best known for making large-budget action films including the Transformers films which have grossed more than $1.5billion domestically and $3.5billion worldwide. As of 2009, Michael Bay's world wide box office totals make him the director with the 6th highest gross of all time. 

Genres:

Documentary
Thriller
Action
Short/Commercial

Filmography: (Director)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) & Executive Producer

Transformers (2007)                                   & Executive Producer

The Island (2005)                                       & Producer

Bad Boys II (2003)

Pearl Harbor (2001)                                   & Producer

Armageddon (1998)                                   & Producer

The Rock (1996)

Bad Boys (1995)

Awards:

1995 – Directors Guild of America, USA

            Won, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials

1999 – Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA

            Won, Saturn Award – Best Director – Armageddon

Has received five MTV Movie Awards: Best Movie and Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet for Transformers, Best Action Scene for Pearl Harbor, Best Action Scene for Bad Boys 2, and Best Action Scene for The Rock. 

Trade Mark Techniques:

Intense slow motion shots of characters

Has the camera moving during most scenes. Very rarely uses static shots

Actors/characters in his films are almost uniformly shot in tight, emphatic close ups, framed under the hairline and above the chin.

Often has over-the-top visuals (i.e. key events taking place at sunset or dramatic events taking place behind actors doing routine activities).

Uses shots of aircraft against a setting sun, especially helicopters (The Rock (1996), Armageddon (1998), Pearl Harbor (2001), Transformers (2007))

Often features a slow-motion shot of an object crashing into, or tumbling towards the camera.

Uses a shot where the camera spins in a circle around characters. (Bad Boys II, Transformers).

Frenetic editing of action sequences.