Here is my personal evaluation for the production; "Daddies Little Girl".
The brief we used was
"To Produce the Opening Sequence of a New Thriller including titles aimed at a 15/18 Certificate Audience, approximately 2 minutes in length".
For this task I was placed in a group with
Laura Henshaw
Joe Mackeown
and Amy Llewellyn.
Before we could start to work on our actual project, We were given two different Tasks to Record & Edit, these were "Someone Tying a Shoe" and "Someone Walking into a Room". We could make them as interesting or a mundane as we liked, but they had to cover the Breif. Then we had to edit them using Adobe Premiere Pro, and show them to our peers where they would give feedback on good/bad point and what we could have done to improve on it.
It was only after we had done this task that we could move on to our actual project and get underway with in.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of real media products?
In preparation for the actual project, We watched a selection of Thriller Openings both in class, and for homework. The Thriller Sequences that I watched were "Seven", "Jaws", "Silence of the Lambs", "Armageddon" and "Deja Vu". One thing that these thrillers made us of was Techniques that would drag the audience in, and make them want to watch on. The Directors did this by using techniques such as "Conceal and Protraction" where the audience is only shown part of the action, for example, The result of a murder; such as a dead body or a disgraded weapon. Another technique favoured was the use of the "Question & Answer Model"; this is where the audience are shown something, or shown something from a certain Camera Angle or Point Of View to make them ask Questions about the film, making them want to watch on to discover the answers.
Moreover, Camera Angles such as close ups were a key feature also, as they didn't show the whole item or scene, which helped add to the suspense and increase the use of the two Thriller Techniques mentioned above. High Angle and Low Angle shots were made use of too to denote one characters strength over another; such as when a killing was about the take place the Point of View, or Camer Angle, would be looking down onto the Victim making them appear smaller and more vulnerable.
In Addition, Eeiry sounds, of a changing pace helped add to the tension on a more subconcious level, where as the graphics were always eye catching in there own way, be that flashing around the screen or in a big, bold font in the middle of the screen.
For Our Thriller production, We, as a team, decided to make a Phsycological Thriller . This was because for our preparation for the work we produced a Questionnaire for people of our age to fill in; this would be beneficial as we would be able to see what type of Thriller best appealed to them, whilst also seeing what features made it more enjoyable to watch, as well as what didn't.
We decided that from the Questionnaire, we knew people of our age group wanted most a Phsycological Thriller, which involved a Man as the bad guy or killer. They thought bassy and slow sounds best suited the genre, as did red coloured fonts.
On the other hand, having viewed the Thriller previous to this study, we thought it best to use black, bold titles with a red shadow, so we kept our audiences opinion to go with what they thought best, whilst using the more common style, or a bold, black font, adopted by the Hollywood Blockbusters.
However, for the rest of the films techniques, we combined what we thought to be a good mix of Techniques used in the films we had watched during lessons. We were going to make use of the "Conceal & Protraction" Technique, hence making our other decision of using the "Question & Answer Model" and obvious one to make. We struggled however to see how we could "mask" the face of our killer by keeping his face out of shot, so we had a difficult task of making the Audience ask Questions whilst already know the identity of the killer; a Key Point, in which We ignored the results of our Questionnaire.
Our Thriller, entitled "Daddies Little Girl", used a variety of Camera Angles such as "Low Angle Pan" and "Close Up" as well as "Tracking" and "Panning". We wanted our Camera Angles to give a sense of fear to the Man shown in the majority of the footage. We made use of Low Angle shots so that he appeared taller and far more supperior to instill a sense of fear into our audience, so they knew this man was not doing normal day to day activities.
The Close Up shots were few and far between, as when We used them they were to highlight a point; such as, When he is in the Bedroom, he is stroking clothing, Why would you do that? When he is in the kitchen with the knife, the Close Up shot makes the knifer appear larger and longer; making the shot where he chops the tomato appear more menacing and less normal.
The Panning shots worked best when the Girl entered the film; this was because it made it look like the was being watched and followed by someone in the background. The High Angle shots gave the same effect, making her look smaller as well as it looking like somebody was watching in on her through a Device such as CCTV; again intesifying the audience, increasing tension and fear.
On the whole, I believe our Thriller is a good opening Sequence, maybe not as good as it could have been with more thoughtful planning, and a better understanding of how it would appear when it was compiled at the end. Our music fit in well with the film, as it was bassy and suspensefull whilst the man was moving around the house, and then eeiry and disturbing when the girl came in, and it built up towards the end as the Girl approached her bedroom door; it then stops just as she opens it, this leaves the audience feeling confused, and left in a false sense of Security. The footage leaves the audience asking Questions such as "Who is this Man?", "What is he doing?", "Is he in his house or somebody elses?" which means we achieved our aim of uitilizing the Question and Answer Model.
So because of this, I think this shows how a Phsycological Thriller, with a constant undertone of death or murder doesn't have to be set in a rural wooded area, with a Person walking home in an unrealistic situation, so I think our Thriller is a good example of how an Opening Sequence should or could look like. We used a variety of Techniques such as the Transformed City, making a normal place full of danger, as well as uitilizing the Question & Answer Model by using a variety of Camera Angles specifically used for that effect.
Further Good points about our film is the Editing, where we made use of Video Effect to layer 3 shots over each other, to show a passing of time as he is clearly able to move freely around the house. We slowed down the tomato slicing shot to add impact as the bang is stretched out over a longer period of time. Match on Action was a technique used, where we compiled severl clips back to back to show the Girl walking through the house to give the impression to the audience she is not alone, someone is watching her, and its all about to go terribly wrong very soon.
How does your media procuct represent particular social groups?
Our film shows the representation of how many girls are subject to Violence and Fear through their lives by members of their own family, as is shown in our Film. It also represents how Fathers who appear normal, and to be doing normal things can be very sinister and some times insane, as also shown in our picture. We took the idea of making every day activities that would appear normal, be infact quite sinister. This would make the audience feel insecure and reminds them of what it is a small proportion of people go through during their lives.
As is usually the case with these stories, We decided the Man would have to be the "Bad Guy" and the Girl would have to be the innocent Victim who has fallen foul of his behaviours; and we can emphasize this by using Camera Angles to make the Man appear stronger than her, when infact he is probably not.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Our film would definately be a Small Budget Blockbuster, that would make it to a Local Mainstream Cinema such as the Odeon in Warrington. Here we would be hoing to attract the attention of 15/16 Year olds, which is the Mode age of people we asked. On the other hand, it could also attract the attention of Thriller Fans outside of this target age, meaning people from the ages of 17 and up may come to see our film. After its time on the big screen, depending on its popularity and profit, it could be Released on DVD for a consumer to buy off the shelf in a Supermarket or DVD Rental Store to watch at home at the leisure.
The process of moving the Film from Cinema to DVD is now an easy one, although the burining and labelling of DVDs does take some time. However, in contrast to this, if we began the production of DVD's well before it left the cinema, we could have a low amount of stock on the shelves not long after it has left the Mainstream Cinema, meaning people who didn't get a chance to see it can watch it at home, whilst the Films Names & Reviews are still recent and being talked about.
As previously mentioned, our target audience is 15 year olds; this is becuase at our age of 16 and 17, we cannot legally watch a Film with an 18 Classification, therefore it was the most logical, (and only choice!), to make a Film with a 15 Classification, so we tried to make sure the people we Surveyed were in that age bracket. However, by making the film a 15 Certificate, it allows for anybody over the ages of 15 to go and see it legally, whereas if it was an 18, only people aged 18 and over could go and see it; so by making it a 15, more people can go and see it.
How did you attract/address your audience?
We knew what would best appeal to our Audience, because we had their preferences all written down in our Results from the Audience Research Questionnaire we carried out. We had our Questionnaire consist of 20 different Questions that covered topics from Favourite previous Thrillers, to the preferred Sex of the Killer, as well as What Style of Thriller that they liked best, What Sounds made a Good Thriller; Eeiry, Slow, Bassy etc.
By doing this we could gain a good idea of what our Target Audience expected from a Thriller, so we could gauge a good storyline, and take on the right actors and actresses to fill each role. Then we knew how to edit it, what sounds to add so our Audience felt a rise in tension as the Sequence progressed, and little details such as Fonts and Font Colours so we knew what little additions helped to make a Thriller for our Target Audience.
Our target Audience watched our film during post production, and commented on how effective the sounds were, although it may have been a little too overpowering. They enjoyed the opening as they were asking Questions such as "Whats he doing?" meaning we were succeeding in making effective use of the "Conceal & Protraction" and "Question & Answer Model". They didn't particularly comment on the colour of the graphics, which I believe is down to us still incorporating the Red Shadow behind the black font; which in the end looked quite effective!
What have you learnt about Technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Having previously done filming projects, I was quite familiar with Adobe Premier Pro, so the Software was not an issue; although We filmed some preliminary clips to freshen up on Editing etc. The Camera was quite hard to use because when it started recording, it wound back a little; meaning we needed to record 5 Seconds before acting so We didn't lose our footage as we didi with one of the Preliminary Films. In addition to this, the Camera had to be kept incredibly still and level, which was fine when we had shots using a tripod, but when it came to Panning Shots the Camera Work becomes a bit jumpy.
During the filming process, we didn't have problems as such, it was just anynoise in the background was easily heard; so when we came back to edit to find talking could be heard in the background, we had to go back to the Filming Location and Re-Record our previous footage.
As the film was taking place in a house we hadn't anticipated problems with space, i.e. fitting the tripod into certain places, and nor had we considered Lighting, and how it would differ between rooms in the house. There is a clear example of this during the Bedroom Scene where the lighting between shots is inconsistent and at times a little dim.
The Final Production does differ to what we put on the Storyboards, because whilst on Location filming, we saw some opportunities and had ideas for extra pieces that would make the Film better and more suspenseful. These changes included Recording the Man going through the Kitchen 3 Times so we could layer it as a multi-clip scene. We also decided to do the Tracking shot of just the girls feet along the floor so it gave her a sense of feeling bigger as though she couldn't fit onto the small Screen. This would then break the idea of her being a more vulnerable Character.
During & After filming we didn't reall struggle with Technological Problems, the onlyproblem we did have was on the first day of filming the battery ran out on the Camera, and there was no charger in the Box, so we had to resume Filming later that week.
Sound was our biggest problem; this is because it HAD to be Royalty Free (Free of Copyright etc) And finding a piece that suited the film was a near impossible task. However, in the end we found a Royalty Free MP3 Website called http://www.incomptech.com. Here they had a whole libary dedicated to sounds that We could utilize! After that the only problem we had with the sounds was keeping the Levels at a Normal State, and making sure it matched with our Action on Screen, and was long enough to last the 2 Minutes Required.
Camera Shots that were difficult included the ones where the Tripod needed rotating, this was because the Tripod when slackened off and tightened was very jumpy and creeked when it got so far round, so we had to look at using these shots a little less so's to avoid the background noise, which we couldn't even blend in to the film as it was inappropriate for the film.
In the film a variety of effects have been used; We spent a lot of time going through our film to decide where we could add Special Effects that would improve the film and not just make it look tacky. We slowed down the shot of the tomato being sliced as we thought this looked effective, and by dragging the clip out made it appear more menacing, instilling a greater fear in our audience. Our Graphics were simple yet effective, and as mentioned were Big, Bold & Black, surrounded by a Red Shadow.
The effects on Premiere were not as sophisticated as Programs such as Acid, which is used by the BBC and such, but it did the job of editing our film nicely. The effects on the whole were quite poor, but we utilized features such as the Scene Speed to slow down clips, and speed up others. The graphics were easy to create, and even easier to work with onscreen.
Looking back at your prliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
To conclude, since recording the Preliminary Videos of the "Walking Through The Door" Task, I believe my skills on both Camera & Editing have come on leaps and bounds. I am now able to confidently use a Camera Effectivley to draw the Audience in. I am able to edit what footage I have to make "Match-on-Action" so that several different shots can be strung together to make what is on long looking shot from several different angles along the way.
I believe looking at our film that we have met the brief, Our Film is of a Good Quality with near perfect editing between shots. We used Match-On-Action and Point of View Shots. The soundtrack to which we have used is good also, it matches what the Audience sees perfectly, there is a Bassy and Creepy sound at the begininng whilst the Man is rummaging around the house, and when the Girl comes in we have another instrument come in, and the music sounds more eeiry and begins to build up, increasing tension through the audience.
If I was to do this film again, I would keep the same sound track, but I would like to re-record the footage so the Identity of the man is kept secret building suspense through the Audience, this would make them want to watch on, whereas some may turn off after seeing the Killer Identity. I would change the graphics to a more suitable font to the film, I did try to produce graphics for the film on Adobe Photoshop, but when they were put onto the film they weren't as effective, so they got discarded.
Tuesday 28 April 2009
Section 11: Audience Feedback
For our Audience feedback, we created a questionnaire consisting of 10 questions about various aspects of our Thriller, as follows:
1)Did you enjoy the storyline?
2)Did you like the camera angles?
3) Where the characters believable?
4) Did the graphics set the scene?
5) What was you favourite part of the film?
6) Was the little dialogue appropriate?
7) Did the music build suspense?
8) What was your least favourite part?
9) Was the storyline easy to follow?
10) Was the flashback useful to the story?
We got a group of people to watch our Thriller and fill in this questionnaire, the results we as follows :
1)Did you enjoy the storyline?
Yes- 17
No- 3
2)Did you like the camera angles?
Yes- 19No- 1
3) Where the characters believable?
Yes- 18
No- 2
4) Did the graphics set the scene?
Yes- 15
No- 5
5) What was you favourite part of the film?
Cut tomatoe,
drawing in book,
daddys home dialogue,
kitchen scene
6) Was the little dialogue appropriate?
Yes- 17
No- 3
7) Did the music build suspense?
Yes- 16
No- 4
8) What was your least favourite part?
Walkin through the house,
ending,
shakey shots,
flashback.
9) Was the storyline easy to follow?
Yes- 17
No- 3
10) Was the flashback useful to the story?
Yes- 8
No- 12
Our feedback shows that the majority of people enjoyed the storyline, finding it easy to follow, and the camera angles used. We found that most people thought that our graphics were appropriate and set the scene and the characters were believable. We also found that our choise of music was effective and people thought that our small peice of dialogue was apropriate. The most popular part of our thriller appeared to be the kitchen scene, especially the idea of cutting the tomato and also the idea of drawing/highlighting in the book. The least popular part of our thriller was the end, the scene with the girl walking through the house.
1)Did you enjoy the storyline?
2)Did you like the camera angles?
3) Where the characters believable?
4) Did the graphics set the scene?
5) What was you favourite part of the film?
6) Was the little dialogue appropriate?
7) Did the music build suspense?
8) What was your least favourite part?
9) Was the storyline easy to follow?
10) Was the flashback useful to the story?
We got a group of people to watch our Thriller and fill in this questionnaire, the results we as follows :
1)Did you enjoy the storyline?
Yes- 17
No- 3
2)Did you like the camera angles?
Yes- 19No- 1
3) Where the characters believable?
Yes- 18
No- 2
4) Did the graphics set the scene?
Yes- 15
No- 5
5) What was you favourite part of the film?
Cut tomatoe,
drawing in book,
daddys home dialogue,
kitchen scene
6) Was the little dialogue appropriate?
Yes- 17
No- 3
7) Did the music build suspense?
Yes- 16
No- 4
8) What was your least favourite part?
Walkin through the house,
ending,
shakey shots,
flashback.
9) Was the storyline easy to follow?
Yes- 17
No- 3
10) Was the flashback useful to the story?
Yes- 8
No- 12
Our feedback shows that the majority of people enjoyed the storyline, finding it easy to follow, and the camera angles used. We found that most people thought that our graphics were appropriate and set the scene and the characters were believable. We also found that our choise of music was effective and people thought that our small peice of dialogue was apropriate. The most popular part of our thriller appeared to be the kitchen scene, especially the idea of cutting the tomato and also the idea of drawing/highlighting in the book. The least popular part of our thriller was the end, the scene with the girl walking through the house.
Section 10: Video Log Sheets & Edit Decision Lists
Here are the Video Log Sheets for the production "Daddies Little Girl".
After analysing the recorded footage carefully, we then decided on the shots that we wanted to use in our final piece. Here are the edit decision lists for the production "Daddies Little Girl".
After analysing the recorded footage carefully, we then decided on the shots that we wanted to use in our final piece. Here are the edit decision lists for the production "Daddies Little Girl". Section 9: Production Schedule
Production Schedule
Film Title: "Daddy's Little Girl"
Director: Laura Henshaw, Amy Llewellyn, Ian Austin, Joe Mckeown
Producer: Laura Henshaw, Amy Llewellyn, Ian Austin, Joe Mckeown
Client:
Date Production Started: 3rd December 2008
Treatment Started: 20th November 2008
Storyboard Started: 26th November 2008
Shooting Started: 2nd December 2008
Post-Production: Completed (December 2008)
Rough Cut Submitted:
Final Show Tape Completed: December 2008
Location Equipment Required
Camera
Microphones
LightingKit
Tapes
Transport Requirments
1x Car for Crew
1x Car for Cast
Crewing Requirements
CameraPeople: Laura Henshaw, Amy Llewellyn, Ian Austin, Joe Mckeown
Sound: Laura Henshaw, Amy Llewellyn, Ian Austin, Joe Mckeown
Lighting: Laura Henshaw, Amy Llewellyn, Ian Austin, Joe Mckeown
Post Production Assistant: Laura Henshaw, Amy Llewellyn, Ian Austin, Joe Mckeown
Actors
Ray Hallam
Lisa Hardman
Props
Teddies
Knifes
Clothes
Film Title: "Daddy's Little Girl"
Director: Laura Henshaw, Amy Llewellyn, Ian Austin, Joe Mckeown
Producer: Laura Henshaw, Amy Llewellyn, Ian Austin, Joe Mckeown
Client:
Date Production Started: 3rd December 2008
Treatment Started: 20th November 2008
Storyboard Started: 26th November 2008
Shooting Started: 2nd December 2008
Post-Production: Completed (December 2008)
Rough Cut Submitted:
Final Show Tape Completed: December 2008
Location Equipment Required
Camera
Microphones
LightingKit
Tapes
Transport Requirments
1x Car for Crew
1x Car for Cast
Crewing Requirements
CameraPeople: Laura Henshaw, Amy Llewellyn, Ian Austin, Joe Mckeown
Sound: Laura Henshaw, Amy Llewellyn, Ian Austin, Joe Mckeown
Lighting: Laura Henshaw, Amy Llewellyn, Ian Austin, Joe Mckeown
Post Production Assistant: Laura Henshaw, Amy Llewellyn, Ian Austin, Joe Mckeown
Actors
Ray Hallam
Lisa Hardman
Props
Teddies
Knifes
Clothes
Section 8: Story Boards
Here are the Storyboards for the Production "Daddies Little Girl".
Storyboard 1:
Storyboard 1:
Storyboard 2:
Storyboard 3:
Section 7: Location Sheets
Living room.
Name of Location: Laura's Living room.
Health and Safety: Stairs, Low roof where stairs go up.
Landing.
Name of Location: Laura's Landing (upstairs)
Health and Safety: Stairs, door hinges.
Bedroom.
Name of Location: Laura's Bedroom.
Health and Safety: Cables / objects on floor.
Name of Location: Laura's Bedroom.
Health and Safety: Cables / objects on floor.
Name of Location: Laura's Kitchen
Health and Safety: Slippy surface from sink, Sharp objects, hanging pans.
Section 6: Character Outlines & Script
Character 1 - The Killer
Clothes
Normal Casual Clothes
Leather Gloves
Props
Things in the Bedroom
Clothes
Books
Teatowels
Knife
Character Outline
Derek Hunt is a 50 year old man, of middle height from Manchester. He has very little hair and is a quiet a man who prefers to be alone.He is a very clever man and leaves very few pieces of evidence at a crime scene; the evidence he does leave behind is not helpful to solving the case.
Derek has 4 daughters but none of them know he is their father. The children he has all have different mothers and do not know about each other. Most of the children have not seen their father since they were born or if at all. Derek recently came out of a mental institute due to being abused as a child and attacking his mother after years of torture. He blames anyone related to him for his downfall and stay in the institute. He has very violent outbursts and rarely remembers the details of what he has done.
Character 2 - The woman at the beginning
Clothes
She will be wearing normal casual clothes.
Props
Door
Character Outline
16 Year old from Manchester, and is one of 4 Daughters of the killer, but non of the girls know their Dad is a Killer. She hasn’t seen her father since she was a child.
Clothes
Normal Casual Clothes
Leather Gloves
Props
Things in the Bedroom
Clothes
Books
Teatowels
Knife
Character Outline
Derek Hunt is a 50 year old man, of middle height from Manchester. He has very little hair and is a quiet a man who prefers to be alone.He is a very clever man and leaves very few pieces of evidence at a crime scene; the evidence he does leave behind is not helpful to solving the case.
Derek has 4 daughters but none of them know he is their father. The children he has all have different mothers and do not know about each other. Most of the children have not seen their father since they were born or if at all. Derek recently came out of a mental institute due to being abused as a child and attacking his mother after years of torture. He blames anyone related to him for his downfall and stay in the institute. He has very violent outbursts and rarely remembers the details of what he has done.
Character 2 - The woman at the beginning
Clothes
She will be wearing normal casual clothes.
Props
Door
Character Outline
16 Year old from Manchester, and is one of 4 Daughters of the killer, but non of the girls know their Dad is a Killer. She hasn’t seen her father since she was a child.
Section 5: Synopsis & Treatment
Synopsis:
As the Royal North Western Mental Institute mistakes papers, little to they know of the catastrophic events that Derek Hunt will cause to the family he left behind; making his child’s favourite game of Hide & Seek into a sinister tale of twists and turns. If you think you’ve seen it all before, think again! A Physiological Thriller that will push you to the edge of your seat as you pray for the madness to end, and just as you think its over, and let your guard down, the tale will get worse!
Treatment
Beginning:
There is a man in a girl’s bedroom, we first see a close up of his hand as he is routing through a closet slowly, as if looking for something, but at the same time tidying room, placing teddies in closet and picking up clothes, placing them in the wardrobe. Shown through the use of midshots and panning shots.We are not shown where this room is or who’s it is at this point.However there are books spread out throughout the room, all open on certain pages, highlighted certain images and phrases, there are also towels and cloths spread out in one area of the room, this is when the audience realise something is wrong as there are bloodstains on them. This is emphasised through a close up shot of the bloodstains on the cloths.The man then starts to read one of the books whilst sat on the bed and carries on highlighting areas, we see a close up of the book as he highlights it, but the content of the book is still kept hidden. We then show a close-up of the man’s left hand while he starts to stroke one of the teddies he’d placed on the bed, audience notice dried blood on the mans hand but are left wondering why and where it came from. We then see a flashback, make clear through the editing of the same man in a kitchen, routing through the cupboards making a mess and throwing pots and pans on the floor. One draw is left unopened man slowly walks over to the draw, opens it, smiles and pulls out two knives, making sure to shut it again. The man then compares the two, and slices a piece of meat with both knives one after the other, then selects the sharpest one.We then revert from flashback as we hear a sound of a front door unlocking. The shot jumps to the front door and we see it is a girl entering the house, we shoot back to seeing the man in what we assume to be her room. The man is now wielding the blade he chose earlier, slowly stroking it, we show a close up off his face to emphasis his facial expression, he is smiling wickedly.We see the girl walk through to the kitchen and notice everything strewn, and only the knife draw closed.The girl then proceeds to cautiously walk up the stairs towards her room. We see from the mans point of view, who is stood in silence staring at the door from the opposite end of the room from it, next to the bed.We can hear the girl getting closer to the door, and we see from her angle as she goes to open the door.It then changes to the man as she opens the door and we see from over his shoulder as the girl spots him, as she see’s him we see a close up of her face to exaggerate her shocked expression.
Middle:
As the man continues to stalk various girls, he becomes ever much more involved and attached. We will show this by using over the shoulder shots, with the girls in the front and him in the back, blurred at the edges to show they are a clear image to him, and that they are his main focus. The killings wont be seen, but the aftermath that we do show will be quite graphic, and we will use close ups, and shot reverse shots to show the horrified looks as to what has happened.The use of music will be important for the main part of this because it will add tension as it leads up to the killings. We would use a slow paced sound as he moved up to the girl, but speeding up as he went to kill her, and then silence after 1 bass note kills the track.
End:
The Attending detective realises that the killer is also her biological father that she didn’t know existed. She realises through research into murder cases and various other clues that he belongs in a mental institute and the people he has been killing are related to him in some way. (He went insane and started killing his family) This leads her to realise she could be next on his list. She tries her best to find him before he finds her, but she is too late. He finds out who she is and where she lives and one night she finds herself in the same brutal situation as her sister. And she dies.
As the Royal North Western Mental Institute mistakes papers, little to they know of the catastrophic events that Derek Hunt will cause to the family he left behind; making his child’s favourite game of Hide & Seek into a sinister tale of twists and turns. If you think you’ve seen it all before, think again! A Physiological Thriller that will push you to the edge of your seat as you pray for the madness to end, and just as you think its over, and let your guard down, the tale will get worse!
Treatment
Beginning:
There is a man in a girl’s bedroom, we first see a close up of his hand as he is routing through a closet slowly, as if looking for something, but at the same time tidying room, placing teddies in closet and picking up clothes, placing them in the wardrobe. Shown through the use of midshots and panning shots.We are not shown where this room is or who’s it is at this point.However there are books spread out throughout the room, all open on certain pages, highlighted certain images and phrases, there are also towels and cloths spread out in one area of the room, this is when the audience realise something is wrong as there are bloodstains on them. This is emphasised through a close up shot of the bloodstains on the cloths.The man then starts to read one of the books whilst sat on the bed and carries on highlighting areas, we see a close up of the book as he highlights it, but the content of the book is still kept hidden. We then show a close-up of the man’s left hand while he starts to stroke one of the teddies he’d placed on the bed, audience notice dried blood on the mans hand but are left wondering why and where it came from. We then see a flashback, make clear through the editing of the same man in a kitchen, routing through the cupboards making a mess and throwing pots and pans on the floor. One draw is left unopened man slowly walks over to the draw, opens it, smiles and pulls out two knives, making sure to shut it again. The man then compares the two, and slices a piece of meat with both knives one after the other, then selects the sharpest one.We then revert from flashback as we hear a sound of a front door unlocking. The shot jumps to the front door and we see it is a girl entering the house, we shoot back to seeing the man in what we assume to be her room. The man is now wielding the blade he chose earlier, slowly stroking it, we show a close up off his face to emphasis his facial expression, he is smiling wickedly.We see the girl walk through to the kitchen and notice everything strewn, and only the knife draw closed.The girl then proceeds to cautiously walk up the stairs towards her room. We see from the mans point of view, who is stood in silence staring at the door from the opposite end of the room from it, next to the bed.We can hear the girl getting closer to the door, and we see from her angle as she goes to open the door.It then changes to the man as she opens the door and we see from over his shoulder as the girl spots him, as she see’s him we see a close up of her face to exaggerate her shocked expression.
Middle:
As the man continues to stalk various girls, he becomes ever much more involved and attached. We will show this by using over the shoulder shots, with the girls in the front and him in the back, blurred at the edges to show they are a clear image to him, and that they are his main focus. The killings wont be seen, but the aftermath that we do show will be quite graphic, and we will use close ups, and shot reverse shots to show the horrified looks as to what has happened.The use of music will be important for the main part of this because it will add tension as it leads up to the killings. We would use a slow paced sound as he moved up to the girl, but speeding up as he went to kill her, and then silence after 1 bass note kills the track.
End:
The Attending detective realises that the killer is also her biological father that she didn’t know existed. She realises through research into murder cases and various other clues that he belongs in a mental institute and the people he has been killing are related to him in some way. (He went insane and started killing his family) This leads her to realise she could be next on his list. She tries her best to find him before he finds her, but she is too late. He finds out who she is and where she lives and one night she finds herself in the same brutal situation as her sister. And she dies.
Section 4(b): Audience Research Results
After gathering our results together we used Microsoft Excel to put our results into graphs and charts in order to make our results more visual. These graphs are shown below.
After looking at the results from our questionnaire, We, as a group, came to eunanamous decisions, that in turn will benefit our production when we finally come to filming the thriller opening sequence as we know what it is that our audience wants from us. We put on our questionnaire a choice of thriller films and then asked people which was their favourite and least favourite. The three films we gave as a choice were ‘Jaws’, Seven’, and ‘Silence of the Lambs’. We found that ‘Jaws’ was both the favourite and least favourite.We found that psychological thrillers were the favourite so we can consider doing one of these as it was the most popular.
After looking at the results from our questionnaire, We, as a group, came to eunanamous decisions, that in turn will benefit our production when we finally come to filming the thriller opening sequence as we know what it is that our audience wants from us. In the Questionnaire, We asked 40 people in total; 20 males and 20 females. 2 were under 16, 35 were between 16-18 and 2 were over the age of 18. This variety was helpful because most of the people we asked were between 16-18 meaning they had a good idea of what to expect from a 15 cetificate, whilst the over 18s gave a great incite into what they expected from their classification of horror film.
We found that 50% of the people we asked liked the plot the most about a thriller. Therefore when we start our thriller we will concentrate on a good plot.We found that 50% preferred to be scared and 50% preferred to be intrigued by a thriller.
We found most people would associate a male with being a killer. Most people would expect a bad character to be evil. 22 people would like to see a lot of blood and 18 people wouldn’t. As this result was close we could consider using a small amount of blood and not making it too gory.Most expect a thriller to be more tension building rather that violent. Most would not expect to be introduced to the killer at the beginning of a thriller.
Almost half of people would associate creepy music with a thriller. Only 4 people would associate bassy music with a thriller therefore this will help us decide what type of music to use.Red is the main colour people would associate with a thriller so we can consider using this.
22 people would rather the villain won while only 18 people would prefer the hero to win. 36 voted that the killer should be human.Most people thought that the killer should use weapons. A majority of people thought the thriller should be set in a remote location. Most people thought loud breathing was the thing that scared them the most, closely followed by silence.
Monday 27 April 2009
Section 4: Audience Research
In order to make the best film we could, we made a questionnaire which would would hand out to people, so we knew what people like best in Triller Films.
1)Age: __<16>18
2) Are you male or felmale?:
3) What is your favourite Thriller and Why?
Silence of the lambs.
Jaws.
Se7en.
4) What is your least favourite thriller and why?
Silence of the lambs.
Jaws.
Se7en.
5) What is your favourite style of Thriller?
Action
Disaster
Erotic
Legal
Medical
Political
Psychological
Spy
Supernatural
Techno-thriller.
6) What do you like most in a thriller?
Good Plot
Good Characters
Good
Setting
Other: ______
7) Would you rather be scared or intrigued?
8) Would you associate a killer with a male or female?
9) What would you expect from a 'bad' character?
Evil
Psycho
Schizophrenic
10) Do you like to see alot of blood?
11) Would you expect more violence or more tension building?
12) Would you expect to be introduced to the killer at the beginning?
13) What type of music would you associate with a thriller?
Creepy
Slow paced
Fast paced
'Bassy'
14) What colours would you associate with a thriller?
Black&White
Red
Other: ______
15) What style of graphics would you associate with a Thriller?
'Aa Bb Zz'
'Aa Bb Zz'
'Aa Bb Zz'
'Aa Bb Zz'
16) Would you rather see the hero win or the villain?
17) Do you think the killer should be human?
18) Do you think the killer should use weapons?
19) Where would you expect a Thriller to be set?
Normal place
Remote place
Woods
City
20) What makes you scared?
Footsteps
Loud Breathing
The sound of wind
Silence
1)Age: __<16>18
2) Are you male or felmale?:
3) What is your favourite Thriller and Why?
Silence of the lambs.
Jaws.
Se7en.
4) What is your least favourite thriller and why?
Silence of the lambs.
Jaws.
Se7en.
5) What is your favourite style of Thriller?
Action
Disaster
Erotic
Legal
Medical
Political
Psychological
Spy
Supernatural
Techno-thriller.
6) What do you like most in a thriller?
Good Plot
Good Characters
Good
Setting
Other: ______
7) Would you rather be scared or intrigued?
8) Would you associate a killer with a male or female?
9) What would you expect from a 'bad' character?
Evil
Psycho
Schizophrenic
10) Do you like to see alot of blood?
11) Would you expect more violence or more tension building?
12) Would you expect to be introduced to the killer at the beginning?
13) What type of music would you associate with a thriller?
Creepy
Slow paced
Fast paced
'Bassy'
14) What colours would you associate with a thriller?
Black&White
Red
Other: ______
15) What style of graphics would you associate with a Thriller?
'Aa Bb Zz'
'Aa Bb Zz'
'Aa Bb Zz'
'Aa Bb Zz'
16) Would you rather see the hero win or the villain?
17) Do you think the killer should be human?
18) Do you think the killer should use weapons?
19) Where would you expect a Thriller to be set?
Normal place
Remote place
Woods
City
20) What makes you scared?
Footsteps
Loud Breathing
The sound of wind
Silence
Section 3: Brainstorm of Ideas & Film Classification
Today we put into groups. These will be the groups that will be filming with, during the lesson we had to think of different ideas for a Thriller.
Location Ideas:
Forest,
Church,
Field,
Abandoned house,
Remote location.
Storyline Ideas / Techniques:
See a girl running but we don’t know what/who from.
Set at night time.
Dark and creepy.
Spy thriller- Use transformed city,
Question and answer model,
exotic element.
A girl goes to meet someone she has met online.
We see a person preparing a room obsessively and don’t know what for.
After we had decided on a the storyline for our film, and the general plot, we then set about looking at titles and classifications.
Film Classification and Target Audience
Title: Daddies Little Girl
Classifications:
U
PG
12A
15
18
Target Audience: The target audience will be anybody over the age of 15 as our film classification will be a 15. Our target audience will also be people who enjoy watching psychological thrillers. Our thriller is made to make the audience try to figure out clues so our target audience is people who like to have something hidden from them and have to try and work things out.Film Classification: The film will be a 15 as this enables us to appeal to a larger audience as in 18+ year olds can watch a 15 rated film but under 18 year olds cannot watch an 18 rated film. Also none of us are 18 so it would not make sense for us to produce a film with certificate 18 when we cannot legally watch it.
Location Ideas:
Forest,
Church,
Field,
Abandoned house,
Remote location.
Storyline Ideas / Techniques:
See a girl running but we don’t know what/who from.
Set at night time.
Dark and creepy.
Spy thriller- Use transformed city,
Question and answer model,
exotic element.
A girl goes to meet someone she has met online.
We see a person preparing a room obsessively and don’t know what for.
After we had decided on a the storyline for our film, and the general plot, we then set about looking at titles and classifications.
Film Classification and Target Audience
Title: Daddies Little Girl
Classifications:
U
PG
12A
15
18
Target Audience: The target audience will be anybody over the age of 15 as our film classification will be a 15. Our target audience will also be people who enjoy watching psychological thrillers. Our thriller is made to make the audience try to figure out clues so our target audience is people who like to have something hidden from them and have to try and work things out.Film Classification: The film will be a 15 as this enables us to appeal to a larger audience as in 18+ year olds can watch a 15 rated film but under 18 year olds cannot watch an 18 rated film. Also none of us are 18 so it would not make sense for us to produce a film with certificate 18 when we cannot legally watch it.
Section 2(b): Homework
Déjà Vu Notes
Narration:
Linear, and makes use of Equilibrium as we see people having a good time, care free running onto the boat and having fun.
Thriller Codes & Conventions:
Question and Answer Model.Why are we being introduced to this boat? Why does the horn go off twice (makes use of déjà vu). Concealment and Protraction; we are not shown the bomb in the car, which gives a surprise to the audience as it isn’t expected. Makes use of the ExoticBoat looks far too big and posh to be leaving from such a small, ugly looking dock. Transformed City, the city is a normal place, as is the boat, we are just seeing some people go on a boat trip.
Camerawork:
Long ShotsAre made use of as we see people running onto the boat, and we see people boarding cars onto it etc.ZoomUp to the front of the bus, very faced paced makes it unclear to see what is happening.ArielAs the camera moves over the dock area, showing everything from a higher angle making it appear small and vulnerable.Low AngleOf cars coming onto the boat, making them appear bigger as though they are more powerful than the boat and the surrounding areas.TrackingAs we are following the guard along the car deck up towards the van with the bomb in it.PanningAs we move along the boat seeing what is going on from every angle (gives the impression we can see everything and nothing is being hidden).
Mise-En-Scene:
We are shown an awful lot in this opening sequence, it appears that all is calm until we see the guard on the car deck start checking the car that has its radio playing. It is only then that we are shown the people are in danger but we still think they might have a chance of escape, but it blows up almost instantly after it being spotted.
Sound:
Non DiegeticMusic – Slow Music At the Start as we see people boarding, then of a Band Playing (though we never see them) after the boat has left.We can also hear the radio from the car with the bomb in it.DiegeticCheering – when the boat leaves the dock and starts moving out into the river.Talking – between everyone on the deck.Music – After some time of hearing it off screen, we hear and see the band playing.The bombs ticking noise, just before it explodes.
Editing:
Fast moving, as if to show things are moving at an unreal pace, and things are being rushed.Shot Reverse Shot Between the little girl on the boat and her doll as it falls into the river.
Graphics:
White in courier new as though a murder file/document is being filled in.They flash and move around the screen whilst changing as if to show they are in two places at once.Not in any particular place, just appear randomly arranged.
Armageddon Notes
Narrative Structure:
Disequilibrium to start, as she is running through woods that don’t look safe, she appears focused as if desperately trying to get somewhere. Linear Narrative.
Thriller Codes and Conventions:
Jodie Foster is the “exotic”; she is wearing grey amongst men wearing red, and is the only woman there. The question and Answer Model is used also at the beginning when she is running, “Why is she running?”, “Where is she running to?” etc. and also when she looks at the wall, we find ourselves asking “What is it that we are looking at?”, “Who has done this?”. Partial vision is used as when Jodie Foster first looks at the wall we aren’t shown it. The use of the enigma code is used as we aren’t aware of exactly what is going on at this point. The Police Station is a model for the Transformed City as it doesn’t have a normal or safe feel to it.
Camerawork:
Panning & Tracking shots are used to follow Jodie Foster as she is running through the woods, and on a couple of occasions she runs into the shot and the camera follows her from there. An over shoulder shot of a man, who we don’t know, follows Jodie as she runs, and he then shouts her name. There is an Extreme Close up of Jodie’s face to show the horror of what she see’s on the wall.
Mise-en Scene:
We see a woman running, who is then being followed by a man. We don’t know why she’s running, just that she’s on some type of assault course. She enters the police building wearing grey, which matches the wall, whilst everyone else stands out. We are shown some pictures of people who have been skinned on the wall.
Sound:
The music at the beginning is quite slow paced and spooky; a little disturbing for some of the audience. The only diegetic sounds are those of footsteps, leaves been stood on, and very little amounts of dialog.
Editing:
An Eye line Match is used when Jodie Foster is looking at the wall; this is used to show us what it is exactly she is looking at.This is also used for when the man is running after Jodie in the woods, before he appears on screen.
Graphics:
Very bold, and central and are for the main in black, with a white outline to possibly represent evil and good, but to show good will overcome in the end as the black/evil is surrounded by the good/white.
Silence of the Lambs Notes
Narration:
Linear, and makes use of Equilibrium as we see people having a good time, care free running onto the boat and having fun.
Thriller Codes & Conventions:
Question and Answer Model.Why are we being introduced to this boat? Why does the horn go off twice (makes use of déjà vu). Concealment and Protraction; we are not shown the bomb in the car, which gives a surprise to the audience as it isn’t expected. Makes use of the ExoticBoat looks far too big and posh to be leaving from such a small, ugly looking dock. Transformed City, the city is a normal place, as is the boat, we are just seeing some people go on a boat trip.
Camerawork:
Long ShotsAre made use of as we see people running onto the boat, and we see people boarding cars onto it etc.ZoomUp to the front of the bus, very faced paced makes it unclear to see what is happening.ArielAs the camera moves over the dock area, showing everything from a higher angle making it appear small and vulnerable.Low AngleOf cars coming onto the boat, making them appear bigger as though they are more powerful than the boat and the surrounding areas.TrackingAs we are following the guard along the car deck up towards the van with the bomb in it.PanningAs we move along the boat seeing what is going on from every angle (gives the impression we can see everything and nothing is being hidden).
Mise-En-Scene:
We are shown an awful lot in this opening sequence, it appears that all is calm until we see the guard on the car deck start checking the car that has its radio playing. It is only then that we are shown the people are in danger but we still think they might have a chance of escape, but it blows up almost instantly after it being spotted.
Sound:
Non DiegeticMusic – Slow Music At the Start as we see people boarding, then of a Band Playing (though we never see them) after the boat has left.We can also hear the radio from the car with the bomb in it.DiegeticCheering – when the boat leaves the dock and starts moving out into the river.Talking – between everyone on the deck.Music – After some time of hearing it off screen, we hear and see the band playing.The bombs ticking noise, just before it explodes.
Editing:
Fast moving, as if to show things are moving at an unreal pace, and things are being rushed.Shot Reverse Shot Between the little girl on the boat and her doll as it falls into the river.
Graphics:
White in courier new as though a murder file/document is being filled in.They flash and move around the screen whilst changing as if to show they are in two places at once.Not in any particular place, just appear randomly arranged.
Armageddon Notes
Narrative Structure:
Disequilibrium to start, as she is running through woods that don’t look safe, she appears focused as if desperately trying to get somewhere. Linear Narrative.
Thriller Codes and Conventions:
Jodie Foster is the “exotic”; she is wearing grey amongst men wearing red, and is the only woman there. The question and Answer Model is used also at the beginning when she is running, “Why is she running?”, “Where is she running to?” etc. and also when she looks at the wall, we find ourselves asking “What is it that we are looking at?”, “Who has done this?”. Partial vision is used as when Jodie Foster first looks at the wall we aren’t shown it. The use of the enigma code is used as we aren’t aware of exactly what is going on at this point. The Police Station is a model for the Transformed City as it doesn’t have a normal or safe feel to it.
Camerawork:
Panning & Tracking shots are used to follow Jodie Foster as she is running through the woods, and on a couple of occasions she runs into the shot and the camera follows her from there. An over shoulder shot of a man, who we don’t know, follows Jodie as she runs, and he then shouts her name. There is an Extreme Close up of Jodie’s face to show the horror of what she see’s on the wall.
Mise-en Scene:
We see a woman running, who is then being followed by a man. We don’t know why she’s running, just that she’s on some type of assault course. She enters the police building wearing grey, which matches the wall, whilst everyone else stands out. We are shown some pictures of people who have been skinned on the wall.
Sound:
The music at the beginning is quite slow paced and spooky; a little disturbing for some of the audience. The only diegetic sounds are those of footsteps, leaves been stood on, and very little amounts of dialog.
Editing:
An Eye line Match is used when Jodie Foster is looking at the wall; this is used to show us what it is exactly she is looking at.This is also used for when the man is running after Jodie in the woods, before he appears on screen.
Graphics:
Very bold, and central and are for the main in black, with a white outline to possibly represent evil and good, but to show good will overcome in the end as the black/evil is surrounded by the good/white.
Silence of the Lambs Notes
Narrative Structure:
Disequilibrium to start, as she is running through woods that don’t look safe, she appears focused as if desperately trying to get somewhere. Linear Narrative.
Thriller Codes and Conventions:
Jodie Foster is the “exotic”; she is wearing grey amongst men wearing red, and is the only woman there. The question and Answer Model is used also at the beginning when she is running, “Why is she running?”, “Where is she running to?” etc. and also when she looks at the wall, we find ourselves asking “What is it that we are looking at?”, “Who has done this?”. Partial vision is used as when Jodie Foster first looks at the wall we aren’t shown it. The use of the enigma code is used as we aren’t aware of exactly what is going on at this point. The Police Station is a model for the Transformed City as it doesn’t have a normal or safe feel to it.
Camerawork:
Panning & Tracking shots are used to follow Jodie Foster as she is running through the woods, and on a couple of occasions she runs into the shot and the camera follows her from there. An over shoulder shot of a man, who we don’t know, follows Jodie as she runs, and he then shouts her name. There is an Extreme Close up of Jodie’s face to show the horror of what she see’s on the wall.
Mise-en Scene:
We see a woman running, who is then being followed by a man. We don’t know why she’s running, just that she’s on some type of assault course. She enters the police building wearing grey, which matches the wall, whilst everyone else stands out. We are shown some pictures of people who have been skinned on the wall.
Sound:
The music at the beginning is quite slow paced and spooky; a little disturbing for some of the audience. The only diegetic sounds are those of footsteps, leaves been stood on, and very little amounts of dialog.
Editing:
An Eye line Match is used when Jodie Foster is looking at the wall; this is used to show us what it is exactly she is looking at.This is also used for when the man is running after Jodie in the woods, before he appears on screen.
Graphics:
Very bold, and central and are for the main in black, with a white outline to possibly represent evil and good, but to show good will overcome in the end as the black/evil is surrounded by the good/white.
Section 2: Analysing Similar Films (cntd.)
Jaws Notes
Narrative structure:
Equilibrium is used at the beginning as we are shown a group of teenagers having a party at the beach; a normal situation. Disequilibrium occurs when Jaws sneaks up, and attacks the girl who is swimming. This prepares the audience for what will happen throughout the film.
Thriller codes and conventions:
Partial vision is used at first as we are not fully aware of what is swimming through the reeds and coral.The “Transformed City” Convention is another code Spielberg also uses, as using a beach leads the audience to think they are in no danger as it is usually a safe place.Spielberg also makes good used of the Question and Answer Model as we find ourselves, as the audience, asking Questions – “What is in the Water?” “Are the Teenagers in Danger?” “Is anybody going to get hurt?” etc.Partial Vision is used again as we do not know what is swimming, yet we see the affects of it, as it attacks the girl in the water.
Camerawork:
Spielberg makes use of a Tracking Shot, Pont of View Shot and a Point of view shot as Jaws swims through the coral.Whilst at the beach there is a long tracking shot that doesn’t stop giving a calming feeling as the pace of the film at this point is slow.
There is then a close up on the young male showing he is more important in the film than the other people there, as is the girl they also do a close up on. This shows how they both have something in common leading more into the Question and Answer Model.
Then, just before the couple leave the beach there is a High Angle shot, looking down on the group as if showing they are vulnerable. (This is ironic as the killer can only realistically attack from below – Red Herring).
There is yet another tracking shot as the couple run onto the beach, which leads into a mid shot of the man on the beach attempting to undress himself.
The low angle, PoV shot shows Jaws sneaking up on his pray just before attack.After the attack there is then a Long shot out into see showing how far out she was.
Mise-en-scene:
We are shown a party, being held by a group of teenagers who are having a good time, drinking, and appear to be in no immediate danger. We see two of them leave the group and head toward the beach, and one of them then enters the water, where we see her get thrown around and dragged under; but we don’t see what by.
Sound:
Peaceful and normal music is used to show how everything is relaxed, but is non-diegetic, but at this point we can see some instruments in the background suggesting the teenagers can hear it. The only diegetic sound used is that of the bell on the buoy as the girl try to grab it whilst being attacked.
Editing:
Shot Reverse Shot is used on the beach – As the two teenagers look back and forth at each other.Eye line Match – as Jaws swims around.
Graphics:
Font is big and white, showing that the name of the film is going to play a big part, but has no colour so there is no hint as to whether this means there will be a good and evil side.The Font is Maritime looking, as though it is written on the side of a boat.
Narrative structure:
Equilibrium is used at the beginning as we are shown a group of teenagers having a party at the beach; a normal situation. Disequilibrium occurs when Jaws sneaks up, and attacks the girl who is swimming. This prepares the audience for what will happen throughout the film.
Thriller codes and conventions:
Partial vision is used at first as we are not fully aware of what is swimming through the reeds and coral.The “Transformed City” Convention is another code Spielberg also uses, as using a beach leads the audience to think they are in no danger as it is usually a safe place.Spielberg also makes good used of the Question and Answer Model as we find ourselves, as the audience, asking Questions – “What is in the Water?” “Are the Teenagers in Danger?” “Is anybody going to get hurt?” etc.Partial Vision is used again as we do not know what is swimming, yet we see the affects of it, as it attacks the girl in the water.
Camerawork:
Spielberg makes use of a Tracking Shot, Pont of View Shot and a Point of view shot as Jaws swims through the coral.Whilst at the beach there is a long tracking shot that doesn’t stop giving a calming feeling as the pace of the film at this point is slow.
There is then a close up on the young male showing he is more important in the film than the other people there, as is the girl they also do a close up on. This shows how they both have something in common leading more into the Question and Answer Model.
Then, just before the couple leave the beach there is a High Angle shot, looking down on the group as if showing they are vulnerable. (This is ironic as the killer can only realistically attack from below – Red Herring).
There is yet another tracking shot as the couple run onto the beach, which leads into a mid shot of the man on the beach attempting to undress himself.
The low angle, PoV shot shows Jaws sneaking up on his pray just before attack.After the attack there is then a Long shot out into see showing how far out she was.
Mise-en-scene:
We are shown a party, being held by a group of teenagers who are having a good time, drinking, and appear to be in no immediate danger. We see two of them leave the group and head toward the beach, and one of them then enters the water, where we see her get thrown around and dragged under; but we don’t see what by.
Sound:
Peaceful and normal music is used to show how everything is relaxed, but is non-diegetic, but at this point we can see some instruments in the background suggesting the teenagers can hear it. The only diegetic sound used is that of the bell on the buoy as the girl try to grab it whilst being attacked.
Editing:
Shot Reverse Shot is used on the beach – As the two teenagers look back and forth at each other.Eye line Match – as Jaws swims around.
Graphics:
Font is big and white, showing that the name of the film is going to play a big part, but has no colour so there is no hint as to whether this means there will be a good and evil side.The Font is Maritime looking, as though it is written on the side of a boat.
Section 2: Analysing Similar Films
Se7en Notes
Narrative structure:
Linear Narrative. Equilibrium at the beginning as the shots we are shown are quite unclear, and what we are seeing doesn’t seem to be of a sinister nature; although the actions the person is taking is very organised and systematic and appears to be a professional.
Thriller codes and conventions:
Partial vision is a key convention that is used in the beginning as we can only see half the picture; although we are aware is a man as the hands and fingers of the person are far to big to be that of a womans.The Question & Answer Model is also used when the man is putting the pictures into the water in his dark room as we don’t know why he has pictures of these people, who they are, and what, if anything, is going to happen to them.
Camerawork:
During the opening sequence we have just two camera angles; extreme close ups, and one panning shot of a filing cabinet. Apart from the panning shot the extreme close ups build mystery around the man that we can see. We can see someone slicing their finger tips, writing in a book, and developing pictures.
Mise-en-scene:
The background can’t be seen clear, but from what we can see it would more than likely be the mans working environment either at home or at work; so it may well be an office type place, but this is unclear. We aren’t given much of a clue as to what is going on we just see someone carrying out some different activities.
Sound:
Initially the music is a heartbeat sounding music at a normal sounding pace – leaving the audience in a false sense of security. It then picks up pace a bit, and screeching, screaming, creaky floorboards, and other creeking bits of furniture. About half way through the piece, pace picks up a lot and the music kicks in. Despite this, the only lyrics used are at the ending, which say, “You got me closer to god” as if suggesting people are going to die in the film because of this person.
Editing:
The editing is incredibly fast paced compared to the sounds at first. The use of jump cuts is used to emphasise the fact the man is quick at what he is doing, and also the fact that time has passed. As the editing stays fast paced, the music does eventually catch it up, possibly showing how in the film things will start off slow, and then just come straight after each other. Also we are shown two different actions on screen via the use of a split screen shot, showing how we is efficient, and could easily do two tasks at once; as if he posses supernatual powers or something of a similar nature.
Graphics:
The font used is quite creapy looking, yet it appears as if it was written by a child of some description, letters are back to front, and all the text varies in size. There is no proper position for the text and it just appears everywhere and anywhere; and jumps around the screen quickly and without warning as if to say this is what can be expected from the film.
Narrative structure:
Linear Narrative. Equilibrium at the beginning as the shots we are shown are quite unclear, and what we are seeing doesn’t seem to be of a sinister nature; although the actions the person is taking is very organised and systematic and appears to be a professional.
Thriller codes and conventions:
Partial vision is a key convention that is used in the beginning as we can only see half the picture; although we are aware is a man as the hands and fingers of the person are far to big to be that of a womans.The Question & Answer Model is also used when the man is putting the pictures into the water in his dark room as we don’t know why he has pictures of these people, who they are, and what, if anything, is going to happen to them.
Camerawork:
During the opening sequence we have just two camera angles; extreme close ups, and one panning shot of a filing cabinet. Apart from the panning shot the extreme close ups build mystery around the man that we can see. We can see someone slicing their finger tips, writing in a book, and developing pictures.
Mise-en-scene:
The background can’t be seen clear, but from what we can see it would more than likely be the mans working environment either at home or at work; so it may well be an office type place, but this is unclear. We aren’t given much of a clue as to what is going on we just see someone carrying out some different activities.
Sound:
Initially the music is a heartbeat sounding music at a normal sounding pace – leaving the audience in a false sense of security. It then picks up pace a bit, and screeching, screaming, creaky floorboards, and other creeking bits of furniture. About half way through the piece, pace picks up a lot and the music kicks in. Despite this, the only lyrics used are at the ending, which say, “You got me closer to god” as if suggesting people are going to die in the film because of this person.
Editing:
The editing is incredibly fast paced compared to the sounds at first. The use of jump cuts is used to emphasise the fact the man is quick at what he is doing, and also the fact that time has passed. As the editing stays fast paced, the music does eventually catch it up, possibly showing how in the film things will start off slow, and then just come straight after each other. Also we are shown two different actions on screen via the use of a split screen shot, showing how we is efficient, and could easily do two tasks at once; as if he posses supernatual powers or something of a similar nature.
Graphics:
The font used is quite creapy looking, yet it appears as if it was written by a child of some description, letters are back to front, and all the text varies in size. There is no proper position for the text and it just appears everywhere and anywhere; and jumps around the screen quickly and without warning as if to say this is what can be expected from the film.
Section 1: Thriller Codes & Conventions
Thriller Conventions
Definition: A Thriller is a genre of fiction that attempts to thrill the audience by placing the character at risk. There are no clear ingredients of what a thriller should consist of.
Thriller is a problematic genre. Thriller can be categorised by fast paced editing action, and a hero who must outwit the villain. They make use of cliff hangers and Red Herrings.
Thrillers usually take place in exotic places, foreign cities, deserts etc. The hero is normally a “hard man” accustomed to danger and dangerous situations; yet is involved with normal people.
Thrillers of ten overlap mystery stories, however, they often work on a much grander scale; big crimes, mass murders etc.
Sub-genres:
Action/Thriller – Race against time, and contains violence.
Conspiracy Thriller – Hero confronts a powerful group.
Crime Thriller – Hybrid of crime films and thrillers. Focus is more on the criminal rather than on the police.
Disaster Thriller – Conflict against natural disasters.
Drama Thriller – Slow paced, makes use of in depth character development.
Eco Thriller – Protagonist must rectify environmental problems.
Erotic Thriller – Popular since the 1980’s, (Fatal Attraction between two characters).
Horror Thriller – Conflict between the main characters who find themselves up against a superior force.
Legal Thriller – Lawyer in danger. (Would have to complete a case and win, in order to survive etc.)
Medical Thriller – The hero is a doctor, who will solve a medically expanding problem.
Political Thriller – The Hero must create stability for a Government.
Spy Thriller – Generally is a Government agent. (e.g. Bourne Identity).
Supernatual – Conflict usually involves supernatural powers/forces.
Thriller
Technological – Focus is on a piece of Technological Equipment.
Thriller
Theories:
The Transformed City
· Large, Urban Environment.
· Modern Genre
· Expose the ‘poetry’ of modern life.
(He is saying we live in a boring, mundance era. The place in Thrillers provide the ability to make them exciting).
Heroic Romance
· The hero is an ordinary, everyday person, with no superpowers or strength etc. They become the hero by being placed in an extraordinary circumstance which means they have to take on the role of a hero.
The hero is usually Romanticised, and it exchanges a Romantic setting for a modern city.
(Laws of Nature are Suspended).
The Exotic
· Something within the film that is exotic (Exotic in the context of out of place).
o E.g. Place
o Women,
o Jewel,
o Middle Eastern Artefact etc.
Mazes and Labrinths
· Mazes are full of twists and dead ends. (The hero would usually get lost).
· The maze would usually be complex and unfathmable, and the hero should receive clue throughout to work out the killer/or the red herring.
· Audience will gain pleasure through a prolonged mystery.
Partial Vision
· Audience only sees so much (doesn’t see everything/anything), as it is partially/fully hidden.
E.g. They see part of the action – They don’t see a killing, they just see the result.
Concealment & Protraction
· Pulls the audience in different directions to make them confused, or to diliberatly hide something from them. Concealment and Protraction also make use of the unexpected.
Question & Answer Model
· The Audience are always questionning and are always in suspense, waiting for what is going to happen next. The Question and Answer model will only be answered when the audience least expect it.
Moral Factor
· Where are we positioned?
· What is the moral outcome? – Death? Jail? Etc.
· Probability Factor – Will it every happen? When will it happen?
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