Tuesday 3 November 2009

Section 1: Background To The Thriller Genre

The thriller genre was first created in the 1800's as a type of novel that was considered "trash-y" the characteristics of a Thriller according to Gilbert Keith Chesterton the genre was mainly set in urban landscapes and was an attempt to find "the poetry of modern life" and finding excitement in everyday elements, making the ordinary extraordinary. Northrop Frye built upon this by going on to state that the hero is often an ordinary person forced to work with Chesterton's extraordinary world. Frye also compared thrillers to romance, of that he said that heros in romance were "superior in degree to other men and to his environment" who “moves in a world in which the ordinary laws of nature are slightly suspended.” Comparing the setting of an old fairy tale romance he said that the enchanted forest was just a modern city. John Cawelti combined the views of both Chesterton and Frye, Cawelti claimed that thrillers transforms the city from "a modern commerce, industry and science into a place of enchantment & mystery" he then claimed that this is produced by introducing "the exotic" into the everyday world.

W.H. Matthews work relates to mazes and labyrinths in fiction. Matthews talked about the image of Theseus descending into an underground maze full of twists, turns, puzzles and dead-ends. He said that to design a thriller narrative you must add complex twists and turns so that the audience doesn't solve the problems too easily but it should be designed so that the audience could deduce it. Pascal Bonitzer, a French screenwriter and actor thought that Matthew's was describing "partial vision" when he advocates mazes. Pascal thought that the audience should only see so much, what the audience doesn't see is part of the system of thrillers. The narrative should pick it's way through a maze.

Noël Carroll used the Question-Answer model. He said that it is imprtant to create questions, which keeps the audience in suspense until they are answered. He said that the audience should wonder if the hero should survive, which keeps the format different for audiences. One factor for creating suspense is a battle against odds (the probability factor). The moral factor also increases suspense as it may not be morally right for the hero to survive however the audience has become attached.

Section 2: Research Into Examples Of Thriller Opening Scenes

Seven (Fincher, 1995) is a thriller about two detectives called David Mills (Brad Pitt) and William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and how they try and catch John Doe (Kevin Spacey)

Narrative Structure
The narrative is linear, all the events transpire in a chronological order over a single week. Murders in the film are based on the seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, laziness, wrath, envy and pride.

Thriller Codes and Conventions
Seven pays heed to several different thriller codes and conventions. For example, it is set in every day city with all the outside scenes use a dark colour tone, plus it is always raining, creating a gritty mood. Seven uses Bonitzer’s theory of teasing the audience with little bit causing them to want to know more.

Camerawork
The vast majority of the time when ever Mills and Somerset are talking the camera are eye level. This shows there equal status and importance. A hand held camera is used when Mills is chasing John which is used to show the emotions running during this scene.

Mise En Scene
The general feel of the film is a dark, brooding feel. Typical of city detective stories. Except the ending scene which takes places in sunny open fields, almost snatching Mills and Somerset from their comfort zones. Also of note is the use of binary opposites in this film, such as the drastic opposition of the main characters; Somerset is a old, worn out and calm cop whereas Mils is much more younger, energetic and restless.

Sound
A lot of diegetic sound is used in the film to help build the world of the film, such as traffic and rain to build the idea that their city is just a regular, hectic city. An interesting part of the film is the scene in Somersets apartment where he uses a metronome and blocks the city noise out, this shows that Somerset is doesn't want to live the city life but wants to retire to a calm, relaxing life rather than the turbulent, violent life his current job holds for him.

Editing
The opening sequence is shot in black and white using close ups, dead bodies and blood in order to make the view feel uncomfortable, this always starts to build up hatred for the killer.




Red Eye


Narrative Structure
The film follows a linear path, introducing the characters within the first few minutes.

Thriller Codes and Conventions
Red Eye uses the typical conventions such as a dark, gritty city, music building suspense and using Bonitzer's partial vision to capture the audiences attention, by showing the mystery box and also the theft of the wallet.

Camerawork
Cinematography in Red Eye uses close ups to interest the audience, creating Bonitzer's tease effect. The camera follows the action as well, such as following the box in the truck, acting almost like the audience creating a curiosity.

Mise-en-scene
The start of the film is very calm and normal, showcasing a regular house. We see some pictures of a girl showing that she is smart, attractive and athletic, the sport she is playing is hockey, which is a stereotypically aggressive sport showing that the girl is quite strong.

Sound
Sound is used to great extent in thriller films to help build suspense, Red Eye is no exception to this rule. The music gives pace to the film, also the diegetic sound help builds the horror feeling such as the car doors slamming and doors creaking. Also whenever the film gets faster, so too does the music.

Graphics
The credits in this film are simple black and white, which connotes the binary opposition of good and evil. The title follows this style in that it is very simple, however the title is red, which connotes blood and death. The simple graphics suggest that the film makers don't want the audience to focus too much on this subject however




State of Play


Narrative Structure
The film follows a linear path, showing a chase scene it is more straight forward than the previous two films introductions. However we do not know why the chase scene is happening.


Thriller Codes and Conventions
Political thrillers are usually always set in a major city, in this case Washington, one of the most politically powerful cities in the world. Also the chase scene is at night time and it is raining, not very original, however it does help set the tone that something bad is happening/about to happen.

Camerawork
The camera shakes during the chase scene which helps build the tension and pace.


Mise-en-scene
The city is shown as a dark and gritty city however you do see shots of key political buildings connoting a dark, seedy under belly of a political world.


Sound
There is a big use of diegetic sound used in the chase scene, such as an emphasis on the mans heavy breathing as he is running, this builds tension.


Graphics
The opening shot shows that the location is Washington, this is a pretty obvious place to set a political thriller. Also the graphics mirror the look and feel of The Star Spangled Banner.

Section 3: Brainstorm of Ideas For Your Film


Our final idea was a bride killer who kills his ex girlfriend who is about to marry someone else. She is his first victim. He sneaks into her house and stabs her to death.
TITLE: Till Death Do Us Part – Certificate 15

The reason why we have chosen a 15 Certificate is because our film is not as violent that only over 18's would be allowed to watch it. There are not included many brutal scenes apart from stabbing Adele at the end. We mainly focused on presenting thriller ideas such as suspense atmosphere when Henry is sneaking into Adele's house. We tried to make the audience think and become interested in the main character who is Henry, as well as his motives - why does he kill brides?

Section 4: Audience Research - and research into BBFC film classification system







Section 5: Treatment

Treatment

'Till death do us part' will be a film about a man who hates love and happiness and feels better when he kills bride to be's in his area.

Concept
A troubled young man called Henry kills his ex-girlfriend who is getting married and then he gets a taste for killing bride to be's.

Synopsis
The film in which we are making is based around the story of Henry Jenkins. Henry was a normal guy with an everyday office job until he was stood up at the altar at his wedding. Filled with venomous rage, he finds that his bride to be (Adele) is to get married, so he goes to the wedding and kills adele whilst she is getting ready. The groom (Tom Rhodes) swears vengance on Henry. Henry goes onto a killing spree, killing wives around his area. He eventually decides to settle down, and get married himself, whilst henry is getting ready for his wedding night, mike steps into the room and murders him as the credits roll.

Opening scene
The film will begin with the wedding invite of Adele's wedding, then henry getting ready for her wedding then Adele getting ready and putting her necklace on. Henry then rips up the invite up as he is jelous. After this Henry picks up a rope and the shots change between Henry walking to Adele's house and Adele getting ready. Then he kills her.

Target Audience
'Till death do us part' will be aimed as a 15 rating as there will be gore and violence in this film, but not too a ridiculous extent. There will also be quite a large amount of bad language in the film which will not be suitable for chrildren under 15. We want this film to be a 15 as we want it to appeal to a late teen audience or mid 20's.

Section 6: Character Outlines and Script

EXT. STREET. EVENING - The camera shows a generic house, the area around the house doesn’t show wealth however does not signify poverty either. Creepy music starts, slowly bilding.

INT. LIVING ROOM. EVENING - Pan shot moving from left to right showing an invitation to Adele Price & Tom Fury’s wedding.Camera snaps to an extreme close up of a man fixing his tie, deliberately the camera cuts off at the neck, not showing the face. Music continues building.

EXT. STREET. EVENING - Show of a different house than the one above, area show’s more wealth.Music slows, gets a little softer.

INT. BATHROOM. EVENING - Shot of a girl putting on a necklace, framing the exact same as the 3rd shot.Music becomes almost loving.

INT. LIVING ROOM. EVENING - Over the shoulder view of somebody holding a picture with the necklace girl, guy takes it out of the frame.Camera cuts to a close up of hands ripping up the picture. Music takes on a slightly sinister tone whilst keeping the undercurrent of loving from the previous shot. Gets more sinister as the picture gets ripped.

INT. BATHROOM. EVENING - Close up, side on the girl in the picture, wearing the necklace, putting lipstick on in front of a mirror. Again the current of love and innocence becomes dominant in the music.

INT. LIVING ROOM. EVENING - Mid shot of legs, hands pick up rope.Bird’s eye, dutch angled close up of the rope on a table.

INT. BATHROOM. EVENING - Pan shot, going from left to right, showing a mid shot of Adele.

EXT. FIELD. EVENING - Camera stays static looking at the field, in the foreground is a path, a person walks past quickly. Camera lingers on the field for a two seconds longer.

EXT. HOUSE. EVENING - Extreme close up on a door handle showing somebody wear a glove opening it.

INT. BATHROOM. EVENING - Over-the-shoulder shot of killer holding rope up, camera’s focused on this rather than the girl in the mirror, who is blurred in the background.


Character Outlines

Henry Jenkins:

Henry, 21, the bride killer, is a very troubled young man who kills brides-to-be. He grew up in a council estate with an abusive father and a depressed mother who kills herself when Henry is only 7. The father, John Jenkins, takes his wife’s death out on the son. Needless to say, the boy grows up with some issues, he starts dating a girl named Adele Price when they are both 18. Adele is the town whore who dumps Henry after he tries to change her for the better. He snaps and swears revenge. 3 years go by and Henry is working in a boring office job at Dunder Mifflin when he hears that Adele is getting married. Henry kills Adele on her wedding day and sub sequentially gets a taste for killing brides. He goes on a killing spree…

Adele Price:

Adele, 21, the first victim, is a tramp. She grew up being a lonely child and getting all the attention. She starts dating Henry Jenkins when she is 18 however they soon split as Adele can’t keep in one relationship too long. She meets an unfortuante end where she dies by the knife of Henry Jenkins.



Nick Fury:
Nick, 24 is an ex-SAS trained killer. He comes back from service doing top secret
assassinations for S.H.I.E.L.D. and decides to marry the love of his life, Adele. After Adele is murdered he must go rampage blowing as much stuff up as he can to catch his wife’s murderer. He has lost everything and nothing will stop him…

Section 7: Production Material - Storyboards & Shortlists



















Section 8: Recce and Location Sheets




Section 9: Production Schedule

Start of production: 2nd November 2009

- Research;
- Started: 9th November 2009
- Finished: 10th November 2009

- Storyboard;
- Started: 9th November 2009
- Finished: 13th November 2009



Start of blog: 3rd November 2009

Filming started: 15th December 2009

Filming finished: 13th January 2010

Editing started: 16th December 2009

Editing finished: 22nd January 2010

Actors used:
Shanice Warrington
David Stanley
Sam Evans

Props used:
Superman hoody
Media books
Printed pictures of Shanice
Necklace
Chair

Locations used:
St. Chads Catholic & Church of England Joint Faith High School
Priestley College

Section 10: Edit Decision List

TITLE: Edit Decision List

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AUD 3 4

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Section 11: Audience Feedback

Section 12: Analysis of Completed Sequence

Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of real media products?
My media product, I believe, caters well to the typical audience of the thriller genre. It shows Adele, a seemingly ordinary person, being thrust into an extraordinary world, just beyond our own, typical of the thriller genre. As with most thrillers the person is not expecting their world to change which is shown with thrillers such as Silence of the Lambs. With thrillers part of the reason why audiences like the genre so much is the mystery, keeping the audience guessing right till the very end, the best thrillers have never given it all away at the beginning of the film, instead they drop hints throughout the film such as Donnie Darko, this was described by Pascal Bonitzer as partial vision. We followed this with our film by not revealing anything but instead throwing questions at our audience such as "why is he killing her?" and "who are they?” we purposely didn't show their faces at first so we could instantly grab our audiences attention. Henry ripping up the paper at the beginning kick starts this quite well I think.









The music we chose quite matches the genre and it’s quite mysterious, also it’s quite modern which appeals to the younger audience, our target audience. Another effect we used was black and white on the scenes with Henry which I think gives it an edgy feel, the colours also match how Henry is dressed, quite smart and old fashioned however his wild actions contrast this. We also used books to show what kind of a character Henry is, he is dressed smart and surrounded by books however he is seen tearing paper up which shows that he is not quite mentally stable, we also used the books to show this by placing them in a very neat and organised way which could just show that he is quite anal, however with his smart clothing and very messy personality we hoped that the books. Laid out in such a fashion would look quite odd so we hoped that this image would create a certain freakish perception to the audience.

Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

We decided to aim our film at 15 - 18 year olds. We did this because we thought that this age was good as this age group usually prefers films such as slasher, horror and our genre, thriller. We portrayed typical stereotypes in our film so the audience can relate and, to a ceartain extent, understand the characters and their motives.

Par exemple we used your typical damsel in distress running away from the killer in order to set the mood, however we did try to vary the formular a bit by having the girl who gets murdered intregral to the story. More so than the first murders usually are as they are typically only used as a starter point for the film rather than focus the film around this one murder and it's subsequent effect on both the loved ones and the murderer.

Q3. What kind of media institution might distribute your film?

There are several media institutions who would distribute my groups films. Such as Film Four who support independent films by developing and co-financing "smart and distinctive feature films". Their website can be found here http://www.film4.com/
Other kinds of institutes are ones that focus on British cinema as a whole, or even regionally.

Q4. Who would be the audience of your media product?

My media product is targeted towards the audience of 15 - 18. We chose this target audience because we feel that they would respond to this kind of film better. We use actors in our film who are 15 and 17 so the target audience relate, which makes the film that much more believable.











Q5. How did you attract/address your target audience?

To address our target audiences needs and issue we conducted a questionnaire of 30 people. The results can be found in Section 4 of my blog. We found these questionnaires very helpful in deciding how to shoot our film. For example the first question, "Do you like a film that toys with narrative?" had an overwhelming response of 'Yes' answers, causing us to edit our film so we have images of Henry and Adele getting dressed inter cut together, which also creates a connection between the two characters.

Q6. What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product?












We used the razor tool quite alot during the editing, I've learned that no matter how much time you put into it odds are you will need to edit it some more and this tool comes in very handy for that.

Q7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?

In the transition of moving from my preliminary task to the full product I feel that I have learned, and become more confident, in pursuing a larger project. The main thing I think I've learned really is teamwork, I got a taste of this in the preliminary task however being part of a larger project was a really great idea as we all had different ideas that clashed however towards the end we really came together creativly.Another thing I have learned is preperation, I have learnt about several processes that can add ideas to your project and also help visulise it, with the most obvious case being the storyboards. Another being the script, with this project I've started to get a grasp, I feel, on how to write a screenplay. It's also piqued my interest and I've read a few professional screenplays since to try and get a better understanding before my next project.One thing I think I've learnt a little bit more since the preliminary task is camera angles, I've become slightly more confident, enough that with the next project I do I want to experiment as I'm not quite as confident as I would like to be.