Wednesday 10 February 2010

Influences

Identity - Identity was the main influence as it gave us the idea of doing a voice over. This was then linked with the theme of obsession.
Vertigo - Vertigo gave us the idea of extreme close up shots to the eye of the subject. which will be shown and flickered throughout.
The shinning - The editing in the shinning is what makes the whole film so tense. It is this tension we wanted sustained throughout the opening. Therefore we have taken the idea of cutting constantly throughout the opening to the subject. Which will leave the audience confused and interested.

Film certificates.

























We have decided to make our thriller opening of a 15 certification. This is because of the fact that some of the content in the opening can be thought of as quite frightening to a younger audience as the idea of being stalked is explored, and this can be a very unpredictable topic for people under this age.
We feel that it would be bit of a risk to make the certification a twelve because of this. The content is suitable certainly for people above the age of fifteen, and definitely 18.
The thriller is certainly not suitable for younger audiences, especially children.

Saul Bass





Saul Bass is a well known title sequence expert within the industry. he has produced some very well known sequences such as the likes of the thrillers "Vertigo" and "Psycho". Bass is best known for his title sequence from ‘The man with the golden arm’, and his ‘jet stream’ logo for Continental Airlines, which became the most recognised airline industry of the 1970’s.





Here is the complete list of the title sequences produced by Saul Bass.
The pictures above are examples of his work. as you can see, some of it is quite similar. he chooses bulky fonts and either uses all caps or none at all. Red is commonly used, as is black and white. These colours are very bold and stand out to catch the audiences eye. Red is also a primary colour which can cannote love, lust and danger.

Possible titles and roles.

Director - ...... (to be decided)
Producer - ........ (to be decided)
Editor - Craig Gannon, Emily Dalton, Elliss Morgan and Leanna Parsons
Cinematography - Craig Gannon
Soundtrack - Emily Dalton and Elliss Morgan
Actors - Andrew Pritchard, Leanna Parsons, ........ (not yet finalised)
Props - provided by Craig Gannon, Emily Dalton, Elliss Morgan and Leanna Parsons
Voice over - Voiced by Andrew Pritchard

Monday 8 February 2010

Test footage



We decided to test the spinning scene with a tripod as we were unsure how it would look.
Unfortunately, the tape we used was faulty and as a result, our video has lines through it. By spinning it around once, were able to duplicate it and change the speed of the footage at certain times. We also reversed the spin once.
This will be done during the scene where the stalker slams the bottle down after seeing the pictures of the subject with other people. This will make him jealous.

Filming times, Location and prop list.

We intend to film on Thursday the 11th of February at Emily's house which will be the location of the stalkers room. We will take the camera at 2.40 and will be returning it at 12.30 on Friday morning (picture house).
Leanna will bring the pictures of the subject, a photo frame and lipstick.
Craig will bring the bottle.
Elliss will bring the lock of hair.

By this time the recording of the voice over will be in production. (Andrew Pritchard).

Thursday 4 February 2010

Final script idea.

She wasn't too young
There was a ... certain maturity. In her eyes.
Those eyes.

She ...socialized. (pictures of her with male friends)
Was real friendly. (opens can angrily)
(laughs) (sipping and gulping drink, sigh)
Im a sucker for those blue eyes.
Click. Click. Click. (laugh)
You should have seen the way she looked at me chief.
With those eyes. Click. Click. Click. (laugh) (continue to drink and gulp, crushes can)
Maybe i wouldn't be here... if she hadn't looked at me like that.
I dunno what she was afraid of... she always smiled for the camera.
(Sigh) So.....

Definition of thriller, outline of different sub-genres and hybrids

Definition of thriller, outline of different sub-genres and hybrids

Thriller- A thriller is a type of film genre that is normally very tense and includes some kind of action and mystery, it normally involves a hero vs villain type story, where the hero is flawed and the villian knows the flaw of the hero.

Sub-Genres- There are many different sub-genres within the thriller genre, these include; psychological, action,crime and many others but these are the main ones. A psychological thriller normally involves mind games between the hero and the villian, which normally ends with the hero winning.

Hybrid - two film genres in one. For example : Action horror
Rom com



Location report

Location report

Our thriller takes place in a few places.
The most important location is the room of the stalker - which is to be filled with obsessive items.
This we decided to film this in a spare room in Emily's house. We have the permission to do so, and will be a lot easier to do.

Another place we will be filming in is the dark room in college, where the short title sequence takes place.

The voice over will be pre recorded at Netherhall school in a drama room. For this we also have permission from the teacher who will be using the class at this time.

Details of costumes - with illustrations


Details of costumes - with illustrations








Our main character in the thriller is actually never fully seen on screen. Only as much as his eye, shoulder or hand is shown at any one time to intrigue the audience. Images of the girl will be shown, she will be dressed casually. Aside from the images that upset him where she will be at parties dressed more formally with friends.

During the shots of the girl looking at the camera - which are frequently shown throughout, we can go in either two directions.

Option one - A very plain simple nude coloured slip or a white T shirt.

Option two - a bright, vivid dress in either red or plum.

Something vivid could look rather strange, as could something completely simplistic.
12. Research into other films of similar sub-genres
other psychological thrillers:
  1. The talented Mr. Ripley
  2. Suspicion
  3. Shadow of a doubt
  4. Strangers on a train
  5. Blue velvet
  6. The Good son
Our thriller opening scene falls under the sub genre of Psychological thriller. Above are a few other psychological thrillers, which have similar aspects to ours. These films may inspire us in the way we film our opening.

Past Opening Analysis


Music - The music throughout is quite tense, it sort of resembles a heart beat as it is very repetitive. it gets faster and louder as the action happens
adding tension and grabbing the audiences attention. As the intruder creeps up on the victim the music then becomes more quiet, this also adds
tension because you can then hear the repetitive beat again that could resemble a heartbeat.

Location - It is in a good location, homes are a good place to have as a set for a thriller as it is one place people feels safe, this intruder then
destroys the security by breaking in.

Shot types - One of the first shots is a close up of a post-it note on the fridge. This enables the audience to know more about the situation and lets
the know that the victim is home alone without having to use dialogue. they have used a match on action this lets the audience know that he is
leaving. There are lots of close ups of things that he is doing for example, as he locks the door and puts the key under the mat, this is good because
it lets the audience know the details of what he is doing and draws attention to detail. there are also lots of mid shots of the victim, often not showing
his face this adds mystery and keeps the audience interested and engaged in the film. Point of view shots are used from the intruder to show that he
is watching the person and puts the audience in his position, and keeps them involved. they have used establishing shots, this shows the victim is
leaving and shows the audience more of the surroundings we can then gather that the area the person lives in and establish class. There is a very
good shot of the victim when he opens the cupboard, this is the only time the audience gets to see his face in detail and it has an audience privilege
as we can see that there is someone behind him but he cannot. It also uses an over the shoulder shot, this shows the intruder coming into the victims
personal space. The angles used towards the end are good as it uses a high angle when on the victim this shows difference in power and hows
intimidated and helpless the victim is.

Mise En Scene - The victim is wearing his normal clothes and the intruder wears all black and covers most of his face, this connotes dark and evil as
the colour black is a typical burglar colour. props they have used are things like keys and the cloth that knocked the victim out, these things are
small but very important to the story. For example, the keys are vital as these are the intruders way of getting into the house, this is why they use
close ups when shooting that part of the opening to show that they are significant.

Wednesday 3 February 2010

Props list


Props list












Cup with lipstick stain
Lock of hair
Photos of subject
including:
photos of Subject on her own, with friends and with boys.
camera
photos of the letters C A M E R A M A N
Picture frame
bottle
can

Story boards





Here are our story boards for our thriller opening. From bottom to top, 1, 2, 3.

Monday 1 February 2010

Script ideas

A key feature in our opening is the voice over of the stalker who is narrating. He is confessing to the police and telling them what happened.

Character's personality - very confident
- awkward
- psychotic
- obsessive
- possessive

She wasn't too young
There was a ... certain maturity. In her eyes.
Those eyes.

She ...socialized. (pictures of her with male friends)
Was real friendly. (opens can angrily)
(laughs) (sipping and gulping drink, sigh)
Im a sucker for those blue eyes.
Click. Click. Click. (laugh)
You should have seen the way she looked at me chief.
With those eyes. Click. Click. Click. (laugh) (continue to drink and gulp, crushes can)
Maybe i wouldn't be here... if she hadn't looked at me like that.
I dunno what she was afraid of... she always smiled for the camera.
(Sigh) So.....