Thursday 28 January 2010

Further ideas

The stalker's dialogue would indicate that he is confessing to his obsession. At the end, he would continue talking in such a way that the audience would expect the story to continue - thus making the opening look like an opening and not a trailer.

Pitch Feedback from Andrea

Your thriller uses the theme of obsession and that concept is central to the narrative, which is a common thriller convention. I think you have a lot of work on your hands preparing the props you are going to need in order to convincingly illustrate an obsession. My advice would be to keep your camerawork tight so you don't have to produce enough photos to cover a whole wall for example.
Also if you are going to use a narrator you need to think about why would a stalker be talking about a previous obsession, that seems unlikely. You need to script the voiceover carefully.

Good work so far, I look forward to reading the detailed proposal.

Shot list for thriller

Black screen with voice over starting.
Image of girl gets closer eventually ends up in the pupil of her eye
Sudden blink to stalker's eye.
Shots of individual items
Quick shot of girl staring at camera (lipstick stained cup, lock of hair, tissue more photos).
Voice over ever continuing.
Quick shot of girl staring at camera
Shot of his legs as he enters room
shot of girl staring at camera
more shots of images
shot of calendar and images on calendar
cutting constantly to the girl staring at the camera
no images of her on days he doesn't see her
shot in house of victim, (voice over continuous, yet character is becoming wary)
shot of girl looking around after hearing noise, cuts to shot of cat entering, relief of female is shown)
Shot of girl staring at camera
This upsets stalker so music alters slightly, and character becomes frustrated and fidgety at nearly getting caught.
Shot of girl staring at camera
Slams down a beer bottle on table, spins, camera pans with bottle to give a view of the room, and the things in it. Not all with be shown so that the full extent of his obsession is not revealed to the audience.
When bottle has stopped
flash of his face, zoom back into his eye, zooms out to eye in a different image of a different girl. Speech goes on as if to continue further.

Blog advice from Andrea

Your blog is designed to evidence the research and planning you have done before you start filming your thriller.
A blog in the 'excellent' category could include some of the following detail:

1. Analysis of student thriller
2. More than one detailed analysis of real thriller openings
3. Practise soundtrack for your thriller
4. Practise soundtrack for Taking Lives intro
5. Production company logo
6. Definition of thriller, outline of different sub-genres and hybrids
7. Analysis of examples of political, psychological, action thriller and crime thriller
8. Initial ideas post
9. Final idea post - for pitch
10. Influences and the thriller generic conventions you intend to explore
11. Mood board
12. Research into other films of similar sub-genres
13. Props list - with illustrations
14. Details of costumes - with illustrations
15. Location report - where you intend to film, if it is a public place then you need to consider the logistics of filming there. If it is private property you must seek permission from the owner.
16. Complete shot list
17. Completed storyboard
18. Test footage with a full explanation as to the technique you were testing and how successful the test was.
19. Details of when you intend to film (dates, times and places), who is responsible for bringing what props etc, what actors are needed and who is in charge of ensuring the actors are informed of times and locations.
20. Practise titles, consider the job titles and the names you wish to include. Do some research into titles. Look at Saul Bass as an industry expert in title sequences.

Wednesday 27 January 2010

Final Idea.

Narrating: (to the police, gets arrested at the end of film)

Flashback:
1) Room: photos of Leanna, cups with lipstick, locks of hair.
The narrating comes in with a black screen. "I was watching her in a coffee shop" -close up of coffee cup with lipstick on it.
"I worked at the hairdressers" - close up to a lock of hair.
"I've never seen anyone as beautiful as her before" -close up to picture of her.

2) Hear footsteps coming into the room. See his lower leg/feet.Door slams. Image of calender, each day has a photo of Leanna, apart from this day (didn't get to see her- angry). Loud music comes on (made from garage band, out onto CD player in scene). Slams down a beer bottle on a table, spins it, full image of room.

END.

Monday 25 January 2010

Logo

Mood Board

Our mood board :)

Opening story ideas.

Initial Ideas.

The obsession
Psychological thriller
Close up of lots of photos of one girl
Photog dark room, develop photos in there
Darts at photos.
Spinning bottle.
Quick cuts throughout.
dark - not day.
Girl screaming. black screen to start tape recorder.
Interviews stalker.
Starts with black screen goes to close ups of victim's photos - shown in dark room with torch at college.
Possible question : what do you like to do ?
"play darts" (dart imagery)
close up of weird hand. Villain handicapped in some way - this shows pain and bravery.
voice over on top of imagery.

Further ideas.

We will never get to see the villain in the opening.
Taking photos through key hole.
Damsel in distress will hear noises of what she thinks is a villain, but it turns out to be her pet cat, or so she thinks.

flash of her seeing herself on video. And photos.
Zoom of her eye and zoom out to his.
He has her cup with lipstick on it, and a lock of her hair.
Camera is his point of view.

Bottle spinning, shot of it at full speed, but as it reduces, the camera will spin with it, showing the photos around it. All of the victim.

Restaurant scene - possible relationship between characters?

Spooky location - abandoned house near Netherhall, a church.

Public transport - both on bus through Cambridge.

Shots of buildings in cambridge.

End on her gasp at camera (his perspective) to black screen.

Final ideas.

(Highlighted in blue)

Thursday 14 January 2010

Malcom X analysis



This thriller is political, we can see this with the opening credits as the
voice over is talking about black peoples rights. It is clearly made
political because of the contents of the speech and the footage of the
beating of the black man. The music has a heroic sound to it, as well
as the constant cheering throughout. this adds to the mood

At the end the symbolic burning of the American flag represents the
rebellion of the opposition and also shows a more contemporary time
period.

Wednesday 13 January 2010

Conventions of a thriller.

Damsel in distress: The character is hanging of the edge of a gutter of a building, he relies on another character (hero).

Protagonist: the flawed hero, the character is scared of heights. this is shown as he is hanging of the building and is made worse when he see's the police officer fall to his death when trying to help him.

Lighting:Shadows cast over woman's face in beginning. The lighting then turns red, symbolize; lust, danger, blood. In rooftop scene, grey colours used, dull, pathetic fallacy = weather reflects the mood (cloudy, grey).

Fear of the unknown= Don't see entire face of woman, unaware of who she is. Her eye's widen in shock, it's unknown why. Unknown why man is running from the police.

At the beginning when the animated patterns come up on the woman's eye could represent a kind of hypnosis which connotes the control she has over the victim or vice-versa. This links in with obsession and gives the audience the impression that the villian could be obsessed with the 'damsel in distress'.

Music is used throughout to add tension, suspence and to keep in time with the dull, tense mood.

Deadlines for thriller project

Deadlines:

Rough cut: 1st of march (monday's lesson)
Shooting Deadline: 24th of February, wednesday
Final deadline: 8th of March (end of Monday's lesson)
Draft deadline for writing: Monday 5th of March
Final dealine for writing: 9am, 22nd of March

Monday 11 January 2010

Examples of thriller films and their conventions.

Stephen King -
Room 1408
Misery
IT
The shining

Others -
The ring
The Orphan
The dark knight
Vertigo
Signs
Phonebooth
Panic room
Jaws
Psycho

Conventions -
Score to reflect genre or mood of scene
Most introduced main character
Locations - mostly dark eg. Hotels, motels, homes
Titles can relate to a character's weakness
main title appears at the end of the credits
Introduces important themes, characters, locations of the place where the thriller will take place
Ofter does not give away main plot (that would be more of a trailer)
credits sometimes subltle, but can sometimes fill the whole screen

Thursday 7 January 2010

Preliminary Task