After a long hard group discussion we have decided to opt for our film to be rated at a 15. Our film will involve some of the attributes that are needed to contribute towards a 15. For example, Dangerous combat techniques such as ear claps, head-butts and blows to the neck are unlikely to be acceptable. There may be no emphasis on the use of easily accessible lethal weapons (in particular, knives).
In many way Sunset Boulevard is very similar to our film. they are both based on trying to find a murderer and involves deaths of other people throughout. They are both thrillers as Sunset Boulevard does not show any of the deaths and we don't intend on showing our either.
The music in the film is constant and very eerie. The music symbolizes to the viewer that something isn't right and gives off creepy vibes to the audience. The music is old and classical which can have a great affect, especially when it's is relevant to the film. Stereotypically, older music has more mystery and can be scarier.
The editing is very clever. It is done in black and white this could be because colour TV didn't exist when the film was made or they wanted to give the film a unique edge that makes it scarier and makes the audience watch the film harder. They are some very good shots used. For example, when they show the dead writer dead in the water from the bottom of the pool. This is great because it gives you an idea of what the man looked like and any injuries he injured from his death.
I am a big fan of the mise-en-scene used in this clip. The black and white effect lets the audience draw their own conclusions on clothing and scenery. Also, the location used is fit for the film and doesn't confuse the viewer. Finally, the accents used by the actors are very plain and bland which means the killer could be anyone as none of them have their own ego's or characteristics which you would usually associate which a killer. I really like this as it gives mystery for the audience and doesn't give away the killers identity.
Danny is currently working on the story board. The point of the story board is to put across our idea best as possible. Danny is the best artist in the group hence why he has chosen to do the story board. As well as getting our film idea down on paper the story board also allows us to experiment with different shot types and, as a group, decide on which ones we believe work best and are most appropriate to the film or scene.
Our opening has elements of film noir. This is because the lead role is a victim in a violent attack, and suffers from memory loss and flashbacks. In the genre of film noir, the conventions are similar. Like film noir, our film is set in an urban space, with a gritty feel. We also have included a tragic event - the death of the lead character's best friend - which is another element of film noir. Furthermore, there are aspects of the surreal, for example the flashbacks which the main character experiences. Additionaly, the main character is alienated, as he is on his own after his friend has been killed and he is becoming a suspect.
Specific films which have inspired us re Memento and Zodiac. These are also psychological thrillers, and the aspects of memory loss in Memento and the strive to find a criminal in Zodiac have inspired us to incorporate these elements into our opening. However we feel we have created an original opening with some influence, but overall we have come up with a completey new idea.
In our lesson today we are making the script. our main aim is to incorporate the main aspects of the film into our script. Jonny is writing the script as we believe him to be the best man for putting these aspects across to the viewer. Our target audience is late teens to late twenty's. we believe this to be the best age group as they can relate to the characters as they are of a similar age. The three characters in the film are Ed, Michael and the police officer. Ed the best friend of Michael and he is shown dieing during Micheal's flashbacks and gets killed by the murderer. Michael wakes up from his comer and is being interviewed by the police officer. He is the only one who has any idea of the killers identity. The interview scene involves the police officer pleading with Michael to try and think of anything he can remember from the night of Ed's death. in the end, Michael can only remember a tattoo but the police officer isn't convinced and Michael is revealed to be the only suspect.
We have decided for our first scene in the police station for it to be very dark. we decided on this as it is appropriate to the scene and sets the tone for the audience. When the flash backs occur we decided on black and white colouring. We chose this as it will clearly set it aside from the current modern day interview that is occurring. At the train station we have gone for a more gloomy scene as this represents the mood of the characters and the feeling of the scene, we may choose to add thunder when he discovers the tattoo.
We have chosen a number of different locations for our thriller opening. Firstly, we will film the police interview in the photography dark room. We chose this as we believe it will set the scene the way we want it to and will give express the tension to the audience. Moving on, we have also selected the alley ways next to the cineworld campus. We decided on this as the alley ways are appropriate to the scene and practical as it is close to Long Road College. Finally, we would like to use the train station for when the tattoo gets re-discovered. This is ideal as we (James, Jonny and Danny) all catch trains and it is also appropriate as the character is leaving from the police station to go home.
James Seymour