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.
Our idea is about a man who is being interviewed by a policemen. We learn that he has been in a comma for the past 6 months after being attacked by a man. He learns his friend has died who he met that day by this anonymous man that attacked them. There is a series of flash backs that reveal this. The policemen says in the interview the only thing the main charcter muttered that day when we found him was a description on his tatoo. the policemen then shows the man a picture of this tatoo he described on that day. This then triggers a fragment of a memory. The police then say we haven't found the killer who they have no description of besides the tattoo. The man in question is then told as he was the only person there and he is in line to become a key suspect. The man then leaves the police station upset and confused he goes to the train station, and there's a lot of fragment of memories as he tries to remember the incident. Then, before he boards his train, a man walks past him and he sees this tattoo, but not his face. This same tattoo the man that he described killed his best friend had. He then pursues him because it might be his only way to clear his name and to seek revenge.
In this opening for Memento, we are given an insight into the plot and the characters and how these are estbalished in the opening sequence. Through the mis-en-scene, we first see a man holding a photograph of a murder scene. Straight away we are give clues that is a crime film that the man holding the picture is likely to be solving the crime and he may be studing the scene
Further in, we then begin to see that the events are edited to play in reverse. This gives us the impression that the events are being looked at in retrospect, or thought over. The viewer gets the idea from this that the film could be about a memory of the killing. Confusion and mystery is also created by the events playing in reverse, hinting that the film is a thriller.
As the clip continues, we see the protagonist kill the man in the photo, suggesting that he may in fact be a criminal, and the film could be about him getting away with the crime rather than trying to solve it. The victim is killed when they are down on the floor, suggesting they are vulnerable and where targeted as opposed to a gunfight scenario. This now sets up the mystery aspect of the film, as we as the viewer are left confused as to why this murder has happend, why the killer has taken a photo and what the motives are. The film is now depicted as a crime thriller because of this mystery estbalished in the opeing 2 minuets.
The music throughout is dark, and eventually, dies down until there is very little sound besides sound effects. At the point of the music dieing, we are shown the full events of the murder, begining with the scene in more detail than the polaroid photo, and ending with the firing of the gun. The music ends when the viewer first gets the impression that the protagonist may have commited the murder, as he is at the scene rather than looking at a photo of it in a different location. This therefore helps ensure the viewer is left confused by the outcome of the opening scene, as the music is conventional, until the true turn of events is presented.
The above image is from Zodiac, showing the attempt of an everyday man trying to solve a crime
Our chosen sub-genre for our thriller is a crime thriller, with elements of internal psychological thrillers too. Our thriller opening - which is yet to be titled - is about the uncovering of the murder of the protagonist's friend, and the opening sets up the struggle of solving the mystery and brining the killer to justice. The protagonist is suffering for memory loss due to the attack, and after years of not knowing the identity of the murderer, a lead is finally made when the main character recognises a distinctive tatoo which is the only memory he has of the incident.
As this is a crime thriller, certain conventions will come acompany it. The general conventions are that there is an unsolved crime, which the main character has a close realtion too, and strives to figure out the mystery themselves. This makes our thriller convention, however it may be less conventional because the main character is not a detective, but is a fellow victim of the crime which he wishes to solve. The plot draws parralells to the thriller Zodiac, as the main character is on a mission to discover the killer despite not being part of the investigation team. Our thriller will also have some internal psychological thriller features, because of the involvement of memory loss as a key part for the reason of the mystery. Conventions seen in this sub-genre of thrillers are a stuggle to overcome the issues with the mind to solve the mystery in question. An example would be the film Momento, which uses memory loss of the main character as a constant obsticle in uncovering the truth.
In this example of a thriller opening, we see the use of the 4 micro elements that create mood and tone of a typical thriller. we see this through mis en scene, that suggest minority report is set in the future, this is due to technology that doesn't exist today. This is typical of a thriller, and typical of a Steven Spielberg film. Thrillers are usually dark and the opening has a significant impact to set up the rest of the film. This is done well here where questions aren't answered, this is something we are keen to replicate as it's a formula that works with thrillers and keeps audience's guessing and intrigued. The editing is really inspiring as it differentiates present and future, something we want to do with our thriller, differentiate past and present.They do this by using black and white, and distorted images that aren't clear. Theirs quick shots which add tension.This is very typical of a thriller as i mentioned it adds tension and leaves the audience guessing. Theirs great use of sound in this clip which emphasis, different times for instance, there's quite trippy and distorted sounds to show the future. this compliments the editing to create the confusion and tension in the clip. we have a distinction from the fissions and the office of the f.b.i. This is a trait of a thriller to use sound to set the location and using sound to create suspense and tension. we hope to create this when editing our thriller sequence. When looking at cinematography in this clip there's clear use of close up's to give away information that is key, for instance the knife, this tells he audience theres going to be a murder. We hope to do this in our thriller. There's medium shots to show key characters and show more location. When studying this clip we see other key features that make a thriller, for instince the setting of the a future law and enforcement center. This is very typical of thriller, using police e.t.c They also involve murder and action, this is very typical of a thriller, and something we want to use in our thriller. Something that is also key in a thriller is a male lead on the hunt for the trouth, in this clip we distinguish this as tom cruise and Steven Spielberg makes it clear that he is the character we identify with.
Psychological thrillers These are often split into two further genres of internal and external psychological thrillers. Internal psychological thrillers is the idea that the protagonist is suffering from issues caused by thoughts of paranoia, memory loss and insomnia or other feelings. These complications of the mind playing tricks on the character then has an affect on and drives the narrative, for example the memory loss of the lead character in Momento strives him to find the murderer of his wife.
External psychological thrillers are the idea that the character's mind is effected by those around them. This could include complications about identity or reality and an example is the Bourne Identity, in which Matt Damon's character is part of a mystery about who he is, and why he is part of such a mystery.
Political thriller This type of thriller often has a similar theme of conspiracy and corruption. These themes are incorpated into the government, and ideas of the government working against the public with the mystery being the unravelling of the conspiracy. Other related themes are the inclusion of government agencies, secret missions and assassinations. A good example of this type of thriller is All the President's Men, in which the conspiracy of the "water gate" is investigated.
Crime thriller Crime thrillers include the ideas of unsolved crimes and the struggle to either solve the crime or escape justice. These variations are due to whether the protagonist is the criminal or a detective. Zodiac is a good example of how unsolved crimes are used well to drive the narrative of a thriller, as the main character strives to solve the crime of the zodiac killer. An opposite example of this is Dog Day Afternoon, where we see the struggle of Al Pacino's character stuggles to complete the crime of a bank robbery and ensure a safe getaway.
Action thriller The sub-genre of action thrillers is often confused with action films, as what is one persons action thriller is another persons action film. Key differences are that action films are driven by action set peices. In Die Hard I, the story is linked by each big set piece, for example the shootouts in the offices, the large C4 explosion, and the final gun fight where the character Hans is killed. On the contary, The Bourne Identity could be considered as a action thriller. This is because the narrative is intellegent and has more depth, with the mystery surrounding identity. However Jason Bourne is still forced to use violence, adding the element of action.
Overall, there a many sub-genres of thrillers. In many cases, these sub genres overlap, but the above are the four main sub-genres. Thrillers also have codes and conventions. Codes are the meanings that are created by the film, and if a thriller is seen as conventional, then it is following the norm established by other productions in the genre. All thrillers though have a common theme of a mystery. The viewer is given peices of information as the narrative progressed which lead to the uncovering of the puzzle.
Continuity editing is when you maintain continuous and clear narrative action when editing a piece of film. An example of this in our film is that the people in the shot are walking in the same direction. This makes the sequence smooth as each shot flows nicely.
180 degree rule states that two characters in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. For example if the scene is filmed from the left side of one character it should be filmed on the same side for the other character. This is so the viewer is not distorted. We stuck to this rule in our preliminary task during a conversation between two characters, as the camera is always on the right side of them.
Match on action connects two shots together by having a character finish an action in the second shot begun in the first shot. An example of this in our piece is when Danny kicks the door. Firstly we show him kicking the door open from the corridor, and then have a shot of the door swinging open into the room. This seamlessly links the two shots into one motion.
Shot counter shot is when a sequence is filmed in a meeting of two characters. It shows one character after another in the form of two separate shots. We use this in our film when Danny confronts James in order to show that they are talking to one another.
After our first prelim, we learned that it is important to keep the continuity of a scene. We have demonstrated this in our latest film by cutting our shots so that the editing seems 'invisible'. The attention to continuity I think has made our most recent task more professional from the first.
Jonny Hucker
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
This lesson we will be deciding our location and the story line for our pre lim task. we will be writing a script and also working out who's playing what part, including who will do editing and who will be camera man.
James Seymour
