Practice Run Through

Final Thriller Idea

This is the practice run through of my groups thriller opening. We had limited time and limited resources in school but we tried to improvise. After filming this we realised that many things were missing and needed to be added when filming the final sequence.  

To improve, the script/dialogue needs to be further improved to make it a more thriller opening sequence. We also will need to include sound effects to increase the suspense and to add excitement. This practice run through wasn't 2 minutes long so things need to be made longer or additional filming needs to be included.  The credits also need to be inserted into the opening sequence, whether that be the beginning or end of the scene along with the title of the film. We need to decide whether there is going to be a title sequence or not.

Target Audience for Thrillers similar to mine

Action Thrillers:

Usually aimed at young teenagers aged 15+. This type of sub-genre is male dominated due to guns, car chases and explosions however females may be attracted due to the attractive male protagonist and vice versa. This genre is less intellectually challenging and therefore appeals to young adults and teens. An example is 'Taken' (2008).

 

 

Horror Thrillers:

Aimed at 15+. This is because younger viewers might find this disturbing and violent. This sub-genre creates suspense which scares the audience. It appeals to both genders. This genre is usually aimed at younger audiences who like a sense of excitement or thrill. An example is 'The Purge:Anarchy' (2014

 

 

Psychological Thrillers:

Usually aimed at 18+. Includes extreme violence and sex scenes. This genre also touches upon psychological issues that can be disturbing for a younger viewer. . This sub-genre is intellectually demanding with complex and unethical story lines. An example is 'Se7en' (1995).

 

 

Crime Thrillers:

Usually aimed at 15+. Targeted by both genders whereby the male is stereotypically involved with the female actresses and vies versa. An example is 'Pulp Fiction' (1994).

 

 

Supernatural Thrillers:

Usually aimed at an older audience aged between 25-45. To understand this type of genre of film they must have a certain level of intellect. Thought to attract female audiences. An example is 'The Orphange' (2008).

 

 

 

Political Thrillers:

Usually attracts an older male audience due to the stereotypical ideas about men having more authority in terms of political aspects and running a country. They are likely to include mature themes and vionece and therefore are not for young viewers. An example is 'Enemy of The State' (1998).

 

Target Audience for our opening sequence

The film classification for our opening thriller sequence is a 15. This is because the film is based around a teenager therefore teenagers are more likely to relate and enjoy the story line. Moreover, viewers over the age of 30 would most likely get bored of this horror genre and wouldn't find it very exciting because it doesn't relate or interact with elder people. Additionally, a viewer below the age of 15 may actually become quite scared from watching this, potentially causing distress.

 

I looked at the British Board of Film classification which states that a 15 is suitable for a viewer of 15 years or above. An 18 however says its suitable for only adults but our sequence is more fitted for teenagers. In a 15 strong language or violence may be used and there is allowed to be strong threats and horror involved so therefore a 15 classification is just right.

 

Storyboard for Final Thriller Idea

Why we created a Storyboard

Creating a story board for our opening sequence has helped give us a more realistic idea of how it will pan out. 

It has also given us a relatively good idea about the duration of each shot and which shot we could use. It basically sets up a plan for production and can ensure you wont forget what shots you were initially going to use. 

The drawings of each shot also indicates how the actual scene might look and gives an idea of the setting. A visual aid makes it easier to show and explain our idea to people. A storyboard can show exactly how our video is going to be mapped out. It also makes it much easier to understand our idea. 

A storyboard also helps for editing as the editor can piece together the clip accordingly. 

Before creating a storyboard, we weren't sure exactly how to position the character in the opening sequence. 

Research into Locations

For our final thriller movie, we will be filming at one location and will be on private property as opposed to public land. We will be doing this so there will be no interruptions when filming and no problems when deciding where we are/aren't allowed to film. 

 

The sequence will be filmed inside of a house, belonging to one of our group members. It will begin in an isolated room where the computer is and then will follow the character through the hallway leading to a kitchen where she will boil a kettle and consequently make a cup of coffee. 

Throughout the opening dimmed lighting will be used to amplify the secluded atmosphere. There will also be no other visible characters involved in this opening besides the girl.

Research into characters

The character in the opening scene of Scream is very similar to that played by the girl in our thriller.

Females in thriller films are usually stereotyped:

• lack independence ( need a man to survive
• always need to be saved (heroine
• mother figure
• objectified by men 
• innocent ( never does nothing wrong)
• beautiful
• young and vulnerable

Our thriller was inspired by the film Scream. The character in this, Casey played by Drew Barrymore is similar to the girl starring in our thriller.

Women in thriller films especially young females tend to  have a sense of purity and innocence, older women however are represented to have greater sex appeal.

This character is a stereotypical female portrayed in thrillers. She has blonde hair who are typically known as  'dumb' and therefore are an easy target.

Both the characters are:
young
vulnerable
innocent
show purity 
blonde 'dumb' thriller target
protagonists


Both characters are the stereotypical representation of women. They are both blonde who are known for being 'dumb' so therefore become an easy target.

Purity and Innocence

Both young females appear to have a sense of purity, innocence and vulnerability. This is shown through their clothing. They are both wearing a pale pastel coloured jumper showing their youth and vulnerability compared to if they were wearing revealing clothes they would be an easy target for the killer. The audience would also have less respect and not empathise with them. However in a thriller like ours and Scream, the audience are meant to be sympathising with this young girl so she wears clothes with no exposure emphasising her innocence.

Features:

Generally in thrillers, the female victims are usually stereotypically 'beautiful'. This is because it makes them an easy target as they become a mans 'object'. This increases fear in a thriller and allows the audience to empathise with our main character who is a young teenage girl.

Protagonists:

Women in thrillers are usually the protagonists, meaning the main character in a film. The idea of women being the protagonist is to focus on the idea that women are more vulnerable, naïve and weaker and need an antagonist, usually a male to rescue them. The protagonist in Scream is the same in our thriller, whereby the young female starts the route of problems. Usually in a thriller the protagonist is the 'good' character and the antagonist is the 'evil' character. in both of these thrillers, this theory is correct.

 

Research into Props

For our upcoming Thriller opening sequence there will be certain props that need to be used to clearly reveal our idea and present our thriller opening well. 

The first prop is a Computer/Laptop. This will be used to allow our main character to view the pop-up chain mail from and consequently provoke the caller. The computer will not be hard to obtain as we will just use one that is already owned by a member of our group and will therefore reduce the cost of our sequence. Computers are commonly used in thrillers as it allows a distraction for the character and in a way builds up suspense for the audience.

We will also be using a Land-line/Mobile phone. We will need to use this prop to allow the character to converse with the mystery caller and will play a main part in the first two minutes of our film. This will be obtained by borrowing a member of our groups to allow a low cost list and easily be replaced if damaged during the filming. There are often phones used in Thriller movies and are commonly used in the same way as ours (mystery caller), for example Scream.

  
A Kettle will also be used in our title sequence. This will be used to make the cup of coffee
that our character will eventually drink and lead to the closing of our sequence. We will use a kettle that already belongs to somebody and then therefore won't have to go out and buy a new one. A kettle is often used as a prop in thriller movies as it will consequently allow a hot substance to be made and then act as a weapon to be used for/against a certain character. We will be using a modern kitchen kettle that runs through mains as apposed to an old fashion stove kettle. The noise the kettle makes will further the suspense and tension.

Research into Costumes

When creating a Thriller film, there are many different ways in which a director uses costume. The only costumes that will be needed are for the girl who is receiving the messages and phone calls as she is the only one visible to the camera. The protagonist will be around 15 years old so we will have to dress her based around her age and size. For example, we wouldn’t dress a girl of that age in a mature suit as it wouldn't fit in. Clothes, Hair and Make-up are the necessary focus for costume.

In our group; Lucie, Talia and I decided that we wanted to give the actress an 'innocent' feel and make her appear vulnerable so that the audience would have a sense of how the movie was going to play out, without revealing too much.

We didn't want to make our character look un-realistically older than she is, but at the same time didn't want to dress her down too much. We eventually decided on the 'Teenage' look and will aim to make her look two years older than she actually is to put our costume skills to the test. 

Eventually, we decide our character would wear a hoodie and leggings with slippers to portray a casual and vulnerable look, looking casual and comfortable in her own home making it realistic. Minimal make-up will be used to prevent the character trying to look too mature for her actual age. Her hair would simply be down and relaxed to exhibit an innocent and easy target appearance.

Research into films similar to my Final opening sequence

Scream:
The opening sequence of scream is very similar to the opening sequence of our thriller idea. In the film scream there is the use of going straight into the film without a title sequence, it just heads straight into action. We chose to do this specific technique because we believe that it makes a film more interesting and appealing to watch as well as enhancing the tension in the film in the early stages making it more exciting. The opening begins with a telephone ringing, which immediately allows the audience to know this is the most important aspect of the scene and what the film could be associated with. Our opening sequence highlights this aspect as well, as our film is about a woman who gets threatened down the phone when she deletes a chain mail. The film itself is very similar to ours where the female is threatened down the phone by a mystery caller and eventually sent to her death. Scream allowed us to think of possible ways to start our opening sequence in order to create tension. The character they use is a vulnerable young blonde woman, and a teenage girl will be playing the lead role in ours.

Crank:
The opening sequence to Crank is another, similar idea that we looked at in comparison to our own opening thriller sequence. It is situated in someone’s home and we are unaware of the gender of the protagonist, unlike the other films where the scene opens on a young girl home alone. The scene starts with the sound of a faint telephone ring which, like ours, allows the audience to suspect that someone is calling this person; however the audience does not know why. The use of a wide shot in the opening sequence allows the audience to see where the scene is taking place but because the scene is shot in dark colours including mostly black, the bright blue light from the TV stands out as the most important object on the screen and that is where the audiences eyes are diverted to. Similarly to The Ring the TV plays a significant part as there is a CD with bold writing cellotaped to it and immediately the audience knows the characters life is in danger. This movie uses CD as the bait to their death whereas we use a telephone call to usher our female character to their death by using a death threat.

Final Thriller Idea

My final idea for our opening thriller film will be based on 'Chain Mail'. The opening will begin in an empty room with dimmed, spooky lighting whilst a teenage girl is on her computer looking through her Facebook page. A pop-up of a chain mail appears on her screen, with a bold, large font saying "If you don't pass this on to your contact list within the next 30 seconds, you will die in 24 hours". Having seen plentiful chain mails before, she deleted it without a concern. Having done that, she soon after receives a phone call from a strange, deep voice on the phone exclaiming 'You shouldn't have deleted that'. She hung up straight away, very confused. The same message pops up on her screen again which she deleted for the second time slightly more anxious now. She goes into her kitchen and boils the kettle to make herself a coffee (noise of kettle creates suspicious atmosphere). The phone rings again with the same voice on the phone saying 'you shouldn't have deleted that'. The girl hangs up straight away and exits from her Facebook, worried. However, the same message pops up again on her home screen of the computer which really startles her this time and she begins to get frantic. She takes a sip of her coffee and the phone rings for the third time. This time round the voice on the phone says 'I warned you, You shouldn't have drunk that' and the line goes dead.

 

A possible title for this thriller could be 'You shouldn't have deleted that' as it is a recurring line the caller says which the audience becomes aware of. Another title could be 'Ctrl Alt Delete.' which creates more suspicion but already suggests a computer is involved. 'The Caller' can also be a possible title idea too.

Group Members for my thriller

For my short thriller film, I will be working with Charlie Horne and Lucie Stafford to create a final piece. They are both pupils in my media class. The reason the three of us have formed a group is because we all work well together, sharing our own individual ideas to eventually come up with our final idea. We also cooperate well together and each put in our own input and feedback on different ideas that are discussed within our group. We each originally came up with different ideas but we combined some of them and finally managed to get our final idea for our thriller.

The Art of The Title Sequence

The Art of the title sequence can include a variety of different things in a variety of different layouts. It can include the name of the film and can give an understanding of the tone or atmosphere of the film.  There can also be narrative information and characters can begin to be introduced. Moreover, the art of the title sequence will also give a sense of the films genre and the actors, directors and production company names are introduced. A location is also established.

 

There are 4 different types of title sequence used in most Hollywood films such as :

 

Discrete - A discrete title sequence is like a mini film before the actual film to help get the audience into the mood of the film yet not to reveal the storyline of the film. It can also give you an idea of the tone and the genre of the movie. A 'discrete' opening sequence is also often animated and includes a lot of editing work. For example, the girl with the dragon tattoo or Spider man.

 

 

 

Traditional - A good example for a traditional title sequence is Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Even though there is a slightly stylised element in form of the grey lines moving through the screen, we have a black background with white titles in front. A second example would be the sixth sense title sequence in which sound and font is used to create the tone of the film.

 

 

 

Straight into the film - The type of opening is a film that goes straight into the storyline and does not have an extra title sequence. An example of this is the film scream which goes straight into the story with no titles at all and the film directly goes into action. This type of title sequence is far less commonplace and is most likely to be seen un action or horror.

 

 

The stylised opening sequence - A stylised title sequence is a combination of straight into the film and discrete. The opening of the film starts straight into the action and then followed by a 'discrete' title sequence. The best and most famous example for this type are the James Bonds openings such as Skyfall. This type of opening is often used in stylish action films such as Mesrine.