Planning: Final Idea - Mrs. Quinlan

Final Idea

Group Discussion Final Idea

Introduction

For our final idea, we as a group had to merge all our initial ideas together to come to a final one where everyone was satisfied with it. My first and initial idea that I came up with myself involved supernatural elements as well as Pervin's. We wanted something that would create tension all the way through, further making the audience feel uneasy and terrified without giving too much away as it is just the opening. Dillan wanted something that involved more violence and mystery so we decided to use both the supernatural and mystery sub-genre together to create what we have now.

Title

• P.S. Your Stalker - Trang
• One Of Us - Dillan

Sub-Genre

For our final idea, we decided as a group that we wanted the two sub-genres of the supernatural theme and mystery, this was the only way to do so if we both wanted to include our ideas into one. The thriller opening follows a supernatural and mystery sub-genre as it portrays mystery through the use of hidden messages throughout and supernatural through the unexplained figure that seems to be following the man.

Narrative/ Plot

The opening scene begins with an antagonist slowly walking in a graveyard. He wears a black crimson coloured suit with a matching tie and white shirt that further indicates he has just attended a funeral. The weather is dark and gloomy just on the edge of raining furthermore reflecting on his current state and mentality. It may also foreshadow further events that will happen as the opening progresses. He arrives home to which it then jumps to a straight cut from inside a house. The man from earlier opens the door, still wearing his suit, he enters the house carelessly with his hands full and keys in his mouth, his back faces the spooky looking girl who is extremely pale and bruised. Her stance is still and she doesn't move, she just stands right behind him as the door shuts in her face. When he is fully in the house, its lit with high-key lighting that further portrays no abnormalities until a tilt shot is used to show him picking up a chair that is stained in blood. The man causally walks towards the staircase and we are able to witness the lifeless bodies that are scattered around the house. As the antagonist walks up the stairs which is portrayed through extreme close-ups of his shoes, bodies are becoming more noticeable.
As the opening progresses, there is a medium shot of the antagonist entering his bedroom. He walks towards his wardrobe whilst stripping his blazer off of him that lands on the bed. When he reaches his wardrobe, he takes out a black leather jacket but as the man closes the door of his wardrobe, we see a victim who is tied on a chair barely conscious, wounded and hidden at the other end of his room. We are only to witness this victim when the wardrobe door closes. When our antagonist exits out of the room, he carelessly turns his back and turns off the light and the spooky female figure appears again, hiding in the shadows however he doesn't notice the eerie, unidentified figure but when rushes back to get his phone he had forgotten, he switches back on the lights and the creepy girl disappears. As the man continues to walk around his house, dead bodies are becoming more visible as well photo frames on window sills that contain pictures of unidentified people.
Towards the ending of the thriller opening, we see the man walk down the stairs from a high angle medium shot. We are able to see the man walk away until he disappears from the camera frame to which the camera does not follow him. When the man is completely out of the frame, the camera tilts upwards to which the girl from previous shots appears again. The girl supposedly has been following the man. She stands still with a motionless face planted on her with one hand placed on the window looking in his direction. The camera then pans out and we see the man walking into the public in a casual manner. The scene fades to black and it ends.

Narrative Structure (Theory)

Our final idea follows a narrative structure of Aristotle. He believed that the importance of a plot is the whole focus of a narrative. He states that it is key to have a beginning, middle and end. Our final idea follows this structure by having a beginning, middle and end to portray its narrative, making it clear what is going from start to end. Moreover, he believes that it is important to arouse emotions and feelings through the use of themes especially themes such as a tragedy that would spark up the audiences mentality and emotions which is used when our spooky figure appears making it send shivers to the audiences spine, mainly focusing on their mentality and emotions. 

Characters (Theory)

The character in my opening follow Propp's idea of having the typical characters with conventional roles in the film. Propp's characters have a narrative function and they provide a structure for text. Propp's characters include:

• The Hero - A Character that seeks for better things.
• The Villain - Who opposes or actively blocks the hero's quest.
• The Donor - Who provides an object with magical properties.
• The Dispatcher - Who sends the hero on his/ hers quest via a message.
• The False Hero - Who disrupts the hero's success by making false claims.
• The Helper - Who aids the hero.
• The Princess - Acts as a reward for the hero and object of the villains plot.
• Her Father - Who acts to reward the hero for his efforts. 

As seen by our narrative and plot, it portrays characters such as the villain, the false hero and princess which in this case are the victims held hostage in his house.

Mise En Scene (Theory)

The theory for mise en scene follows Barthes idea of having denotations and connotations of specific objects in the film that is presented in the audience. Furthermore, Barthes stated that the semiology theory within a narrative had to consist of the denotation, connotation and cultural understanding.  The connotation and the denotation of a narrative is always referred to symbolism through the use of iconography, themes and characters. For an example; an antagonist has the connotations of evil and power that demonstrates his or hers bad intentions and capability.

In our thriller opening, we decided that we want to use conventional mise en scene like conventional thriller costumes such as our 'villain' or 'false hero' who wears the colour black connotating that he is really and truly the villain in this opening,

Film Influences

As a group, we have taken many film influences form different movies that best take our interest, The one movie that really grabbed attention was 'The Stepfather''s opening scene. We took the idea of having a psycho killer on the run but who seems to be an ordinary man on the outside. We also really liked the idea of having him comfortable to the unpleasant surroundings that the audience are able to see.

Advantages of the Idea

This is very conventional to a thriller opening as it follows many different theories hat most popular thrillers follow. I think our idea is very interesting an will be successful as we considered some of the feedback we got from our research such as our questionnaires. We've included typical thriller themes and popular sub-genres that most people want to see which is why I believe that this idea will be very successful. I believe that because our thriller opening has such little dialogue, casting characters wont be so difficult as there wont be any lines to remember.

Problems that may occur and how you plan to overcome them

Problems that we may face when planning and filming our thriller opening is that the camera shots that we've considered may be hard to achieve. As a group with little camera experience, I admit that it'll be challenging to achieve fantastic camera shots that we want to use to portray our thriller. 

Why is the opening conventional to a thriller?

Our thriller opening is conventional as it follows theories that some of the most popular films also follow such as 'The Dark Knight'. We've also decided to go with conventional thriller elements such as the gloomy and rainy start we have of the antagonist walking through the graveyard. We also have the antagonist dress in black to portray his evil intentions furthermore according to my data, most people enjoy or like when they villain wears a suit rather than a costume or some other sort.

What themes does your thriller present?

The themes that are portrayed in our thriller are:

• Vengeance - Although not much is showed in our thriller opening which is actually more effective making the audience wanting to know more, the unknown figure is what presents vengeance suggesting that it has unfinished business with this man.
• Violence/ Murder/ Death - The narrative clearly portrays that violence is a theme that runs constantly throughout the opening. There are also dead bodies and a barely conscious victim to show this.

Planning: Storyboard - Miss Begum

Storyboarding

Introduction

A storyboard is a graphic representation of how a particular film will unfold shot by shot. A storyboard consists of illustrations of images representing each shot showing what will happen, location wise, the duration and other additional information like the type of editing and cinematography that will be used. Each shot is supported by important notes including the type of camera shot that will be used, location, props, lighting, actors, sound, dialogue, editing and narrative description. A story board is vital when it comes to planning out an idea because it becomes extremely useful when it comes to filming.

Advantages of Storyboarding

A storyboard is vital when it comes to creating a movie clip such as my thriller opening that I will be making with my group. Storyboarding helps bring films to life by giving them a clear indication of what to expect in next following scenes. Storyboarding is very beneficial for my group when it comes to filming because it allows them to identify the importance of particular elements the director should include. It further allows us to have a clear idea as to whether our idea is realistic and was is achievable and what is not.

Images of Storyboarding

 

 

Conclusion:

Overall, a storyboard is very helpful and beneficial when it comes to film making as it allows the particular individual to develop ideas that make them fully aware of what is achievable and what is not. When creating my storyboard, I had included all the important information and details associated with each shot therefore I will experience a much smoother film making process.

Planning: Opening Scene Narration - Miss Begum

Opening Scene Narration

Introduction

After the ideas were finalised and put together, it gave us a clear narrative making it useful during the making of the opening as it provides a clear narrative for the director to create the story by putting it together. Without a clear structure of the opening, the audience might not be able to understand what is going on in the scene. As this is just an opening, the audience does not necessarily need to understand the narrative in such detail as many films are a lot affective that way.

Opening Scene Narration:

• The opening scene begins with an establishing shot of the antagonist slowly walking in a graveyard. He wears a black crimson coloured suit with a matching tie and white shirt that further indicates he has just attended a funeral. The weather is dark and gloomy just on the edge of raining furthermore reflecting on his current state and mentality. It may also foreshadow further events that will happen as the opening progresses. A panning shot is consistent till he arrives home to which it then jumps to a straight cut from inside a house. The man from earlier opens the door, still wearing his suit, he enters the house carelessly with his hands full and keys in his mouth, his back faces the spooky looking girl who is extremely pale and bruised. Her stance is still and she doesn't move, she just stands right behind him as the door shuts in her face. When he is fully in the house, its lit with high-key lighting that further portrays no abnormalities until a tilt shot is used to show him picking up a chair that is stained in blood. The man causally walks towards the staircase and we are able to witness the lifeless bodies that are scattered around the house. As the antagonist walks up the stairs which is portrayed through extreme close-ups of his shoes, bodies are becoming more noticeable.

• As the opening progresses, there is a medium shot of the antagonist entering his bedroom. He walks towards his wardrobe whilst stripping his blazer off of him that lands on the bed. When he reaches his wardrobe, he takes out a black leather jacket but as the man closes the door of his wardrobe, we see a victim who is tied on a chair barely conscious, wounded and hidden at the other end of his room. We are only to witness this victim when the wardrobe door closes. When our antagonist exits out of the room, he carelessly turns his back and turns off the light and the spooky female figure appears again, hiding in the shadows however he doesn't notice the eerie, unidentified figure but when rushes back to get his phone he had forgotten, he switches back on the lights and the creepy girl disappears. As the man continues to walk around his house, dead bodies are becoming more visible as well photo frames on window sills that contain pictures of unidentified people.

• Towards the ending of the thriller opening, we see the man walk down the stairs from a high angle medium shot. We are able to see the man walk away until he disappears from the camera frame to which the camera does not follow him. When the man is completely out of the frame, the camera tilts upwards to which the girl from previous shots appears again. The girl supposedly has been following the man. She stands still with a motionless face planted on her with one hand placed on the window looking in his direction. The camera then pans out and we see the man walking into the public in a casual manner. The scene fades to black and it ends.

The themes that draw upon this idea are, murder, death, violence and vengeance. I believe that these are the most important and popular themes in thriller films.

Audience Response

Throughout the opening, the specific scenes such as when the audience are able to subtly witness the unidentified figure creates a chilling response. As a group, we are aiming to generate mix emotions such as confusion further creating a tense atmosphere all the way through. There is no clear narrative and the audience will feel confused watching this although will feel very uneasy at the same time. The opening scene may confuse the audience but as it progresses, the audience may feel a sense of discomfort and frightened due to the dead bodies that were laying on the floor. Followed by the mans casual attitude to this frightful scene, he leaves the audience questioning themselves making them wanting to further watch on.

Conclusion:

This planning has been highly helpful for my final production as now I'm aware of what I have to do in order to get the right audience response. I'm more organised and I now know clearly what I have to do. 

Planning: Developing Ideas in Groups - Miss Begum

Initial planning

Introduction:

Our group was formed by the teacher consisting with each individual possessing a strong characteristic that balances out our strengths and weaknesses, after this we were able to begin with introducing each other with initial ideas we've had of our own within the group. We came up with our own ideas individually and then began to share some of our ideas to come up with one final and initial idea for the thriller opening. Once we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of our final idea, we highlighted what would be the overall factors that will be the most distinctive and exciting to make.

Idea 1: Dillan

Narrative:

A news report about a serial killer on the loose is playing, warning people in the local area to stay indoors and not be alone if they have to go outside until the police catch the killer.
There is then a cut to the killer who has gagged a young woman and as she is struggling, he violently murders her with a sledgehammer. The murder is not shown but the blood is to suggest that she is being brutally murdered.
There is another cut to a victim in their house, about to go upstairs and sleep, they turn off the light and there is a figure visible in the dark, when they turn on the light there is nothing there, they turn off the light again and the figure is there yet again. One last time they turn on the light but this time the same killer is up close to them, before he or she can scream, they are grabbed by the throat, slammed against the wall and strangled to death. The then either takes the victim's clothes, or removes their own clothing and changes their hairstyle, then walks down a road into the public just like a normal person from society.

Title:

One Of Us - Based on the idea that the killer could be anyone, not every killer is mentally unstable as far as we can see. They could be your friend, a family member or a girlfriend/boyfriend.

Sub-genres:

Horror thriller - I will include jump scares to suddenly shock the audience and to feel suspense.
Psychological thriller - The twist at the end of the opening as the killer is seemingly a normal person.
Crime thriller - The idea of a serial killer and the public are aware that there is one out there.
Mystery thriller - The fact no one knows who the serial killer is, my opening may set up a detective or someone from law enforcement looking for the antagonist.

Characters:

Killer(s) - Who is or are the antagonists, as my narrative will revolve around them due to the results from my primary research.

Victims - The woman who is getting murdered and the second victim in the house which can be either a male or female.


Theory Application:

The narrative will follow either Barthes or Aristotle's narrative theory as Aristotle uses tragedy (the killings) to arouse emotion from the audience as well as through themes. Barthes theory may also be used as the denotation of a sledgehammer to murder a woman can connote violence, as well as anger or revenge depending on how the killing is presented.

Film Influences:

For my initial idea I was inspired by The Stepfather (1987) due to how chilling the opening scene was. I especially liked the ending of the opening which I am planning to shoot in my own way but to give the same effect.

I was also inspired by Halloween (1978) as this opening also had a twist or something the audience did not expect at the end of the opening. That is the main thing I am going for, to make the audience feel uncomfortable as the killer could be anyone.

Mise En Scene:

Lighting: Low lighting will be used throughout, this is to represent the killer's unfavourable intentions as well as the overall dark tone of the film and opening.

Setting: The first murder will take place in either a graveyard or a forest. The second will then take place inside a home, to further petrify the audience as a home is meant to be a safe place.

Iconography: The murder weapon, a sledgehammer, as well as blood to show the murders happening.

Costume and makeup: The killer will be wearing a dark coloured jacket and trousers, to not draw attention to themselves. The victims will wear light coloured clothing to show the innocence.

Advantages:

The advantages of my thriller opening are that they are influenced from different films, with my own narrative to it and therefore will be quite different to other thrillers. The opening will also scare the audience and leave them in suspense, wanting to watch the rest of the film as they have chosen to watch a thriller opening. Therefore it will use jumpscares and the appropriate music to show that.

Disadvantages:

The disadvantages of my opening will be that I may not be able to shoot in some settings such as the graveyard or the forest, due to not being able to access them. Also it may be difficult to shoot all of these scenes into a two minute opening, therefore I may have to cut out some scenes. The acting may not be to a good enough standard and the audience may not understand what the character is doing in an ineffective way.

Conclusion

My initial planning has allowed me to work in a team and brainstorm many ideas. By doing this I can find many flaws and places to improve in my idea through constructive criticism from my group. Also I can combine my ideas appropriately with my group to make a strong final idea.

Idea 2: Trang

Narrative:

My initial and final idea for my thriller opening will begin with a man who seems to be at a funeral, he looks clearly upset with the lost of his close one. This will be one of the main characters introduced to the audience. There will be a abrupt transition to the next scene where we see him and another character that appears to be his girlfriend, lover etc having a serious conversation. A caption will appear below the screen reading '32 hours ago' to inform the audience that this has happened already. The couple are in a warm and cosy conventional family home that connotes safety and security, in addition, I want the audience to feel confused because this is not your typical thriller opening however it certainly begins with mysteriously as a soundtrack will start to play as its off-screen sound. I want this off-screen sound to build tension for the audience as I am determined to generate mix emotions of uneasiness and discomfort. Then a flash of montages as well as jump cuts will take place implying that murder has been taken place.
The next scene will be the female character alone checking her phone if her boyfriend has called her back. She's getting ready for bed, when she walks down a long and dark corridor to her bedroom, the audience will witness an unidentified figure lurking in the shadows behind her. A close-up of her phone will read the date and time so the audience are aware of this as this will be relevant later on as the opening progresses. Another close-up, this time of a different phone will be the male protagonists phone reading 9 unread messages. A reaction of the girl will initially be a jump scare for the audience but we are not able to see the antagonist.
The last scene will be the protagonist leaving the funeral as he looks up, we get a reaction shot of him but we are not able to see what he's reacting to.

Title:

I decided to call my thriller 'P.S. Your Stalker'. This title is based on a supernatural theme in which the protagonist is being followed by a mysterious and unidentified antagonist. In the opening of 'P.S. Your Stalker', we are able to infer that this stalker is a psychopath as he/ she evidently murders his girlfriend. The audience will definitely question why the particular event has occurred and who is this mysterious person.

Sub-genres:

• Supernatural - I've included the supernatural theme as it consists of supernatural and questionable elements to the opening such as the unidentified, mysterious and spooky figure that I intend to portray in the first couple of seconds of the opening.
• Horror - I've included at least one jump scare that will definitely shake the hearts of the audience, in addition, also including a murder scene that will only last about 5 seconds to not give too much away.
• Mystery - I thought the sub-genre of mystery is appropriate for this type of narrative as the whole opening consistently asks the audience who the antagonist might be.

Characters:

• Protagonist - The male protagonist will be introduced first as he is the main character of the whole opening as the situation is revolved around him.
• Antagonist - The antagonist is still an unidentified character but we will be able to have a glimpse of the characters silhouette in the opening.
• Victim - The victim will be the protagonists girlfriend who will be killed.

Theory Application:

My thriller opening follows the theory Aristotle and Barthes. Aristotle's theory applies to my thriller opening because it consists of a beginning, middle and end with and clear and understandable narrative. Moreover, the problem always sets off aroused emotions and the audiences mentality by having the key action point start in the middle. Although I have a clear narrative of beginning, middle and end, my narrative seems to be mixed up which will confuse the audience however they will understand after it progresses. My thriller opening also follows Barthes theory as it highlights explored and diverse ranges of developed cultural understand, connotation and denotation.

Film Influences:

Film influences such as 'The Grudge' has helped me develop this idea. Themes such as jealousy, obsession and murder all consist in my opening furthermore using the key character as a mysterious and supernatural antagonist similarly to 'The Grudge'. In my opinion, I believe that 'The Grudge' is a fantastic supernatural and psychological thriller as it has not failed in making me constantly think about it. It sends cold shivers down the audiences spine which is what I want to achieve for the audiences response as well.

Mise' en Scene

• Lighting
• Setting
• Iconography
• Costume, hair and make-up
• Cinematography

Advantages:

I've created my own narrative using other successful film influences that will indeed create an exciting and thrilling opening. I believe that my thriller will create a particular audience response such as fear and discomfort, according to my data I've collected from my primary research, a psychological and supernatural thriller are most popular amongst thriller watchers.

Disadvantages:

The disadvantages of my thriller opening might be that challenging camera shots I need to take when creating this thriller opening. If I want to create the mysterious figure in the background, I must educate myself working the camera correctly to receive successful and spooky shots which might be difficult to achieve.


We liked both ideas and managed to merge both ideas together so everyone was satisfied. By doing so, we went through all the disadvantages of both ideas and discussed how we was going to overcome this. With my idea, I mentioned that camera shots were quite difficult to achieve as a group with little experience with professional cameras. However, we practiced our specific shots to make sure it looked professional. The preliminary task also helped with this as we were able to familiarise ourselves with professional filming equipment. With idea 1 (Dillan) the advantages that arose were getting permission from the owners to film there. We was able to email the owner successful as we were also granted access to the location. We worked ourselves through these disadvantages to join both of our initial ideas together to form a final idea.

Research: Questionnaire Results - Miss Begum

Results from Questionnaire

Why is it important to get and analyse feedback? Relate to direct, specific audience feedback

Feedback is the data that was received from your previous research, the feedback that you get is important as it allows you, as the researcher to understand current trends and relationships shown in your data. When your feedback is collected, you must make decisions whether based on the popularity is met with the target audiences expectations. For example, if my data shows me that the majority of my respondents (13 out of 20) I asked likes supernatural and psychological thriller more than thrillers to do with crime and action, it allows me to make an easier decision about the type of sub-genre I should consider pursuing. Without clear feedback like this, I am unable to make precise decisions therefore, feedback will allow me to make a successful thriller opening.

Examples of graphs and Analysis:

Conclusion:

My research has helped me hugely to make important decisions such as what type of sub genre I should consider, hair, costume and makeup and what type of location scares the audience most. This is important as it will help me when I make my thriller, making it most effective and enjoyable to watch.

Research: Qustionnaire - Miss Begum

Questionnaire

What is the importance of primary research?

Primary research is important because this is the type of research that you go out and collect yourself directly. This will benefit you hugely as it will give you direct responses to gather quick data on the spot.

Advantages and Disadvantages of questionnaires

Advantages:

• More people will be able to take part in questionnaires as its not as time consuming and can be done on the spot.
• Data is quick is collected easily
• Information can be collected from any specific target audience you want

Disadvantages:

• There is usually a low response rate
• If there is a mistake within the question then it is difficult to get the correct answer from the same respondent
• Respondents can ignore some questions
• Respondents might not understand some questions clearly or terms used in the questionnaire, as a result making them skip the question without asking.

Who did you ask and why?

I gave my questionnaire to both genders equally, 10 for boys and 10 for girls so I can see if there's a specific type of relationship between the genders and the type of thrillers they watch. In addition, my questionnaire has been given to people in age groups of 15-18 because this particular age groups tend to enjoy thrillers much more than any other. Moreover, giving my questionnaire to these people aged 15-18 will give me better data when it comes to creating my own thriller.

My Questionnaire:

Conclusion:

In conclusion, my research has showed me what the audience expect from a thriller movie. This will be beneficial when creating my own thriller trailer as I know what audience like and dislike when they watch a thriller film.