FINAL PRODUCTION

Fascination AS Media Coursework from Megan Hayhurst on Vimeo.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 7

Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Looking back at the preliminary task, I can now see that it looked a little staged and unrealistic in comparison to the Thriller opening we have created now. In comparison, this time we worked really productively as an ensemble, and produced work incredibly efficiently. Our editing this time is much smoother, as we took each shot frame by frame so that we could precisely link up movements. Unlike last time, we also endeavoured to edit the piece to fit the specific changes in the music, which resulted in a more realistic piece of media.

In both pieces we used the 180 degree rule and shot/reverse shot, however in the preliminary it looks more forced, as in the conversation we left large gaps between speech (notably a common flaw in most student productions). In the Thriller, we used the 180 degree rule to ensure continuity between shot/reverse shots of the girls, , and POV shots from the killer. When researching, we noticed that this technique was frequently present in professional pieces of media, and so wanted to reflect this in our piece.

Hand held shots in the preliminary appear shakey and amateurish.  However, through the use of the steady cam, the hand held shots in this final piece are smooth and continuous. We also noticed that on reflection, we have used a limited variety of shots, however for the thiller, partly due to the versatile setting, we were able to create menacing, high angle shots, close ups, extreme close ups, long shots, and panning shots, aiding us to create a tense atmosphere.

The match on action in the preliminary is staccato, and to an extent, unrealistic. This time, we used a match on action to record our frightened reactions to the chase. We took it first from the Killer's view, then to the side, to my reaction, and finally to the resulting action. This provided an exciting variation in the piece without disrupting the continuing flow.

Overall, I believe that my ability and understanding, and the final quality of the piece has improved hugely. The opening holds credibility and creates an exciting and frightening environment for the following potential film, achieving the key features we set out to achieve at the start of this process.

EVALUATION 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

The preliminary task was the first time I had used a camera and tripod properly, in order to produce a realistic piece of media. I was unsure of the delicacy of the instrument, and on reflection some of the shots are a little shakey and poorly framed. On our 'Thriller' we were sure to rectify these issues so that we could produce a realistic and professional-looking opening sequence.

Upon filming we thoroughly looked at the tripod, as our setting (an uneven forest floor) made it highly difficult to set up a perfectly straight shot. The tripod allowed us to do this much easier as we could adjust the legs to the correct height and use the spirit level to make sure the shot was horizontal. Further to this, we used the Flycam, a piece of weighted equipment which acts as a steadycam, but without the harness, for the hand held shots, which helped gain a smoothness to the shot. Although proving difficult to set up and use correctly, (the weights were extremely temperamental), I believe that it immediately gave our amateur piece a professionalism and gravitas shown in 'real' films. On the camera, we also noticed the night vision setting, which we used in a small number of shots to create suspense and an interesting juxtaposition between these and the point of view shots from the killer's perspective.


We were fortunate that the forest allowed us to use different trees as they looked so similar, and no matter where we filmed the shots, it did not disrupt the continuity.  However, when we redid the shot/ reverse shot on the second day of filming, we made a conscious decision to film it in the same spot, so that we could intertwine some of the previously successful shots already filmed.

This was also the first time I had used an online blog, Blogger, and I'm actually really enjoying the format. I think that for a school project, it was perfect for setting down and compiling our thoughts. We could import images and videos which added extra dimensions, and aided the reader's understanding of our 'post'. However, as the system at school disregards and blocks websites such as Youtube and Facebook, we had to search harder to find videos and gain feedback using websites such as Vimeo.

 

 

 The biggest piece of technology we used, and the one I personally had to understand the most, was Pinnacle Studio 15 HD, which was the software we used to edit our thriller opening. Although I used it to produce my Preliminary Task, I hadn't actually realised  how little of the effects available I had used. This time we also used Pinnacle to create our studio name. We imported an image of 'Rust' then applied the font over it, and introduced a rounded spotlight passing over the image, and in its entirety, it looks extremely authentic.

During editing, we realised that we had major, fundamental issues with the lighting. It was different from shot to shot. We used the colour and contrast effect lighting function on Pinnacle to alter the lighting, so that it was darker and more consistant, and made it so that it got gradually darker throughout the piece to create tension, and link it to the night vision at the end.

Pinnacle allowed us to create more effective and stylised shots through its wide variety of simple, editing tools.  In particular, we made use of the 'speed tool', which we used in the 360 degree rotating shot, which increased tension and embodied my disorientation and confused mindset. 

Furthermore, we could cut and edit specific shots in minute detail, which helped us especially when dealing with continuity and matching up movements from shot to shot.  Its simple layout allowed us to freely position our filmed shots in the correct order.   Pinnacle was also particularly valuable when we re-watched our production to see if it made sense, as it allowed us to test our ideas achieved by trial and error.

It was extremely easy to create our motion titles through Pinnacle.  The flexibility in the 'movie grow' tool available, enabled us to produce professional, moving titles.  This then created a sense of realism and would persuade the audience to focus on the production. 

EVALUATION 4 + 5

Evaluations: An insight into the target audience and their demographic.

Target Audience on Prezi

EVALUATION 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?


The production company holds a pivital role in the process of creation of films.  It is mainly responsible for finding the funding for the production.  Depending on the type of film, this may rely on a parenting company (who own shares in another company responsible for managing productions), partnering company, a national charitable fund, or private investors. 
The production company also organises and supplies the staff and actors, and handles the budgeting, distribution and marketing of the product.

The film distibutor can potentially be of huge importance with regards to a film's success.  Distributors hold the main responsibility for marketing and circulation of a film (i.e. which theatres it is show in, home viewing, television rights, DVD)


They decide how frequently and where the film is to be advertised ( e.g. TV adverts, bill boards etc); crucially important, as this is ultimately how audiences are enticed in.  After this, distributors then monitor the exhibiting theatres to ensure the production is being shown the correct number of times.


Distributors are perhaps most important to small, independent films, as these film makers must rely on distributors to find and gain contacts, and secure viewings at film festivals. 


Based on our research into teen-aimed psychological thrillers, we decided that if Fascination became a full feature film, we would expect to use a mid budget of around £13 million.  With reference to our specific production, we believed that the British Film Institute (BFI ) would aid our funding, as we fit their criteria perfectly, i.e. British actors, British culture, British story etc.   The BFI particularly help to fund mid to low budget films.  


We also thought that StudioCanal, the largest European production company, would work in association with our production, as we noticed that increasingly, they are working with British films,  as the English language is the most widely spoken in the world, and they would therefore have a vested interest. 


As research, we looked into productions that were institutionally similar to our piece, and compared their money earned and critical acceptance. 


The 2004, American, psychological thriller "The Butterfly Effect" was produced by New Line Cinema, our chosen production company.
Although the film received a poor critical response, it actually went on to produce huge commercial success; producing $96million from an initial budget of $13million.  The film won the Pegasus Audience Award at the Brussels' International Film Festival and was nominated for the best Thriller at the Teen Choice Awards. 


Starting with a similar budget, we would love it if our film was accepted and nominated in this manner, as it would provide us with the acknowledgement of our film's success in advertising, and that it effectively reached our target audience of 15-30 years .


We also looked at "Final Destination", the teen Horror/Thriller cross over, again produced by New Line Cinema.  The film opened in 2,587 theatres across the US and Canada and made over $10million in its opening weekend .  Six months later, New Line Cinema released the DVD which included commentaries, deleted scenes and documentary footage. 


The film's huge success brought it three sequels and a prequel, an idea that interested us for our own production.  After this, New Line Cinema produced related novels and comic books.


We decided to use New Line Cinema as our main production company as research proved that they widely produce thriller-esque films.  We also thought that the colour scheme of the production logo, black and dark blue, evoked interesting, deathly images and connotations of misery and fear.  We thought that this production company best represented our production.  The choice of production company is extremely important, as it sets the mood for the feature, and the emotion needed to be created for the scenes that follow. 

The serif font used insinuates a serious tone and professionalism we felt important for our piece.   We devised the production company “Rust Studios”. We discussed thriller-related imagery, but purposely decided to avoid conventional, cliched ideas of 'blood' and 'evil', however we wanted to ensure that the image we chose created an impression that evoked the same feelings of fear and suspense.  We liked the idea of 'Rust' as it creates a sensation of decay, and the colours, browns, reds and oranges, connotes danger, blood and fear.  We too used a serif font to reflect a modern and dynamic production company.

The title design at the beginning of a film is and always has been a key part of any motion picture.  Before computer and graphic designs, they were originally motionless pieces of artwork called “title art”. 

Because it is seen as an 'art form', there is no set sequence in which the production companies, crew, actors, editors and directors are named, however most follow a similar pattern.  After the production logo(s) which appear at the beginning of the film, they are generally reinforced by another title, of for example “Miramax and Big Talk Productions Present” to emphasise the vast amount of work and money that these companies have put into making and / or creating the film. Then is then followed by either the opening establishing shot or in the case of some thrillers, for example 'Sixth Sense', the main full screen titles continue.  Such titles consist of the Director's name, Editor's name, the Director of Photography and the main actors' names.


 The way in which these titles are presented vary from film to film, for example, in Face/Off the Director's name is presented as 'A JOHN WOO FILM' whereas in others it may be 'DIRECTED BY..'.  This decision is largely due to the Title's designer.  It is also the designer who decides whether the titles overlay, and the animation of the credits. 

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our horror/thriller hybrid film, Fascination, our characters being two female victims and a male villain, are more of a genre stereotype, (Propp's character types) than a social stereotype. The typical genre portrayal of defenceless, young females has a very relevant place in modern society, despite it being a cliched character type. It is feasible for the roles to be reversed, and for males to be the victims in the film, yet it is more conventional for males to be the killers, due to real life society and UK crime statistics.

Female insecurity in modern day society is an ever increasing issue, with more attacks on young girls on Britain's streets. In our film, the two girls at first seem to be defenceless victims, however, projected forward, by the end, they actually aid the authorities when catching the obsessive kidnapper, thus twisting this concept on its head. The resilience of the two girls in the film is hopefully something young girls in society can take from our film. The film, by tackling issues of female safety, fits in with growing women's right pressure groups such as Reclaim The Night etc who would be able to use our film as an example of combating women's safety on Britain's streets.
Although our film appears as though it was centred around these social issues, it was perhaps a coincidence, and more of a genre convention, that we chose the two young, defenceless females. In most thriller films it's rare for it to be produced to make a political statement about these types of issues, or for them to be reflected through character portrayals.

EVALUATION 1 - DIRECTORS' COMMENTARY

Fascination Director's commentary 3 from Georgina Brown on Vimeo.

EDITING SESSION

We are now heavily involved with the editing process. We have realised that some of the shots do not match others, and continuity jars in places. Because of this, the script has been edited down so that the dialogue is minimal ( we believe that it is the action sequences which are the most important elements to the opening). We have also used fades and dissolves in order to link shots much more smoothly.
Another issue we discovered is the altering light between shots (due to the fact we filmed on different days, at marginally different times).  To fix this we used the lighting tool on the Pinnacle editing software.

I'm really excited to see the finished product, already it's looking professional!

SOUND TRACK

Finding suitable music for the production proved much more difficult than we expected. We realised through our research into the typical, archetypal thriller, that music is one of the most important factors when creating suspense and atmosphere.

For this reason, we wanted to incorporate as much of the diegetic sounds as possible, i.e. the river, birds, wind in the trees. To make these sounds appear much stronger in the mix, we inceased the background sound of the clips, without dialogue, when we reached the editing stage.

Music was extremely difficult to find. We started by searching on websites such as SoundCloud, Audio Network and FreePlayMusic.com and found that much of the music available to download (which was a problem all on its own) was usually semi-professional DJ mixes, which did not fit the criteria of our thriller music.

Luckily, after extensive and diligent research, we found two compositions, Lost In The Dark and Hell On Earth, which we were able to edit down so that they were absolutely perfect for our production. They both encompass a metallic sound, along with a heavy base, building in tension. We were able to fade one into the other during the editing process.

We also downloaded the 'Psycho Scream' sound file which we dubbed over our own screams to create more fear.

2ND FILMING SESSION

After editing the first half of the filming we had completed, we realised that we needed to return to 'The Plunge' to refilm some shots that didn't turn out the way we had hoped in the editing stages.  We also needed to finish off filming the remaining part of the chase scene.

Firstly, we wanted to refilm the close ups of each of us, where we say the lines "What's that?" and "I don't know", as the natural daylight was too dark and it seemed impossible to incorporate such low levels of light.  After realising that it was possible to make the shots appear darker in the editing stage without actually filming them in dark, we proceeded to film in the evening, even though the sun had set, as we could still make the lighting darker on the final production. Having finished refilming these two shots, we started filming the reaction shots as I walk away, and although it did begin to rain heavily, the sound didn't really affect the dialogue, and in someways emphasised a pathetic fallacy.

We set to work on the notoriously tricky tracking and running shots.  We used a flycam to help assist us in making the shots less jerky and the movements more fluid. It took a couple of attempts for us to get used to manouvering the flycam, however, after a while, it proved easier and more effective to use it rather than try and steady the camera on the tripod. Having said that, we did use the tripod for long shots and extreme long shots, in order to give a variety to our shots. The shot that Megan filmed (the medium/close up tracking of me weaving in and out of the trees) benefitted the most from the steadycam/flycam, as the terrain was quite bumpy and the fact that both myself and Megan were both running, increased the potentially shaky filming.

The shots I found most difficult to film were the final shots of Megan in the river, as the natural day light was too dark, so we used the night vision option on the camera itself.  This turned out to be quite effective in the final editing stage. However, at long range the camera became blurry, so most of our shots had to be from, at a maximum, a medium shot, which was not what we had originally planned. However, it still worked out effectively.

FILM CLASSIFICATION

Films are rated by The British Board of Film Classification which is an independent, non-governmental body that have been classifying cinema films since it was set up in 1912. The BBFC was set up by the film industry as an independent body, to bring a degree of uniformity to the classification of film, nationally.

Statutory powers remain with the local councils, which may overrule any of the BBFC’s decisions, passing films they reject, banning films they have passed, and even waiving cuts, instituting new ones, or altering categories for films to be exhibited, under their own licensing jurisdiction.

Traditionally, thrillers or films in the thriller/horror hybrid genre are usually rated at the minimum of 15, and sometimes over. The BBFC validates their reasoning for giving a rating of 15, on these grounds:

This was taken from the BBFC website.

Discrimination
The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.

Drugs
Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances is unlikely to be accepted.

Horror
Strong threat and menace is permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.

Imitable behaviour
Dangerous behaviour (for example self harming) should not dwell on detail, which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamourised.

Language
There may be frequent use of strong language. The strongest terms may be acceptable, through context. Repetition and aggression in language is not permitted.

Violence
Violence may be strong but should not dwell on pain and infliction of pain. The strongest, gory images will not be acceptable. Strong, sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable.

Due to these guidelines set out by the BBFC, I believe that our film, Fascination, would receive a rating of 15. Although it has a strong threat of suspense and terror, it does not show any 'gore' or real violence, only enigmas that create images for the audience, whose imaginations may be more vivid than the on screen image itself.

FIRST FILMING SESSION

Last Wednesday we filmed the first shots for our production. Immediately, we thought that the location was absolutely perfect, as it created the ideal atmosphere, and allowed us to film shots from a huge variety of angles. We found that the most suitable filming hours were between 5-7pm, in order to embody the correct lighting. However, we found that this posed its problems. The light alters within these hours, therefore the lighting may alter from shot to shot. To solve this we are going to film extra cut away shots, i.e. a sun set, in order to insinuate the passage of time and make sure that the shots filmed at each 'get together' coincide with the time we previously filmed the similar shots. This issue is something to consider when editing also.

By the end of this session, we had filmed 50% of the shots.

PRODUCTION LOGOS

Finding an appropriate and suitable production company name, title and logo for our film was key in establishing the tone, and to help set the scene for the beginning of the film. We created two prototypes of production companies and logos.

The first being an RB Production, the intials RB were from the director's name Rizwana Bibi. This idea was crafted from Miramax, with the two co-founders' parents being named Miriam and Max, hence the combination Mira-max.

As the director plays a huge role in the film itself, we thought it would be appropriate. The logo of the striking serif black font on the red background connoted all the imagery and colours that we wanted to incorporate, however, as film making is an artistic form, we thought the idea of it being so simple and using the red, plain background as most student thrillers do, was rather clichéd.  We wanted to escape from that.

Whilst researching into film logo's, it was most noticable that each company used similar colours for effect, but most also had an image to accompany each. Like New Line Cinema has the cut off film strip;

20th Century Fox the bold, brass letters

Dreamworks the man on the moon;

Disney, Cinderella's Castle etc

So we decided that we also needed a bold and emotive image to accompany our production company. Hence the Rust Studios Production company was produced. Whilst not actually deciding a name, we wanted the idea of blood and violence to be very strong, but the idea of using an image of blood seemed tacky and unprofessional.  So, we then took inspiration from rust.  This has many connotations itself.

Rust can connote many different things. The most obvious and aesthetically thought provoking is that the image looks like scratches, or as though a layer of skin has been peeled away to reveal flesh and blood. Again, adding to the semantics of violence, horror etc without it being blantantly obvious. Looking more deeply; when metal erodes, this is when rust begins to appear, which could actually be a metaphor forof the victim's life and situation, decaying as the thriller progresses. The scratches are also important.  It can be viewed  as though someone has produced them in fear, or whilst trying to escape, again suggesting a plot thickening, even in the first few seconds.

RISK ASSESSMENT

Health and safety on set is very important when filming, as accidents do happen, equipment can be damaged and cast and crew can be severely hurt.  Despite our film being set in a forest which has lots of dangerous elements to it, the actors, myself and Georgie, and the director Rizwana, marked out and devised a route which was the safest and most convenient way for us to walk down what proved to be a treacherous and slippy hill.

In particular, with the 'chase scene' in our opening, health and safety concerns were at the forefront of our thinking.  However, before undertaking each shot, we created a clear path for each runner, in order to avoid any accidents occurring.

PROPS

With regards to props, our piece demands very little. We decided that doing this would provide a much more exciting and thrilling atmosphere, enormously important when creating a successful thriller.
As previously mentioned, we based our opening on a sequence within the US drama ‘The Killing’. Within this sequence the Killer possessed a large torch, used to hide his identity, so creating enigmas, and to create fear and anxiety. Therefore, we wanted to encompass this in our production.

Below are images of the torch we will use.





We quickly realised that for the torch light to be noticeable on screen, it was important that we used one of this size and power. It was extremely fortunate that Megan had this.

STORYBOARD

SHOT LIST

1. LES/PAN/TRACK/ POV OF KILLER shot of two girls walking through the forest.
2. M/CU of both girls walking towards the camera, flash light appears in the back focus.
3. MS of both girls walking away from the camera as Georgie turns to notice the light beaming on them and stopping.
4. M/CU RETURNS with only Megan continuing to walk towards cam as Georgie has stopped until Megan notices, stops and turns herself.
5. MS RETURNS (facing away from camera without tracking, slightly high angle) the two girls look confused.
6. MS of Georgie - to say line "What’s that?" same shot then switches, focus on Megan, who then says her line “I don’t know”
7. POV OF KILLER/MCU of both girls. Georgie says “Hello?”
8. M/CU of girls behind. The light still bobbing and moving in the trees, the two girls partially silhouetted.
9. POV SHOT GEORGIE as she turns to Megan.
10. POV SHOT KILLER looking at the girls. Dog's bark is heard, see the girls looking at the direction it came from.
11. MS of both girls from the front as they turn their head to look back at the light.
12. POV from Georgie looking to the right, as she looks back to the front, the light has been switched off.
13. MS OF BOTH GIRLS, Georgie turns to walk away from the light.
14. M/CU OF GEORGIE WALKING TOWARDS, THEN PAST CAMERA. Megan turns towards camera and starts to walk, Focus on Megan, she says "Where are you going?"
15. CU TRACKING of Georgie’s face as she walks away, saying "I'm not staying here, I'm going home"
16. MS of both girls. Georgie walking away, Megan takes one final look at the light and begins to catch up to Georgie
17. MS TRACKING Georgie in focus as Megan catches up behind her. The birds then squawk and flap/ scary creepy noises etc and both girls stop and look to the left, at the trees.
18. MS/ TRACKING as the girls briskly walk away.
19. MC TRACKING Georgie briskly walking.
20. MC SHOT TRACKING Megan briskly walking.
21. MS from behind both girls, Georgie turning round to look.
22. MS OF BOTH TRACKING BEHIND THEM Megan looking at Georgie then turns around too.
23. POV OF KILLER as light is turned back on. Girls now briskly walking.
24. POV OF MEGAN looking at Georgie and back at the killer, and light.
25. CU SIDE ON of girls' feet running in the grass, now jogging.
26. POV OF GEORGIE running and turning around.
27. POV OF KILLER light focusing on girls' expression.
28. MS FRONT ON of both girls' feet as the speed is now fast and they are running.
29. MS SIDE ON TILTING UP to girls' faces.
30. MS SLOW MOTION TRACKING girls running towards camera.
31. SIDE MS TRACKING focusing first on Georgie, then panning to Megan.
32. MS SLOW MO TRACKING girls turning and running.
33. POV TRACKING from the killer running towards them with the light highlighting the girls' facial expressions. Light focuses on the girls' feet as Georgie tails off.
34. POV MEGAN looking at killer.
35. CU Megan's feet running.
36. CU of Georgie who is, at this point, hidden behind a tree trunk.
37. POV of killer looking at the opposite side of the tree.
38. ECU on Georgie’s eyes as we hear a twig snap.
39. CU of Megan's feet who is attempting to run through the lake.
40. MS of Megan as she stops in the middle of the lake.
41. MS of Georgie starting to run again, then CU of Georgie’s feet as she continues running
42. CU of Georgie’s face as she runs.
43. MS of Megan turning, looking around, whip pan, swirling around her as she looks nervous.
44. POV MEGAN panning quickly.
45. CU TRACKING Megan's face.
46. POV as water movement heard..
47. CIRCULAR MS TRACKING of Megan.
48. POV more water heard.
49. CIRCULAR CU TRACKING Megan.
50. CU TRACKING Georgie’s feet.
51. LS TRACKING Georgie running away.
52. POV KILLER looking at Megan in the water, more water heard.
53. MS SIDE ON Georgie still running "MEGAN"
54. CU Megan's face
55. MS CIRCLING TRACKING Megan spinning, to listen, to shout.
56. MCU of Megan on the line ‘Georgie?!’
57. LS of Georgie still running from the mysterious light.
58. POV of killer looking at Megan as more water movement is heard.
59. MS Georgie still running shouting ‘Megan!’
60. MS of Megan looking at where the shout came from.
61. Spinning MS/CU of Megan as the water movements become more frequent and louder (the continuous sped up hand held shot)
62. On the same shot, finish circle MCS Megan “Who’s there?!”
63. LS of Megan in the water, looking around
64. MS of Megan, only her heavy breathing is heard. Then a muffled scream from Georgie.
65. The shot lingers for a while, to create tension.
66. The light appears behind (in the same shot).  Megan turns.
67. POV of killer towards Megan, Sped up, finish of Megan’s loud intake of breath.

LOCATION - THE PLUNGE

Last week, we decided as a group, that we would individually search the local area for a suitable location for our piece. Following this, we discussed our findings and finalised our choice.

We decided that 'The Plunge', near to my house, was most suitable, as it not only encompassed both the

forest and river element, but as there were a number of small hills and slopes, it would provide us with the means to shoot a variety of angled shots. In twilight, this would provide an eerie and menacing setting for our production.

Here are some photos from my expoloration of 'The Plunge'.

INSPIRATION

There were many things that inspired us for our opening, in particular these 2 clips,

The first is from the French film 'Them' which is actually a horror film, but the beginning scene creates a multitude of tension as well as setting the scene for the entire film, which is what a good opening should do. Their use of the forest and twilight filming was also interesting.

Link to trailer for 'Them':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFTbcDRkG1o

Another very influential clip was the beginning of the US TV series 'The Killing'.  It is also set in the woods, and the interesting use of the torch light really appealed to us. The vulnerabilty of the girl was something we wanted to expand on, as it is commonly known that the female is usually the victim.

Link to trailer for 'The Killing':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IZUWkghFeQ

CAST AND COSTUME

Originally, the cast was going to consist of all three of us; Rizwana, Megan and myself, with the concept of Rizwana going missing, to enable her to film the majority of the tricky shots.   However, this meant that the suspicious circumstances of her disappearance was not in keeping with the suspense and enigmas in our film. Thus, we changed the script to only include two characters, namely Georgie and Megan. We decided to use our own names as the characters are not too dissimilar to ourselves and it would make the film more realistic.

Regarding both characters, we decided that it would be best if we both wore casual clothing, which would also be acceptable and suitable for going for a walk in the forest. Similar to the images below, Georgie would wear a green barbour jacket, or jumper and black leggings and wellies.



And for the character Megan who, like Georgie, is the archetypal teenage girl. She is also wearing black leggings and white pumps, but with a casual, blue hoodie and white t-shirt.

Both costumes compliment the girls' age, and are reflective of typical, everyday outfits.

NEW SYNOPSIS

Synopsis
Fascination

Three teenage girls walk through a forest to get home. Rizwana drops an object and hears a noise within the trees, and then mysteriously disappears. Megan and Georgie then realise she’s missing and tensions start to rise. We hear a noise/tree rustle; the two girls are spooked and begin to run.
To try to ‘play the game’ he kills some of his victims, who are young, teenage women, but abducts the rest for his own personal pleasure. Unexpectedly, the three girls are not dead and the help the rest of the hostages to escape

Proposed setting

‘The Plunge’ in Edenfield – forest and river
Time – dusk, enough light but still setting the mood

We then decided to change the storyline as we thought Rizwana disappearing mysteriously wasn’t plausible.  It didn’t make sense, and therefore didn’t reflect the mystery and suspense we wanted to create.  We then decided to change the storyline to two girls walking home through a forest.  The two girls notice a flashing light behind them and turn round to see what it is. The girls are spooked and quickly walk away from the light, which then gradually turns into a chase scene. Georgie separates from Megan and hides. In the meantime, Megan runs through the lake and hears Georgie shouting out to Megan and screaming in the background. Tension and suspense increases when Megan turns around and sees the spotlight behind her, and ends on a black screen.

To try to ‘play the game’, he kills some of his victims, who are young, teenage women, but abducts the rest for his own personal pleasure. Unexpectedly, the three girls are not dead and the help the rest of the hostages to escape.

FINAL SCRIPT - 'FASCINATION'

As a group we watched the opening clip of the US drama 'The Killing' and decided that this sequence was perfect for our production. We've adapted their ideas, and included some of our inital ideas, to create the final version of our script.
We also changed the title from 'Obsession' to 'Fascination' as we decided that it was more fitting to the storyline.

FASCINATION

EXT. FOREST – DUSK

GEORGIE and MEGAN are walking through the forest, laughing, making mumbling sounds, rather quietly. Deep breathing can be heard in the background.
Both girls are walking forwards whilst a torch/flash light flashes in the trees behind them.

GEORGIE notices the light and turns around to face it, followed a few seconds later by MEGAN, who also turns around.

GEORGIE

What's that?

Megan looks half at Georgie and half at the light.

MEGAN

I don’t know.

GEORGIE

*Pause* Hello?

Georgie continues to look at the light. The killer looks at both girls. Suddenly a dog’s bark is heard in the distance; both girls jumps and they look left to see what is there.
Georgie then begins to back away from the light, turns around and walks away.

MEGAN

Where are you going?

GEORGIE

I'm not staying here, I'm going home

At which point a noise of birds flapping etc. again startles the girls, who look to the right where the noise came from in the trees. The killer continues to look at the girls and Megan looks again at the mysterious light as it switches off, thus Megan
walks to catch up with Georgie.

Georgie and Megan walk swiftly and briskly away from the light.  They both seem confused and scared.

The pace of their walk begins to increase and they break into a jog.
Their faces now in a state of horror, they begin to breathe heavily; the light highlighting the girls' frightened expressions.

Georgie then, in a fit of panic, breaks off from Megan to attempt to hide behind a tree. Light focuses on the girls' feet as Georgie tails off.

As Georgie finds a safe place behind a tree, Megan meanwhile is oblivious to the fact Georgie has disappeared and continues to run in a frantic manner. Unbeknown to them, there is more than one person co-ordinating this attack, and as the man with the light catches up to Georgie, a new person is waiting for Megan in the lake.
Georgie then notices the light has reappeared and has an intense amount of fear in her eyes as she hears a twig snap. Meanwhile, Megan turns around and realises that Georgie is missing, and stops. Amidst running through the cold lake, she proceeds to
look around frantically.

MEGAN

Georgie?

Splashing and swirling of water is heard, Megan quickly jumps to see what’s happening. Georgie continues to run from the mysterious light.

GEORGIE

MEGAN!

Her shout can still be heard as Megan looks from where the shout came. Megan, spinning and quickly moves as the water movements become more frequent and louder.

MEGAN

Who's there?!


Silence ensues as the only thing heard is Megan's deep breathing,  increasing. There is a muffled scream in the background from Georgie. Tension continues to rise as Megan turns around as the spotlight appears out of focus again in the background.  As she turns her head to look at it, the camera quickly speeds up towards her, as it ends on a sharp intake of breath.
End on cut to black screen.

Below is a clip of 'The Killing' in which the opening sequence is weaved throughout. The clip follows Rosie Larson, a teenage girl who is eventually murdered in a forest. We loved the idea of a flashlight, the use of 'night time' and the chase. We hope to include our interpretation of these techniques in our own production.

CLICK HERE

SCRIPT - FIRST DRAFT

Here is a copy of our initial plan for the script. We did not complete this, as we quickly decided that the logistics of this piece did not work. Also, the idea lacked realism.  We are now devising a new idea for our thriller.

OBSESSION

LES/PAN/TRACK shot.
EXT. FOREST – DUSK

GEORGIE, MEGAN, RIZWANA walk through forest, laughing, making mumbling sounds so that focus is on the setting.
MCU of Rizwana looking on her person for her phone, she looks around panicky, and begins to retrace her steps.
CU of phone on the floor, Rizwana approaches it; she goes to pick it up. LS/POV killer of Rizwana as she hears a noise. Hand held shot walks towards CU of Rizwana, cut to black, gasping noise.
CUT TO:

MCU GEORGIE MEGAN, still laughing.

GEORGIE

Rizwana you’re quiet?

MCU MEGAN turning round

MEGAN
Rizwana?

Georgie and Megan continue to look around.
POV from villain. Rustling of leaves etc.


END ON SCREAM - BLACK OUT

SYNOPSIS - FIRST DRAFT

Here are our inital ideas for a synopsis for our producition 'Obsession'.

SYNOPSIS 'OBSESSION'

Three teenage girls, walk through a forest to get home. Rizwana drops an object and hears a noise of trees rustling, and then she mysteriously disappears. Megan and Georgie then realise she’s missing and tensions start to rise. We hear a noise/tree rustle; the two girls are spooked and begin to run.
To try to ‘play the game’ he kills some of his victims, who are young teenage women, but abducts the rest for his own personal pleasure. Unexpectedly, the three girls are not dead and the help the rest of the hostages to escape.

Proposed setting
‘The Plunge’ in Edenfield – forest and small river.
Time – dusk, enough light, but still setting the mood

INNOCENCE - STUDENT THRILLER ANALYSIS

Before creating our own thriller, my group and I decided that we should further research thrillers at a low budget, student level. Not only would this give us a clear insight into the transition from a Hollywood film to a student thriller, but perhaps aid us in the process of generating ideas regarding the filming and editing for our own production.


I searched through Google, You Tube and past students’ work at my old school, and found that ‘Innocence’ grabbed my attention the most. Although it is an older production, and the technology a little dated,  the clearly presented storyline greatly captured the chilling atmosphere vitally important when creating a successful thriller.

The production shows its age mainly within the titles. The technology available today, wasn’t around in 2005.  Therefore the titles are minimal and symmetrical. As a result, they weren’t realistic; this is something to consider when creating our own titles. However, the group had chosen to use a white font against the black background, reiterating Strauss’ theory of binary oppositions i.e. good vs. evil. The San-serif font used, created a psychopathic and ‘documentary’ feel, perfect for the production. I did not understand the choice of ‘invented’ film studio ‘J2GD’ and its relevance to Thrillers. In our production, we should create a  company seemingly apt for the production of films of a horror/thriller genre.


When the credits start, piano music plays instantly, which created a foreboding and ghostly atmosphere for the film. This music remains throughout the two minutes. When the image first appears, the sounds used were reflective of screeching and groaning.  This created tension and drama from the beginning. At this point, strings are also introduced to the classical music.

A fade from black is used to show a long establishing shot of a young girl running in a field. This image was shown in slow motion, which, combined with the girl, immediately presented the audience with a chilling and distressing image. It also presents the audience with enigmas such as ‘Why is she there?’ and ‘Who is she?’, exacerbating the concern the audience  feel for her safety. She is smiling, which is completely incongruent with the music, suggesting something terrible is about to happen to her.

She is wearing pink and purple, typical for a girl of about 7, and her feminine hair flicks behind her as she runs. This image is continuously presented to the audience for approximately 40 seconds, before the title ‘Innocence’ is shown. Straight cuts, tracking shots, slow motion, and various shots (from medium close up to long shot) are used to connect and complement this selection of shots.

The slightly blurred image presented throughout the tracking shots, which can be merely down to the age of the filming technology, only enhances the ‘home video quality’ that creates the eerie and unsettling feeling surrounding this film. This section of the film  has a "point of view" appearance, as if being filmed by a family member.

A medium close up of the young girl smiling and giggling, exaggerates and stresses the gut-wrenching feeling that I certainly felt as an audience member, when watching this. This is again reiterated, later in the same section, at the close up of the young girl sitting in the grass.

Tensions are built, directly before the unveiling of her terrible, imminent future, by a crescendo of string instruments introduced into the music. This technique, birthed from Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’, is extremely prominent throughout all thriller films, and is perhaps something we should research further for our Thriller.

Once again, a straight cut is used before a medium close up of the young girl, facing away from the camera. She slowly turns, this time without smiling, in a ghostly and haunting manner. On this turn, a choir of phantom-like and unearthly voices are introduced into the music. The image shakes and blurs until it is finally black and white. It is at this point that ‘Innocence’ appears, in the same font as previously used.

This beginning is highly simplistic, yet extremely effective. When watching this production, these first few clips immediately jumped out at me as something I would love to try out for our thriller, as I think it perfectly captures the chilling and confusing opening, common to many Hollywood thrillers.

After this sequence, the attention now moves to a dungeon-like room. The chiaroscuro lighting creates deathly and shadowy projections on the wall. The camera pans to reveal the whole width of the room. It falls upon a large wooden table where candles, ropes, brown glass bottles, and other seemingly torturous objects are placed. There is then another straight cut to a white, stone staircase, where again enigmas are created: ‘Why are we here?’ A single candle is placed on each step, and overlay titles, in the same font, gradually start to appear. A faceless. black figure slowly and precisely walks down the stairs.

Quickly, we then move to a shot of the girl running into the forest, looking over her shoulder as if chased. This sudden interlude subtly suggests to the audience that these two images are connected, but they are not sure why. I love the hand held quality to this clip as it really captures the feeling of a person following.

We then suddenly change back to the image of the man walking down the stairs, however this time his back is to us. This not only gives the audience a variation regarding angles, but allows the ‘criminal’ to remain anonymous.

RESEARCH INTO THRILLER CONVENTIONS

VLADIMIR PROPP

Vladimir Propp, a Russian critic, analysed the basic structure of 100’s of folk-tale stories and stated that they were predominantly made of the same components and characters. As well as 31 different, narrative formats and functions, he identified these 8 character profiles:

1. The Villain(s)
2. The Hero
3. The Donor ( who provides a burden or objects of magical importance)
4. The Helper ( to the hero)
5. The Princess (the reward/sought after beauty by the hero. The villain attempts to apprehend this)
6. Her Father ( who eventually celebrates and rewards the Hero)
7. The Dispatcher ( The one who sends the Hero on their quest)
8. The False Hero.


These character profiles cannot only be identified with folk stories, but every narrative and media outlet. For example, within the introductory clip of a thriller we are presented with both a hero and a villain.

In the opening sequence of the Thriller ‘Face/Off’, directed by John Woo, we are immediately presented with the Hero (John Travolta’s character, Sean Archer) and the Villain ( Nicolas Cage’s character, Castor Troy). A Common feature within Thrillers, which is present within ‘Face/Off’, is that the Hero and Villain are apt to be of a similar age, build, and sex. Both men are likely to be aged around 40, good at their jobs and equal in ability and strength, therefore creating an interesting and exciting dynamic for an audience.

Furthermore, other character types are present within Thrillers such as ‘the Dispatcher’; the Police chief’ that allocated that important, particular case to the Hero; or a victim's family that begs the hero to find their child‘s murderer. Another example of Propp’s character profiles, appears within the American Thriller ’Se7en’ where Detective Mills, is ‘the Helper’ to Detective Somerset, ‘The Hero’.

CLAUDE LEVI-STRAUSS

Claude Levi-Strauss, is the founder of the narrative structure ‘Binary Oppositions’, which is found within most films, and certainly all thrillers. 'Binary Oppositions' are couples of opposing values which form the basis of media texts. Within thrillers, this is most commonly seen in the form of GOOD vs. EVIL. Levi-Strauss was not interested in which order events occurred in a narrative, but the connections the themes had within the genre.

E.G within Thrillers:
Good  v Evil
Detective v Criminal
Hero v Villain
Rules v Chaos
Justice v Crime
Normal Characters v Psychologically damaged characters
Moral  v Corrupt

TZETAN TODOROV


Todorov was a Bulgarian philosopher who greatly influenced our perception of a narrative form within a media text. He stated that stories begin with an equilibrium, where opposing forces were balanced. This was then destroyed by a disruption; a terrible occurrence or series of events. At the end of the narrative, the disruption is resolved so that order is restored, and either the old or a new equilibrium is set in motion once more.

Within all of the thriller openings we watched as a class, an equilibrium is disrupted, and the fight to restore equilibrium, is of course, the main storyline for film. It is this sequence of change that creates tension and excitement for an audience.

‘Face\Off’ opens with a somewhat serene and idyllic image of Sean Archer playing in the park with his young son. A disruption is then indictated by the sudden music change and quickened editing pace. The columnisation of the opening is when the boy is shot, the disruption, and Archer vows to seek his revenge. A similar sequence is reiterated and mirrored throughout all thrillers, establishing it as a typical convention.

SE7EN - THRILLER OPENING ANALYSIS

Within the opening sequence of the 1995 thriller “Se7en”, directed by David Flincher, technical decisions regarding the mise-en-scene, sound, editing techniques and camera work, and the titles themselves, depict and influence our perception of both protagonists, Detective Somerset and Detective Mills, who clearly establish the genre of the film as a typical and archetypal thriller.

The film opens with Somerset, played by Morgan Freeman, washing dishes in his organised and structured kitchen. Unusually, there is no dialogue or theme music within this opening sequence. The overriding colours within this scene include whites, greys and peaches, highlighting Somerset as the good and pure character. It also depicts this man as overly methodical, and perhaps dull and lonely; clearly this kitchen has no interference from any woman or child. The lighting is realistic, mostly coming from the window behind the protagonist. Therefore, everything appears slightly silhouetted, creating a foreboding and intriguing atmosphere. Occasionally, pure black objects, such as ornaments, are seen in the midst of the sparse, white kitchen, again reiterating the same feeling. Clearly placed in the foreground, is a chess board (mid-game). This image insinuates that he is a lonely and perhaps dull character, but also demonstrates Claude Levi Strauss’ theory of binary oppositions, often replicated throughout thrillers; the black pieces bad, the white good, and they are in constant conflict and are, in this case, ‘playing a game against one another’. The chess board is also a signifier of intelligence. Throughout this, the diegetic sounds of a television (not in his flat) and sirens, suggest that he lives in a rough and crime-ridden area.

We then cut to a medium close up of Somerset getting dressed for work. The shot, taken from over the shoulder, starts slightly above the waist, and tilts to reveal his blank expression. His clothes are extremely smart and symmetrical, and he takes a great deal of care and accuracy when he is dressing. He picks a piece of fluff from his blazer, which is neatly placed on his already made bed. A close up is used to show his possessions, i.e. a pen knife, badge and hankies, are placed side by side, absolutely perfectly, reinforcing the character’s fastidious and organised qualities, previously mentioned. This sequence as a whole insinuates that perhaps he suffers with a psychological fixation with precision and cleanliness. His clothing are, again, white, grey and black.

After this sequence, a straight cut is used to move to a murder scene, or ‘case’ within Somerset’s job. This scene and cut displays a completely different atmosphere to Somerset’s flat. Its walls are grimy and dirty, suggesting the victims lived in squalid conditions. The chiaroscuro lighting, low key/high contrast, combined with the bloody, stained walls, creates the perfectly unsettling setting for a thriller production. The windows and doors are covered with bars, creating a claustrophobic and caged effect. The flat appears damaged and prison-like. This is the first time we meet Detective Mills, played by a young Brad Pitt. His appearance is somewhat scruffy and relaxed, implying that he, unlike Somerset, has a hedonistic and relaxed view of his job, and indeed life as a whole. Somerset notices the child’s pictures and asks ‘whether the kid saw it’ identifying that Somerset takes a great deal of care and intricacy with his cases, and does not just look for the easy way to ‘close the case’. This obviously makes him unpopular with other, lazy colleagues.

In the external scenes, a blue filter is used, not only to insinuate the dark and dull weather, but to add a dystopian, green tinge to the image, creating a sinister feeling. Again the use of bars is strongly present. The two characters walk down a crowded street, and are filmed using a low angle, tracking shot. The extras, walking directly in front of the shot, help to create realism. When Somerset is talking to Mills, he is filmed at a lower angle, and is slightly in front of Mills, giving him power and authority. The sound of sirens and the police radio, create an intimidating ambiance, showing that this is a heavily crime-ridden area. The exaggerated sound of the rain also emphasises the gloom to the audience.

There is then an ellipsis edit to Somerset, who is in his bed at the end of the day, a bookshelf can clearly be seen in the far corner of the room. This again demonstrates his innate intelligence. He uses the metronome, a device that keeps time, to create order amongst the sirens, alarms, danger and chaos, heard just outside his window. The continuous noise shows this this is a 24 hour crime-ridden city.  The phrase “there ‘aint’ no rest for the wicked” would seem highly appropriate for this Psychological Thriller.

Within the transition between this scene and the credits, the screen goes to black, and a sound bridge of thunder is heard, a technique called pathetic fallacy, where it connotes a menacing and ominous atmosphere about to be produced.

Throughout the titles, a metallic sound is used to accentuate their appearance, creating an erratic and disturbing sentiment. The font is industrious and ‘scratched’, creating the same feeling. The music is a re-mix of ‘Closer’ by 9 Inch Nails, industrial rock that is somewhat threatening and intimidating. Moreover, extreme close ups are used to focus the viewer on darting images, such as cutting photograph negatives, black mail notes, slicing fingertips, dirty nails, needles, razors, and ominous, strange journals. These shots are extremely frightening, and disturbed me, personally, to the core. Black, white and red are the most prominent colours used. Black and white again obviously suggests Binary Oppositions; the red connotes blood, death and danger. The titles flicker and move in the midst of this, appearing aggressive and fragmented. Furthermore, the last line of the song “You bring me closer to God’ insinuates death and religion, themes to be reiterated later in the film.

After the title sequence, the film then resumes, with an establishing long shot of an urban, concrete, American city, high-rise buildings, and blue filter, a highly conventional setting for a Thriller. ‘Monday’ appears in the centre of the screen.



ClICK HERE FOR THE OPENING SEQUENCE