Location Shots

These are a few photos that I took on my mobile of possible locations for our Thriller film.

This is a shot from the other end of the alleyway which emphasises the
 lack of light and clautrophobia of it. Also, it gives a sense of 'Harry's' perspective
and how he views things - he doesn't often see the light or goodness in people -
which is maybe why he acts the way he does and doesn't treat people with respect. 

These photos are of the alley way on St Stephens Street which were a main factor in our original Thriller idea.

This is a view from the front of the alleyway which is the way we
 filmed it for our original idea 'Double Identity'. We liked it because of the
narrowness and darkness which would have reflected the character
 'Harry Cooper's personality.



This is another shot of the alleyway from the back
 or 'Harry' and 'Scarlet's' perspective. The darkness again demonstrates their
dangerous personality and the lengths that they go to get what they desire.























These are some photos of the subway that we were originally going to film in. It was close to the alleyway but we found a better one at Grapes Hill which had lots of artistic graffiti all along the walls.

This is inside the subway where we were going to film Eve White getting mugged by
Will Block on his skateboard. We liked the use of the graffiti on the walls because it gives
 the effect of the youths of today and their culture. It represents artistic freedom
and rebellion from society which reflects Will's character as he goes after Eve to steal her
money for his own use, breaking out of the social norm and going against the law. 

This is another angle of the same subway to show where Eve White would stand when she
stopped running and looked around to see where Will would come from.
The dingy lighting and low ceiling creates the sense of claustrophobia and the use
 of multiple entrances gives it a labrynth feel like in the film 'The Third Man'. Harry Lime is in
the sewers trying to escape from Holly Martins and the police but is then surrounded with
no place left to hide. We thought this would be perfect for the mugging because Eve doesn't have
anywhere to hide and she is stuck there waiting for him to come, not knowing what he would do to her.



This is a picture of the entrance to the St Stephens subway
where we were originally going to film. The sloped path was perfect for the
stateboard to go down and the panelling would have made an eerie, menacing sound.





   



Double identity

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Plot Ideas

Characters:

* Emily King as “Eve White”
* Jenna Bolingbroke as “Scarlet Fraser”
* Tom Block as “Will”
* David Lovick as “Harry Cooper”

Plot:

* Eve uses ATM machine, close up of credit card and money, which she then puts in her handbag. A shot of the bag reveals a passport.
* Eve walks away, Will follows on skateboard. She walks past the alley way, where Harry and Scarlet wait in the darkness.
* Eve walks down the subway, Will skates after her down the ramp. Will steals her bag.
* Will skates off and Eve chases him, but isn’t fast enough and runs out of breath at the top of the subway.
* Will passes the stolen bag to Harry in the alleyway, who then passes the bag to Scarlet.
* Scarlet leaves the alleyway and walks in the direction of the subway.
* Eve is secretly watching Scarlet from around the corner.
* Eve lights a cigarette, the audience is aware that there will be a confrontation between Scarlet and Eve, but the opening ends.

Costumes:

* Eve – Red scarf and gloves. Black trousers and boots
* Scarlet – similar in looks to Eve. The red scarf and gloves.
* Will – hoody to hide his face. Vans trainers. Jeans.
* Harry – Trilby hat, dress shoes, black suit.

Props:

• Handbag
• Cigarettes
• Passport
• Credit card
• Skateboard

Sound:
Diegetic

• Skateboard wheels
• Lighter sparking
• Running footsteps
• Walking footsteps
• Dialog between Harry and Scarlet

Non Diegectic

• Piano music
• Violins
• Increase in tempo during chase/mugging
• Slower tempo, lower tone as Scarlet walks up the street

Audience Research for our Thriller opening

For our Thriller introduction we did a lot of research into our target audience's preferences. This was so we could use this information for our Thriller opening to make it as realistic and so our target audience would want to see it. We did a soundtrack questionnaire which was qualitative research along with a quantitive questionnaire that could give us their opinions in numerical data making it easier to see the preferences.

This is our soundtrack questionnaire that we tested on 10 media students in year 13 who were aged 17-18 which is roughly the age of our target audience. They listened to the soundtracks above and were asked to write which one they preferred to hear in a Crime Thriller film so that we could use a soundtrack that was similar to the one of the student’s choice.



This is the quantitive questionnaire we wrote so we could see what our target audience prefers to see in a Thriller film.

 1. What are your expectations of an independent thriller film?

[ ] Best selling story [ ] Not well known story [ ] Glamorous locations
[ ] Unglamorous locations [ ] Well-known actors [ ] Unknown actors
[ ] Special effects [ ] Soundtrack [ ] Award winning director
[ ] Unknown director [ ] Other (please state)………………………………........................................................................

2. Which genres of a thriller do you prefer? Please pick up to 3

[ ] Action [ ] Crime [ ] British Gangster [ ] Conspiracy
[ ] Crime [ ] Disaster [ ] Erotic [ ] Legal [ ] Mystery
[ ] Political [ ] Psychological [ ] Religious [ ] Supernatural
[ ] Other (please state)
……………………………….........................................................................

3. What are the connotations of these locations?

Cities – [ ] Dangerous [ ] Busy [ ] Isolated [ ] Lonely [ ] Intimidating
[ ] Other (Please state)
…………………………………………………………………………….................

Towns – [ ] secluded [ ] empty [ ] Lonely [ ] Gloomy [ ] Dark
[ ] Other (Please state)
……………………………………………………………………………….............

Countryside – [ ] Isolated [ ] Open space
[ ] Other (Please state)
………………………………………………………………………………….........

Housing estates – [ ] Crowded [ ] Friendly [ ] Hostile
[ ] Other (Please state)
…………………………………………………………………………………........

Car parks – [ ] Dark [ ] Enigmatic [ ] Claustrophobic [ ] Dangerous
[ ] Other (Please state)
…………………………………………………………………………………........


Prisons – [ ] Dangerous [ ] Scary [ ] Isolated
[ ] Other (Please state)
………………………………………………………………………………….......

4. In a thriller film, what kind of sound do you think is most effective?

[ ] Music [ ] Sound effects [ ] Both [ ] Other (please state)
……………………………….....................................................................

5. In a thriller film, what kind of sound do you notice the most?

[ ] Music [ ] Sound effects [ ] Other (please state)
………………………………......................................................................



 
Below is the qualitative questionnaire that the students filled out to see which soundtrack should influence us or we can use something similar to.

Write what the following soundtracks connote to you:


Psycho soundtrack:



Red Road soundtrack:

The Third Man soundtrack:


Witness soundtrack:


Once Upon a Time in America soundtrack:


The Good the Bad and the Ugly soundtrack:


Inception soundtrack:


Which one of these soundtracks would you prefer to hear in a Crime Thriller film?


Why have you chosen this soundtrack?



This is a piechart to show the favourite sound clips from the sound investigation amongst the students.

 

After asking the media students what the different music samples from the films connoted to them, we can conclude that:

·         The music from Psycho connoted fear, disturbance, terror, eeriness, tension and suspense amongst all of the students.

·         The music from Red Road caused anxiety amongst the students, as well as connoting disorientation, tension, loneliness and disconnection.

·         The music from The Third Man connotes hopefulness, satirical, comedy and irony. 

·         The music from Witness connoted the sense of adventure, progress, anticipation, peacefulness and tranquillity.

·         The music from Once Upon A Time in America was eerie and unwelcoming, creating a sense of isolation and loneliness.

·         The music from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly suggested a battle, pride and glory.

·         The music from Inception connoted suspense, tension, the idea of a fight, a nightmare, eeriness, action, and anxiety amongst the students.

We can use this information to build an idea of what our music will be like in our thriller opening. We can use the aspects of the music from different thrillers that work with our genre, themes and action.





Preliminary Task Analysis

1. What planning did you do? How was this useful, and how did you change from your plans?

We did a lot of planning for this task such as a storyboard to make it easier to see where the characters have to be in certain scenes and to make sure that you have the right shots to go with the action. Then a recce took place to see what the location was like so that we could plan exactly where the action was going to take place and the objects to avoid or use. Also, we created a floor plan to see where the cameras will have to go and what shots they are taking from different angles. It was much easier having a floor plan because you could see exactly where everything was going to be i.e. cameras, characters and props. In practise, our plans had to change from the floor plan we had drawn up, because of the extraneous variables such as noise from people that sometimes got into the shots which happened during the rehearsal. First, we did a character rehearsal where we could go over the action with the actors and see exactly where they were going to be and what they were going to do or say at certain times so that when we came to edit it, all of the shots would be the same especially during the conversation (180 degree rule). We then did some blocking out, which is a camera rehearsal that does all of the shots and angles without the actors just to make sure that they are certain of the angles that are going to be used.

2. What camera skills have you developed? How confident are you with using the cameras, and has this confidence changed during the project? Give details of specific camera skills/techniques you have developed/improved, and include areas where you lack confidence and need to improve.

I have developed many camera skills such as how to shoot people and actions by using a variety of different shots such as close ups, extreme close ups, long shots, low angle and high angles. I have also developed various techniques such match on action and the 180 degree rule so that it’s easier to know where the characters are going to be; which is really important when you are filming a conversation. Before the preliminary task I wasn’t very confident with using the cameras because I didn’t know all of the important techniques to make the shoot look realistic. However, after doing it I am now more confident with using the cameras because I know how to prepare before shooting and the different names and types of camera angles. I have improved on using a variety of different shots on one scene so that it gives the scene a better and more dramatic effect such as close ups of the actors to show emotion. A skill that I think I need to improve is holding the camera steady which could be overcome by using a tripod and a dolly.

3. What editing skills have you developed? How confident are you with using the editing program? Give details of specific editing skills/techniques you have developed/improved, and include areas where you lack confidence/need to improve.

The editing skills I have developed consist of now being able to export and use in and out points which help to select the clips that you need so you can put them together. I am quite confident with the editing program because I know how to pick the certain clips that I want and put them together easily. However, I need to improve on using smooth transitions to prevent it from jumping too quickly or slowly from one scene or clip to the next. I could do this by making sure that the timing is correct and that I am not cutting out any important clips.

Psycho Analysis

Title: Psycho
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Date: 1960
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Certificate: 15

Brief Synopsis:
A young woman steals $40,000 from her employer's client, and subsequently encounters a young motel proprietor who is under the domination of his mother.



This is a trailer from the film 'Psycho'

Psycho is a noir Thriller that was made in 1960 starring Anthony Perkins as the character Norman Bates. It connotes a lot of major generic aspects of the Thriller genre, such as chiaroscuro lighting which is used to portray the intense atmosphere of the killer Norman Bates. It specifically indicates the diversities of his character and the way that the film is made, in the sense that even though the story starts to follow Marian Crane, the hidden signifiers link back to the madness of Norman Bates.

In the opening credits the words are presented as strips with the lines looking as if they are cutting into them, as the famous Herrmann’s soundtrack plays. This could demonstrate a premonition of what will happen to Marian Crane in the famous shower scene, when Norman Bates continues to slash and cut into her with a knife.

This shot of Marian Crane looking at herself in the mirror indicates that she is torn between right and wrong, and whether it was a bad idea to steal the money even if it was for her love interest. Hitchcock has used this representation of ideology to portray her confused attitude towards good and evil and how the line between them is ambiguous. Marian is fighting a battle against herself because she stole the money to aid the one she loves, but continues to hear the voices in her head considering the consequences of her actions – how her employer and sister will react when they find out. This anticipates the representation of the voices in Norman’s head (himself and his psychotic mother) and how even though he is a murderer, they are similar to each other.

This shot of the car in the mirror suggests that the policeman is following Marian and that his suspicion could ruin her, making her end up in prison. In the mise en scene the main focus is the car that is following her, the outline of the mirror drawing the eye straight to the car by using the rule of thirds.

Throughout the film there is the theme of rain running and in the scene where Marian is on the run, her window screen becomes blurred by the rain. It affects her vision which indicates that as she has started to become possessed by her thoughts, her personality has also changed and she doesn’t know who or what she has become. The blurred vision, rain/water running, shadows and use of mirrors are recurring features in the mise en scene of psycho. This specific type of cinematography reinforces the sense of confusion and doubt about the characters personalities which link to Bates and the constant split personality battle that he is facing.

This screen is a screen shot of Norman Bates; Hitchcock has used non ambient lighting to produce Norman’s shadow on the wall next to the pictures of the birds of the wall that cover his spy-hole. He has done this to create the idea of Bates’s split personality and that he is not the harmless, stuttering character that he seems. This is the scene where Marian first arrives at the motel and sees all the stuffed birds and notices Bates’s obsession with them. This suggests the misogyny that he has, stereotyping Crane as one of his birds or victims which is ironic because a Crane is a type of bird, suggesting that he can do what he wants with Marian, demonstrating his hatred towards women.

This is a clip of the famous shower scene which uses the diegetic sound of the shower mixed with the non diegetic soundtrack to indicate the danger that is about to happen. The diegetic sound of the running water links to the rain on Marian’s windshield which connotes that the audience knew that something disastrous was going to happen which creates suspense. The use of the shower demonstrates the confined space and claustrophobia that the character is feeling. It suggests the idea that Marian’s world is caving in on her.       

 

Preliminary Task