Looking back at my preliminary task, I've developed quite a lot. During the preliminary task, I had to edit on my own being I acquired a range of skills I otherwise wouldn't have done. This helped enormously within our actual thriller as I felt more confident and able when it came to the editing. I also learnt the importance of camera angles and shots and how these affect the audience thus I took this knowledge with me when continuing onto the actual thriller. Continuity is a major aspect of filming and I have since learnt the importance of such, we had to re film many shots due to minor differences in location (e.g. someones bag in one shot and not in another). Our team work skills also developed greatly as we all took part in every aspect of the the production from filming to editing to directing and acting. I've also learnt the vital importance of a cliffhanger, and how the leading action has to build suspense in order for the cliffhanger to work. Originally, we we're going to kill off a character straight away however, the ending to our opening would then have been irrelevant and the audience would not have wanted to watch on.
I have learnt a lot from creating out thriller and its given the upmost respect for those in media industry.
Saturday 29 March 2014
Q6 Evaluation
I have used many different technologise throughout my AS blog including Prezi and embedding video.
- Prezi is a very effective way of condensing information and a more interesting way of presenting links between my own points.
- Moreover, uploading clips and embedding them onto my blog and copying screenshots from other thrillers as well as our own thriller has help to elaborate on my blogposts and to too make them more interesting.
- I also scanned in photographs such storyboards to demonstrate a more artistic, visual level of our productions.
The internet was crucial for research as websites such as IMDB allowed me to find out bursts of information on particular films as well as giving audience reviews. Youtube too as helpful as it often had specific scenes I needed to include rather than searing through entire DVDs or Television schedules.
When deciding on a location I took many photographs on my mobile phone, this was a quick way of visually seeing our thriller come to life, so to speak.
Both my Preliminary task and Thriller opening has been uploaded onto YouTube meaning it was at easy access to adapt certain blog posts, and allowed me to add screen shots and clips from them both easily to the blog.
In order to maintain in contact with the rest of my group we used social media to arrange when to shoot our thriller and to discuss any additionally information outside of the classroom.
The Shoot.
When shooting our thriller we used a digital camera to film with, this allowed us to easily review our footage whilst still out filming meaning we could quickly correct any shots. This also meant our footage was of high quality and could easily be edited.
When editing our thriller we uploaded our footage onto the computers via a USB stick and edited using various tools. We mainly used the cutting tool to rearrange our footage and to place it together so that it flowed. We also used slow motion and various fades to enhance suspense.
Q5 Evaluation
Our potential audience demographic will consist primarily of white British females between the age of sixteen and twenty; they are likely to be middle class with a keen interest in many indie, art house yet cult films.
Location
The location is aesthetically pleasing and aids the transportation of the audience into another world that is more myth than reality. This is reinforced by the use of the dissolves and fades to black we used that indicate ambiguity and mystery, much like a myth. Equally, the fades to black enhance the continuity and ensure the thriller opening flows.
Costume
The costume is contemporary high street fashion which our potential audience is able to relate and identify with, this also enables the audience to position themselves with the main characters and become emotionally involved in the plot. Moreover, the audience is empathic with characters as they see them as ordinary people like themselves within extraordinary situations such as murder. This enhances the situation making it more realistic and thus more chilling.
Lighting
Our thriller avoids using the generic 'chiaroscuro' lighting as the bleakness of the winter day we chose to film enhanced the actions so well, any editing or non ambient light would ruin the bleakness of the thriller and make it unrealistic. Those familiar and fans of the 1994 production of Heavenly Creatures will note the similarity between both location and lighting.
Soundtrack
Our soundtrack consists of mixed sections of The Eternal Forest is both melancholic and mystifying much like that of Madame Butterfly in Heavenly Creatures. Usually, media productions that have a teenage demographic use upbeat popular music and although this would have contrasted well with our thriller, it would have also taken away the reality of it. The soundtrack climaxes with action of Danielle (female character) murdering Billy (male character and therefore narrates the thriller.
Camera Angles
Our thriller used many common camera angles that are seen throughout media genres from Thrillers to Comedies. The most used shot we used as extreme close ups, we used such in order to give an alternative perspective much like art house /independent productions.
Stereotypes
We challenged the female stereotypes by attempting to make the main female character a femme fatal and not a damsel in distress, this is affective as the female dominant audience becomes empowered by such. However, some audiences may read the representation of our femme fatal as being misogynistic in that any woman who deviates from the normal behaviour of women is treacherous and is also going against the normal behaviour of society by murdering; therefore the deviation of women should be frowned upon.
Intertextual references
As previously mentioned, we took much inspiration from Heavenly Creatures (1994) therefore our location and lighting is representative of such, as too is our storyline which sees a female character take control. Billy is representative of Pauline's mother in Heavenly Creatures as he is vulnerable in the large open space surrounds and eventually killed. If our audience notes this connection they be anticipating Billy's downfall from the very beginning.
Another reference is to Kill Bill Vol. 1, Danielle represents The Bride both with long blonde hair and a motive of revenge. The demographic audience of Kill Bill Vol.1 is likely to also appreciate such similarity in our thriller, encouraging them to watch on. However, as mentioned in question one, Danille could also represent the character of Bill in Kill Bill Vol.1 through the close up of her hands and rings much like that of the opening sequence in Kill BIll Vol.1 when Bill wipes blood from The Brides face, suggesting the audience that she too is a strong character not to be messed with. The fact Danielle represents both The Bride and Bill suggests to the audience she has an alternative motive for her crime and encourages them to want to discover what such is; again, a similar response to the opening of Kill Bill. Vol.1
Cliffhanger
Despite referring to Danielle's actions as murder, the cliffhanger suggests that perhaps Billy could still be alive. The thought of not knowing will entice the audience to continue watching. The ambiguity of Danielle's actions as well as not much of her character being shown, mainly just her hands and shoes intrigues the audience. Additionally, our thriller does not specify that the action is happening in 'current time' it could be a flashback suggesting the films plot could perhaps be more focused on the relationship and not the actual murder. We also used a fade to black at the very end irritating the audience further by not showing the outcome of the rope around Billy's neck.
All of which makes the audience anticipate every scene, and want to know what happens next.
Lighting
Our thriller avoids using the generic 'chiaroscuro' lighting as the bleakness of the winter day we chose to film enhanced the actions so well, any editing or non ambient light would ruin the bleakness of the thriller and make it unrealistic. Those familiar and fans of the 1994 production of Heavenly Creatures will note the similarity between both location and lighting.
Soundtrack
Our soundtrack consists of mixed sections of The Eternal Forest is both melancholic and mystifying much like that of Madame Butterfly in Heavenly Creatures. Usually, media productions that have a teenage demographic use upbeat popular music and although this would have contrasted well with our thriller, it would have also taken away the reality of it. The soundtrack climaxes with action of Danielle (female character) murdering Billy (male character and therefore narrates the thriller.
Camera Angles
Our thriller used many common camera angles that are seen throughout media genres from Thrillers to Comedies. The most used shot we used as extreme close ups, we used such in order to give an alternative perspective much like art house /independent productions.
Intertextual references
As previously mentioned, we took much inspiration from Heavenly Creatures (1994) therefore our location and lighting is representative of such, as too is our storyline which sees a female character take control. Billy is representative of Pauline's mother in Heavenly Creatures as he is vulnerable in the large open space surrounds and eventually killed. If our audience notes this connection they be anticipating Billy's downfall from the very beginning.
Another reference is to Kill Bill Vol. 1, Danielle represents The Bride both with long blonde hair and a motive of revenge. The demographic audience of Kill Bill Vol.1 is likely to also appreciate such similarity in our thriller, encouraging them to watch on. However, as mentioned in question one, Danille could also represent the character of Bill in Kill Bill Vol.1 through the close up of her hands and rings much like that of the opening sequence in Kill BIll Vol.1 when Bill wipes blood from The Brides face, suggesting the audience that she too is a strong character not to be messed with. The fact Danielle represents both The Bride and Bill suggests to the audience she has an alternative motive for her crime and encourages them to want to discover what such is; again, a similar response to the opening of Kill Bill. Vol.1
Cliffhanger
Despite referring to Danielle's actions as murder, the cliffhanger suggests that perhaps Billy could still be alive. The thought of not knowing will entice the audience to continue watching. The ambiguity of Danielle's actions as well as not much of her character being shown, mainly just her hands and shoes intrigues the audience. Additionally, our thriller does not specify that the action is happening in 'current time' it could be a flashback suggesting the films plot could perhaps be more focused on the relationship and not the actual murder. We also used a fade to black at the very end irritating the audience further by not showing the outcome of the rope around Billy's neck.
All of which makes the audience anticipate every scene, and want to know what happens next.
Q4 Evaluation
Our thriller opening is likely to attract a primarily female audience between the age of fifteen and twenty-five; our thriller attempts to portray a deviant femme fatal lead character whom diverts the expected norm by taking control of the scene and not submitting under the male character, therefore a female dominated audience may feel empowered by this portrayal, encouraging them to watch on.
We expect our typical audience member to be well educated with an individual personality and style, this is due to the ‘art house’ impression of our thriller, with its extreme close ups and strong focus on the natural beauty of the location. The location is aesthetically pleasing and will especially appeal to those with an interest of the Norfolk boards / costal area. Equally, it’s worth noting that the outdoor location is easily identifiable for a universal audience. However, our demographic is likely to be white British as the actors we’ve used portray such, therefore the audience will identify more with them. Also, the location may suggest the audience is adventures and perhaps enjoy exploring the outdoors further making the thriller realistic.
Moreover, our thriller explores aspects of the contemporary moral anxieties related to stalking within Britain; the audience realises the male character is being stalked by a - perhaps mentally ill - female character, this then encourages the audience to become conscious of the people around them and thus to take greater vigilance. It also complies with the consensus that strange individuals lurk behind trees in the foggy outdoors; heightening the certain British paranoia.
Q3 Evaluation
Our thriller is an independent production that would attract a niche audience, thus if distributed would perhaps fall into the art house category.
Our thriller could be distributed via television companies such as Film4 which specialises in independent gritty British films such as This Is England. However it would be most successful online. Our audience demographic is largely teenage and therefore the most efficient method of attracting said audience is via an online social medium. Websites such as YouTube is very audience orientated and would work in creating a word of mouth advertisement for our thriller; the website would also allow sharing onto other social mediums such as FACEBOOK and Twitter which would enhance our demographic.
Moreover, Norwich's CinemaCity is the most probable exhibitioner to show our film as it fits the niche art house criteria. CinemaCity specialises in screening independent films aswell as educational ones such as British Working Title's 'Anna Karenina' a literary adaptation, which was shown specifically for schools.
Q2 Evaluation
Our thriller production represents two particular social groups.
Billy represents that of white British middle class teenage male, whom is dedicated and individual. We represent this group in a largely positive manner as the audience is encouraged to sympathise with him and his misfortune. Billy's costume is also reflective of this group in order to make an obvious initial connection.
Danielle represents that of white British, assumed middle class teenage females. We opted for presenting this group in a negative light. Danielle represents youth crime through her actions of stalking and murdering. This also shows an unusual division of gender as Billy is made vulnerable by Danielle's actions. We reversed the common dominant male antagonist, such as Bill in Kill Bill in order to encourage the audience to consider such crimes from both genders.
The fact both characters are middle class also subverts the norm as usually the media presents criminals as being lower/ working class or if middle class the crime will be white collar and intelligent. Danielle could perhaps be seen as working class by wearing a hoodie however this subjective.
Danielle's femmine qualities of pained nails and rings gives her a sense of femme fatal and thus almost flatters the female audience, this also makes it more relatable as the female audience may share a similar image.
Billy represents that of white British middle class teenage male, whom is dedicated and individual. We represent this group in a largely positive manner as the audience is encouraged to sympathise with him and his misfortune. Billy's costume is also reflective of this group in order to make an obvious initial connection.
Danielle represents that of white British, assumed middle class teenage females. We opted for presenting this group in a negative light. Danielle represents youth crime through her actions of stalking and murdering. This also shows an unusual division of gender as Billy is made vulnerable by Danielle's actions. We reversed the common dominant male antagonist, such as Bill in Kill Bill in order to encourage the audience to consider such crimes from both genders.
The fact both characters are middle class also subverts the norm as usually the media presents criminals as being lower/ working class or if middle class the crime will be white collar and intelligent. Danielle could perhaps be seen as working class by wearing a hoodie however this subjective.
Danielle's femmine qualities of pained nails and rings gives her a sense of femme fatal and thus almost flatters the female audience, this also makes it more relatable as the female audience may share a similar image.
Sunday 2 March 2014
Rough Cut Of Our Final Edit
Pros:
- Wide variety of shots
- Good establishing shot
- Clear development of story
- Sound needs to be added
- Titles need to be added
- Shots need to be cut down e.g. hands on rope shot needs to be shorter
A Clockwork Orange - Inspiring Real Life Crime
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
After its 1971 release Kubrick's ultraviolet thriller 'A Clockwork Orange' is thought to have influenced many crimes a cross Britain leading to its withdrawal from British circulation. These crimes included:
This spate of crimes lead to many questioning whether media, film, book or other, can truly influence peoples actions. The film production of A Clockwork Orange was rather alarming to its audience, encouraging people to be wary of its message. The film explores the moral dilemma of freedom of choice, as well as mental illness and its treatment. The film poses many moral questions, many of which still remaining once the film was back in British circulation.
After its 1971 release Kubrick's ultraviolet thriller 'A Clockwork Orange' is thought to have influenced many crimes a cross Britain leading to its withdrawal from British circulation. These crimes included:
- the murder of a tramp by a 16-year-old youth
- the second involved another 16-year-old youth who, dressed in the film’s distinctive gang uniform, stabbed a younger boy
- the third was the brutal and horrific gang rape of a Dutch girl by a group of youths from Lancashire, as they sang 'Singin’ in the Rain', the song sang by 'Alex' in one of the films most notorious scenes.
Kill Bill Vol. 1 Case Study
In the opening of Kill Bill Vol. 1 Tarantino explores thriller conventions in order to quickly establish the genre.
Firstly, Tarantino references film noir by making the opening title sequence black and white, this enhances the cuts on the brides face and enhances the drama. In turn, alongside the close up of the bride, this makes makes the scene claustrophobic and engulfs the audience in the brides emotions. Additionally, the use of black and white adds to the sadistic behaviour of Bill who makes his victims vulnerable by taking advantage of their weaknesses.
The sound used is purely diegetic, however sound bridging is also used in the title sequence to enhance the interest. The sound of the bride's heavy breathing can be heard before we see her. This enhances the curiosity of the audience from the initial beginning. This technique can also be seen in Once Upon A Time In America in order to frighten the audience into wanting to further understand the film; this encourages and intrigues them enough to want to watch on.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find an audible clip that shows the sound bridging, however the quote that is shown is:
'Revenged is dish best severed cold'
This hints that there is some form of justice within revenge, thus foreshadows the rest of the film.
The brides ripped bridal dress suggests a 'fallen women' stereotype therefore the audience is divided into those who feel sympathetic toward her and those who look down upon her, blaming her for her own misfortune.
The audience initially see Bill's boots as he walks in, this is a subtle contextual reference toward The Good, The Bad and The Ugly suggesting he is one of them, most notably 'The Bad'. This makes him the antagonist of the piece, causing the audience to become wary of him. This western vibe is seen throughout the film, especially in its energetic fight scenes. We then see his hands as he wipes away the blood from the brides face, his handkerchief reads 'Bill'; this suggests he is arrogant and self assured, it also hints towards him being rich, and gains most of his power superficially from this wealth. The close up of his hands is also significant as despite not seeing his face in the title sequence, he is the most dominant character within it.
All of these aspects build tension throughout the title sequence before leaving the audience on a cliffhanger. The increase of volume in sound shocks the audience and further intrigues them into watching beyond the credits.
The sound used is purely diegetic, however sound bridging is also used in the title sequence to enhance the interest. The sound of the bride's heavy breathing can be heard before we see her. This enhances the curiosity of the audience from the initial beginning. This technique can also be seen in Once Upon A Time In America in order to frighten the audience into wanting to further understand the film; this encourages and intrigues them enough to want to watch on.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find an audible clip that shows the sound bridging, however the quote that is shown is:
'Revenged is dish best severed cold'
This hints that there is some form of justice within revenge, thus foreshadows the rest of the film.
The brides ripped bridal dress suggests a 'fallen women' stereotype therefore the audience is divided into those who feel sympathetic toward her and those who look down upon her, blaming her for her own misfortune.
The audience initially see Bill's boots as he walks in, this is a subtle contextual reference toward The Good, The Bad and The Ugly suggesting he is one of them, most notably 'The Bad'. This makes him the antagonist of the piece, causing the audience to become wary of him. This western vibe is seen throughout the film, especially in its energetic fight scenes. We then see his hands as he wipes away the blood from the brides face, his handkerchief reads 'Bill'; this suggests he is arrogant and self assured, it also hints towards him being rich, and gains most of his power superficially from this wealth. The close up of his hands is also significant as despite not seeing his face in the title sequence, he is the most dominant character within it.
All of these aspects build tension throughout the title sequence before leaving the audience on a cliffhanger. The increase of volume in sound shocks the audience and further intrigues them into watching beyond the credits.
Madam Butterfly // Heavenly Creatures
The Purpose Of Jackson's Use Of Puccini's 'Humming Chorus' And Final Aria Of Madame Butterfly Heightens Meaning In 'Heavenly Creatures'?
In Heavenly Creatures (1994), Jackson uses aria from Puccini's Madame Butterfly intensify the events that follow, therefore Juliet sings aria the evening before she and Pauline commit the murder.
Madame Butterfly Summary:
Butterfly (a 15 year old Japanese girl) marries a U.S Naval officer named Pinkerton; he leaves shortly after their wedding and returns three years later. Butterfly remains waiting on Pinkerton's return, despite many believing it will not happen. It is then revealed that she has since given birth to his son. It is then that pinkerton arrives back to the house in Japan - but with his new American wife, Kate. Agreeing to give up her child if Pinkerton comes to see her himself, Butterfly then prays to statues of her ancestral gods. Butterfly then says goodbye to her son, and blindfolds him. She places a small American flag into his hands and goes behind a screen, killing herself with a hara-kiri knife. Pinkton then enters, but he is too late.
This inter-textual reference highlights the significant of Juliet and Pauline's actions, making them even more harrowing. The distress at the end of the opera is heart wrenching; Jackson mimics this distress, engulfing the audience in the absolute sadness. This almost makes the audience sympathetic toward the two girls, much as the audience is toward Butterfly.
Not only does this boosts the audiences participation as they feel smug and intelligent for noticing such a reference, but the soundtrack also foreshadows the films later events, and the two girls demise from the glorification of their imaginary.
In Heavenly Creatures (1994), Jackson uses aria from Puccini's Madame Butterfly intensify the events that follow, therefore Juliet sings aria the evening before she and Pauline commit the murder.
Madame Butterfly Summary:
Butterfly (a 15 year old Japanese girl) marries a U.S Naval officer named Pinkerton; he leaves shortly after their wedding and returns three years later. Butterfly remains waiting on Pinkerton's return, despite many believing it will not happen. It is then revealed that she has since given birth to his son. It is then that pinkerton arrives back to the house in Japan - but with his new American wife, Kate. Agreeing to give up her child if Pinkerton comes to see her himself, Butterfly then prays to statues of her ancestral gods. Butterfly then says goodbye to her son, and blindfolds him. She places a small American flag into his hands and goes behind a screen, killing herself with a hara-kiri knife. Pinkton then enters, but he is too late.
This inter-textual reference highlights the significant of Juliet and Pauline's actions, making them even more harrowing. The distress at the end of the opera is heart wrenching; Jackson mimics this distress, engulfing the audience in the absolute sadness. This almost makes the audience sympathetic toward the two girls, much as the audience is toward Butterfly.
Not only does this boosts the audiences participation as they feel smug and intelligent for noticing such a reference, but the soundtrack also foreshadows the films later events, and the two girls demise from the glorification of their imaginary.
The Third Man Case Study
The Third Man (1949)
Summary: Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, black-market opportunist Harry Lime.
Directer Carol Reed uses many thriller conventions in order to build suspense and obtain the attention of the audience. The film is set in Vienna during the 1940s, due to the wartime situation the city was split into four nations; Germany, Italy, Hungary and Romania. This creates a labyrinth of which Reed uses to his full advantage. As well as depicting the isolation of the characters, the labyrinth enables a lack of police presences thus allowing criminals such as Harry Lime to run wild. The defective city alongside the titled camera angles Reed so loves, enhances the confusion felt by the audience. Additionally, any language other than English is not translated, putting the audience in the same position as Holly Martin and creating a barrier between him and the other characters as well as the audience and the other characters. Reed creates a generic contrast between good and evil through Lime and Martins; Lime is a cunning character whom encourages the audience to be wary of him, whereas Martins is naive and vulnerable, making him the 'good guy'.
Costume: Reed uses conventional 1940s clothing; trilby hats, long coats, high collars and suits. This created a noir fashion, popular within thrillers even today.
Lighting: The film mainly uses non-ambient lighting to create large, dominating shadows which enhance the labyrinth style of the city. The use of shadows creates mystery and makes the character and audience question what exactly is lurking behind them; in turn this creates a paranoia and distress.
Within the scene where the little boy chases Holly and Anna, the little boys shadow appears large and threatening - this subtly encourages the audience to question who people really are / are people what they first seem.
Location: As previously mentioned the city is a major factor in adding confusion for the audience and the characters. The eeriest location used has to be the underground sewers. These are generic as they are long and narrow making the audience intimidated and claustrophobic. Alongside the slimy wet walls, and shiny city streets, every location used engulfs the characters.
Soundtrack: The 'Harry Lime Theme' is used throughout the film. Its whimsical tune contrasts the action and portrays Lime as being manipulative, much like the Joker in The Dark Knight. The soundtrack also makes Lime's actions somewhat ironic.
Other generic features include the use of 'never ending' staircases, and ladders. When characters walk under the ladder its represents bad luck and foreshadows the characters later upcoming destiny. Martins walks under a ladder on the way to Limes apartment, this subtly hints that his meeting with Lime will not end well, and as the film develops this is confirmed.
The Parker- Hulme Murder Case - Contextual Case Study
Heavenly Creatures (1994) is based on the Parker - Hulme murder case this enhances the eeriness of the film, making it deeply alarming.
The Parker-Hulme murder case:
Pauline Parker, aged sixteen, and Juliet Hulme, aged fifteen, were found guilty of the murder of Pauline's mother, Honora Mary Parker, the killing was done with a brick placed in a sock.
The murder took place on 22nd June 1954, in Victoria Park, Christchurch (New Zealand).
A bid was made by the defence that the two teens were not guilty on grounds of insanity, this plea was rejected by the jury.
It is thought the girls friendship developed as they bonded of elaborated fantasy lives together. Their respective parents became concerned by this, fearing their relationship may be sexual (homosexuality at the time was seen as a serious mental illness), thus they tried to prevent their children from spending time together.
In 1954, Juliet's parents divorced, and Juliet was to be sent to South Africa with family - particularly for her health.
Pauline expressed to her mother that she wished to accompany Juliet to South Africa; her mother, Honora, was adamant that she would not allow this.
It's thought those are the reasons the girls planned to kill Honora, so that they could be together.
The girl's trial was a sensational affair with overwhelming speculation of homosexuality and insanity almost engulfing the facts of the murder itself.
Being too young to receive the death penalty, Pauline and Juliet spent just fiver years in jail, before being released under the condition of never seeing one another again (although the latter is thought to be just media speculation).
Below, Juliet (now Anne Perry) discusses the murder.
Juilet shrugs off the murder, claiming she is merely an accessory.
Regardless of any speculation, the mere fact Heavenly Creatures is even loosely based upon the Parker-Hulme murder case is astonishingly chilling, and really brings to life the reality of the thriller genre.
Revised Thriller Plot - 'Out Of The Blue'
Psychopath vs. Sociopath
Thrillers often depict lead antihero's as psychopaths or at least as having some psychopathic tendencies. For some, this becomes the initial selling point for the film itself, such as Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). However, the more calculated (and usually less violent) criminal is often a sociopath that is mistaken for a psychopath. The similarities are many yet the subtle difference are often over looked and can lead to confusion.
Psychopath: A person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behaviour.
Sociopath: A person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behaviour.
Both psychopaths and sociopaths are thought be caused by genetic fault and environmental factors. Psychopaths lean towards hereditary whereas sociopaths lean more toward the environmental aspect.
Psychopaths suffer from a lack of empathy (the ability to share and understand the feelings of others) as well as being highly impulsive and erratic, which has the potential to lead to opportunistic criminal behaviour and excessive risk taking. Its also thought that those with psychopathic tendencies struggle to build and maintain any true form of normal relationship.
Infamous psychopath Ted Bundy (1946-1989) raped and murdered and molested the bodies of numerous young women in American through 1974 till 1978. Despite the brutality of his crimes, Bundy was often described as educated, charming and handsome. Bundy was thought to have a future in politics, and had a major in psychology. Bundy screamed innocence until his death sentences became imminent, when he then pleaded guilty. |
| 'Killer Looks' |
American Psycho (2000) is thought to be loosely based upon Ted Bundy; it depicts an investment banker with a psychopathic alter ego who acts upon his fantasises of raping, murdering and mutualising women.
"I think my mask of sanity is about to slip"
Sociopaths tend to be antisocial with controlled behaviour, they have the tendency to take calculated criminal risks such as fraud. They are often superficially normal in social relationships, and often seen as social predators.
Sociopaths are less openly depicted in thrillers; it may be argued that The Narrater /Tyler Durden in Fight Club is a sociopath however he is more commonly thought to suffer from disassociate identity disorder meaning his behaviour is due to a split personality, and not superficiality /alter ego.
Final Edit Of My Preliminary Task
This was the first piece of media editing I had done on my own; I feel this enormously enhanced my skills so that I could successfully apply them to my Thriller Opening edit.
Friday 28 February 2014
Title Font Research - Thriller Planning
When editing our final cut we looked to similar thrillers for inspiration. We decided a simple font has a better impact by intriguing the audience. Don't Look Now (1973) has a similar focus on water to our opening shot, thus this encouraged us further that a simple font would best.
American Psycho (2000) is also simple, yet affective. The font is very 'matter of fact' and leaves the audience questioning.
Se7en's (1995)font maintains being simplistic, whilst remaining unique. The font is easily legible yet looks scrawled, again readdressing the audience's curiosity.
Equally, Fight Club (1999) is unique in it's slanted cult type, yet it remains simple and memorable.
We also looked towards clothing brands for further inspiration:
Both Levi and American Apparel follow this simple trend, whilst maintaing their individual identity.
We found slanted fonts, although fitting with our natural setting, to be too over the top and illegible.
Eventually we chose a simple font much like Don't Look Now in order to make our title appear similar to a statement, and to further intrigue the audience.
Location - Thriller Planning
Location: Whitlingham Lake, Trowse, near Norwich.
Large expansions of water can be both intimidating and claustrophobic and are popular locations for thrillers, lakes especially heighten senses as you become more aware of your surroundings. They are also familiar to the audience thus making any unusual actions taking place even more chilling. For these reasons we wanted to set our thriller opening with the surroundings of a lake and greenery; our thriller is heavily influenced by Heavenly Creatures of which uses plenty of nature to contrast with its characters and their actions. We also wished the location to be peaceful and undisturbed in order to juxtapose the action.
The colours in the shot above are enhanced to give a (very) subtle dreamy gleam to the image. This is often used in order to disorientate the audience, encouraging them to believe all is not right.
The 1986 thriller, Blue Velvet uses this technique.
This may appear uncomfortably unrealistic and overly fake, a technique also used in the Truman Show (1998). This is similar to a children's television show; reverting the audience to the vulnerability of their childhood.
However, we prefer the grittiness of reality and wanted to portray this in our thriller thus decided against this technique.
We also considered filming our thriller in black and white as this made the location appear rather eerie.
Despite this we preferred the dulled colours of the naturally foggy landscape as these make our thriller appear more realistic, therefore more relatable and alarming for the audience.
Below are some natural shots of our location.
Thursday 27 February 2014
Costume and Character Profile - Thriller Planning
Character One: Billy
The prop of the camera also indicates Billy is dedicated to his photography or perhaps that he is an arty individual, therefore connoting he is a deep thinker. Additionally Billy's character is mysterious as the audience are encouraged to question why he has been killed.
Billy's Costume:
Billy wears a plain white T-shirt; white is suggestive of purity and therefore enhances his vulnerability. The T-shirt is somewhat of a 'blank canvas' as it gives little indication to his personality, this further makes him appear more mysterious as the audience wonders as to who he is, and what his personality is.
Additionally the audience sees Billy wearing a khaki parka coat. This covers Billy's white t-shirt, perhaps metaphorical of him covering his insecurities.
Character Two: Danielle
Danielle is a masculine character who's qualities are reinforce through her costume; Danielle is a woman seeking revenge, within our Thriller opening we do not expand on the reasons why however if we were to develop the thriller into feature length film then we would make her murdering as a crime of passion /love.
The audience sees little of Danielle, only little glimpses. One particular shot focuses solely on her hands. This shot is intended to make the audience cautious of Danielle as they have limited sight of her, they can see nothing other than her hands gripping rope.
The prop of the rope, a typical workman's tool, enhances Danielle's masculinity alongside the Timberland boots. However it could also has connotations of suicide, and a sense of self deprecation for herself and her actions.
The first introduction of the female character 'Danielle' is via her Timberland boots; despite Timberland's fifty year history, it wasn't until 1990 that women's Timberland boots were introduced largely due to it being a typical workman's boot, therefore these make her appear a modern woman with masculine qualities. The muddied boots also suggest that she has been waiting for a considerable amount of time in the mud and, metaphorically, she's been waiting a long time to seek her revenge.
The close up of Danielle's hands shows some detail of feminine qualities such as her nail polish; this could suggest that she is a femme fatale or would portray herself to be, if the thriller were to continue.
The focus on Danielle's rings works as an intertextual reference to Jackie Brown within which there is a close up
of the character Melanie's feet wearing rings - as seen below.
Danielle also wears a black hoodie. The black colour creates a direct negative contrast between itself and Billy's white t-shirt. This immediately connotes the good versus bad divide between the two characters. The 'hoodie' is also associated with youth crime, and used as a derogatory term to generalise groups of teenagers. Current British PM David Cameron famously introduced the 'hug a hoodie' companion in order to eliminate the negative stereotype, however the stereotype still remains.
Possible Soundtrack Ideas - Thriller Planning
The soundtrack to a Thriller (or any genre of film) is essential in ensuring the motion picture is memorable. The correct soundtrack can enhance the audiences participation in the film by reinforcing the emotions of which the film wishes to evoke. Thus we spent a lot time considering which style of music would best do this for our thriller.
This piece, Pauline & Juliet by Peter Dasent, is comparatively less dramatic to the film's other choices, however we appreciated its melancholy tone.
Other influential pieces include:
Daniel Perret's cover of Schubert's Ave Maria.
Similarly to Perter Dasent's piece, Ave Maria is rather somber and pensive. This piece encourages the audience to anticipate a distressing forthcoming event.
The final piece we looked at is Pachelbel's Canon in D.
This piece is significantly upbeat in comparison to the previously suggested soundtracks. We considered a more upbeat pieces as often the juxtaposition between the soundtrack and the drama of a thriller increases the sorrowful feel. In turn, this too enhances the emotions of the audience which further engages them.
Films such as 'Ordinary People' (1980) use Pachelbel's Canon in D.
This film specifically focuses on the past, using Pachelbel's theme to enhance such.
Eventually we decided that our piece must contain a strong piano narrative and must convey deep, somber emotions.
In our final edit, we used various cuts /sections mixed together of The Eternal Forest. The strong piano narrative infuses the many points we desired from the previously mentioned pieces in order to recreate our own melancholic soundtrack. We believe this piece, much like in Heavenly Creatures, increases our natural, lake location as well as heightening the characters emotions. Additionally, the pieces also encourages heightened anticipation within the audience. Once edited, the piece slowly builds up before climaxing with our cliffhanger, before returning to its normal pace; the 'normal pace' highlights our thrillers sense of life, and nature remaining constant, despite other's actions. Specifically, we used chunks ranging from 2 minutes 20 seconds to 3 minutes 20 seconds as this section best suited our intentions.
Initially we looked towards the 1994 thriller 'Heavenly Creatures' for inspiration. 'Heavenly Creatures' focuses its filming largely on the beauty of nature, and combines such with rather dramatic, orchestral pieces of music; it does so to enhance the said natural beauty, as well as to contrast with it. The music originally appears ironic as it mocks the (initially)insignificant movement of the characters within it.
This piece, Pauline & Juliet by Peter Dasent, is comparatively less dramatic to the film's other choices, however we appreciated its melancholy tone.
Other influential pieces include:
Daniel Perret's cover of Schubert's Ave Maria.
Similarly to Perter Dasent's piece, Ave Maria is rather somber and pensive. This piece encourages the audience to anticipate a distressing forthcoming event.
The final piece we looked at is Pachelbel's Canon in D.
This piece is significantly upbeat in comparison to the previously suggested soundtracks. We considered a more upbeat pieces as often the juxtaposition between the soundtrack and the drama of a thriller increases the sorrowful feel. In turn, this too enhances the emotions of the audience which further engages them.
Films such as 'Ordinary People' (1980) use Pachelbel's Canon in D.
This film specifically focuses on the past, using Pachelbel's theme to enhance such.Eventually we decided that our piece must contain a strong piano narrative and must convey deep, somber emotions.
In our final edit, we used various cuts /sections mixed together of The Eternal Forest. The strong piano narrative infuses the many points we desired from the previously mentioned pieces in order to recreate our own melancholic soundtrack. We believe this piece, much like in Heavenly Creatures, increases our natural, lake location as well as heightening the characters emotions. Additionally, the pieces also encourages heightened anticipation within the audience. Once edited, the piece slowly builds up before climaxing with our cliffhanger, before returning to its normal pace; the 'normal pace' highlights our thrillers sense of life, and nature remaining constant, despite other's actions. Specifically, we used chunks ranging from 2 minutes 20 seconds to 3 minutes 20 seconds as this section best suited our intentions.
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