Target Audience

Our target audience is aimed towards older teenagers. The rating for our thriller will be a 15, which means only those 15 and over will hypothetically be able to view it. Being a 15 rating means the film can include use of bad language, drug use and other adult themes. The reason we chose 15 is because our thriller includes drug use so we believed this would be suitable as 18 would be too high as our thriller doesn't include extreme nudity, sex scenes or drug use.

  The reason we decided to target our thriller at teenagers is because we believe teenagers are usually most likely to go to cinemas or watch films as they have the most time. We believe teenagers could relate to our film, with themes such as stalking, harassment, obsessions and suicide. All of the cast in our film are teenagers as well, which we believed would be more appealing. Being teenagers ourselves we believed it would be easier to aim our thriller at those our age, as we can relate and understand what teenagers would find appealing.

Film Title.

When discussing the title of our film we knew we wanted one word as we believe that it much more memorable than a longer title. We came up with obsessed but as it is already the name of a previous film then we decided to go down a similar path. After much consideration and thinking we narrowed it down to the titles

• Infatuation
• Consumed 

We decided that Infatuation has the most potential to be remember and liked by our audience and overall we think that will make an effective title.

Film idea/pitch.

After watching numerous thrillers we both agree to make a opening along the lines of a stalker type thriller as we believe we can make the most effective 2 minute opening with the resources we have available. We want for our credit scene something similar to the opening of Se7en, namely the use of the unknown character and the way that they have something that they are doing in secret. We will be making a collage of photos of our victim which along with the photos will have our cast's names, director and producer, to make this effective we would like to have the names in different magazine and newspaper letters like the image below.

The credit scene will show our stalker admiring and adding to their collection of images, which have been tamper with such as the words 'forever' and 'mine' written in black pen. Hopefully this will create the feeling of uneasiness on the audience as they will fear for the unnamed girl.

The actual opening of the film we would like to produce something similar to a scene we saw in the film seven pounds, which includes a suicide scene. This scene will show the final scene of the film yet we are hoping to put it at the begin so that it is out of chronological order which we believe will entice the audience to watch on as they will want to find out what has happened to cause the suicide. 

The film will gradually progress with many twist in to who is actually the stalker and their motives behind it and will lead to a climax at the end of the film.

Se7en analysis

We looked at the opening of the crime thriller se7en as we thought that the credit scene was extremely effective and we thought the use of the unknown male was an intriguing option as through out the opening the audience never see the males face only his hands.

The films starts with a close up on an opening book, the book itself was a thick older looking book with the words 'new line cinema presents' are shown in the bottom left hand corner. The font is a white and very Gothic looking giving the credits as almost unhinged and unnatural feel. Through out the credits when ever any writing appears two fonts are predominantly used; one is the font mentioned above and the second is also white but looks more like it was wrote by someone as it is smaller and much more scrawl-like, this is used when the cast and production teams names appear also accompanied by a black background making them the central point.

The main shots used are the close up, birds-eye view and extreme close ups. The birds-eye view shots are used when the unknown male character is looking at, collecting or writing in his books, these shots make the audience feel like they are getting a sort of sneak peak at what the male is doing. The close ups and extreme close ups are majorly on his hands as he is preforming some action for example there is a close up used when he is taking the ends of his fingertips off with the razor. The shots are used as a way of seeing directly what he is doing but leaves the audience wondering why.

The Title 'Se7en' is shown on a black background in the 1st Gothic font but as the image flickers it appears much bigger only then to reduce in size to the original. This is used so that at the beginning it remains the same as the previous but the change in the size is not only to enforce the importance of the word but also to make sure that it is the main focal point of the audience.

The editing used is very quick and is full of cuts; the main transitions between each shots. This gives the illusion that the audience is seeing more information that they actually are, it also gives the pace of the opening a quick, almost immediate feel to it. Another editing technique used is the red filter effect, the shot is of a picture which looks to be developing, this could relate to that fact that when developing images sometimes a red light is used to help the photo develop, but in this case the colour red could connote anger, blood and violence.

The mise-en-scene is very hard to pinpoint as not a lot of the actual setting is scene but the interpretation is that it is somewhere he feels safe enough to make his books and collages , somewhere like his home, where he knows he won't be disturbed. The props used such as the book could be linked with his intelligence but also with the fact that what ever he is doing he has had plenty of time to think it through and plan as we see numerous books through out the opening. A link to violence and crime is the prop of the razor blade as we see him quite clearly remove the skin off his fingertips, this is associated with someone who does not want to leave a trace. 

Throughout the opening no diagetic music/sounds are present only the non diagetic soundtrack. The song is Closer by nine inch nails although it has been distorted and remixed to fit in with the opening. The use of distorting the song adds to the uneasiness that the shots bring, it creates tension. The only line that is actual sung is the lyrics ' You bring me closer to God', this is accompanied by the image of the male cutting out the word god, this could be foreshadowing that religion may have something to do with the plot line.

Overall, we believe that this opening is a great example of how just the credits can create an effective opening and we will be taking some things into consideration when filming and editing our thriller.  

Steve Shill- Director of Obsessed.

Steve Shill is a British director from London. He graduated from Leeds university in fine arts, he was apart of Impact Theater Co-operative but they disbanded in 1986 which pushed him into making theater work under his own name. He began his directing career by television dramas such as Eastenders and Casualty. He has direct many major successful television dramas such as Dexter, Criminal minds, The wire and Law and order. On top of that he directed the film Obsessed staring Beyonce Knowles, this is our main reason that influenced us to look at his work. As our films have a similar narrative it made sense to watch his work and see how he uses camera shots and other media techniques to create an effective thriller.

 After watching the opening to obsessed the main techniques that stuck out to me were the font of the credits, the location and the music. The font of the credits is a very curvaceous which adds a feminine touch which later ties in with the film. The soundtrack is very modern and happy which contrasts with the genre and the location has picked is a new house possible indicating a fresh start. His use of close ups through out the film helps the audience get a clear indication of the emotion of the chosen characters face.

All in all we thought Steve Shill's use of lulling the audience in to a false sense of security was an effective was the opening for the thriller he created.

   

Analysis of Tv Drama Whitechapel opening

Whitechapel is a thriller/crime TV drama which is previewed on ITV1. Being a TV drama it differs a great deal from the opening of a thriller film however we thought it would be an effective opening to analyse. Each episode is split into a 2 part episode and the opening change every fortnight depending on the case. They all begin with a black background with cream coloured writing stating the name on the programme 'Whitechapel.' The writing itself looks very similar to an old fashioned typewriter. It also flickers making it looked like it is filmed on real film this could be closely related to the significance of Whitechapel, as it is closely related with Jack the Ripper. The shot then changes to a close up of the spanish fly beetle crawling around barbed wire, then cuts to another close up of these dead under a very old fashioned style magnifying glass. It then progress' to a shot of a woman asleep lying very still and rigid, almost as if she is dead with her hands crossed over her chest, and a man slithering over her, to get on top of her. The shot then goes to the same writing as the beginning to show one of the cast' names. The shot is then of a document with two old fashioned looking gentlemen's pictures. One of whom is H.H.Holmes, a serial killer from the end of 1800's, but the shot is in and out of focus making the actual writing difficult to read. There is then a quick cut to a shot of a butchers cleavers being slammed down by a blood covered hand, the shot then changes to another photograph which consists of a what appears to be  Jack the Ripper related, of a man all in black stalking a women dressed in white titled 'Whitechapel Mystery.' The colours of the 2 costumes can connote the contrasting differences between the women in white and her purity and vulnerability, and the man in black and his mysteriousness and evil. The following shot is of a hand taking a green coloured liquid from a beaker into a modern looking needle, this is a parallel difference to the surrounding vials of other liquids which have a very victorian look to them. This is then followed by a still of a book chapter titled 'Marquis de sade.' The shot used is a tilt. This adds to the confusion and mystery, closing tying in with the genre. There is a transition from the book chapter being in colour, to it then being in the effect of negative. It then cuts back to the cast' names and as before is in the same home style font. The next shot is an old looking book with the main image of a common fox. The shot zooms in on the fox' face, the shot is very sharp and grabs the attention of the audience. The next shot is distorted and unfocused but you can just about make out the bottle full of the same green liquid as shown in the earlier shot. The same hand that was using the butchers cleaver is seen in the next shot, still covered in blood but he is trying to clean some blood off of a sheet; the whole of this shot is seen through a half closed door which again adds to the mystery part of the genre as the audience what to know what happened and why. After this shot, the same liquid bottles as before are seen again with a pastor and mortar; this gives the whole shot an old apothecary feel to it. The remaining casts' names are shown, then a quick cut to a sewage pipe, the shot used for this scene is a POV shot, the shot is unusual as it is shot from and animals point of view and by the early indications it is likely to be a fox after this the screen fades to black and the program begins. 
Through out the whole opening credits there is no diagetic sound used, only non diagetic, e.g soundtrack and  SFX. The soundtrack used is a piano which plays the high notes of the melody and the violin playing along side, the music its self reminds me of something from the Victorian era and complements the pictures. Also using this it give the audience a chance to focus on to the images on the screen. The only SFX used are the slithering noise which accompanies the shot of the man hovering over the lady and a distorted sound throughout some scenes. 
Overall the opening is effective as it leaves the audience in the dark about the actually plot line but through the pictures it does foreshadow certain events. The opening is shot with dark lighting as it adds to the eeireness of the program and has the effect of wanting the audience to almost lift that darkness to see what lies beneath.    

Still shot of cast names'

Still of the title

Still of the negative effect

      

Mood Board

For our Mood Board we selected images relating to the type of Thriller we will be producing. We chose images with a stalker theme, and images with hidden identity as we think this is an effective way of creating suspense.

Animatic

This is our animatic. It shows our opening of our Thriller, in the version of a storyboard. It shows the scenes we will be shooting. Under the images we have included a brief description of camera shots, dialogue and diegetic and non diegetic music.

Preliminary Task

This is our preliminary task, in this we showed the basic camera techniques such as shot reverse shot, match on action and the 180 degree rule.

shot reverse shot

Shot A

Shot B

Shot C

Short reverse shot is mainly used when filming a conversation between two characters or an interaction of two objects. These alternate between each other. Shot A shows the dialogue and shot B shows the recipient.

Match on Action

This shot requires precise timing and is very difficult to achieve, if it was not precise the door would be opening twice. Match on Action is when two shots that are connected are cut together where the characters action is finished in shot B that began in Shot A.


The 180 Degree rule

This is the basic guideline for camera shots. The rule says that two characters/elements in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. The camera should not pass over the imaginary line, the shot will become a reverse angle which would strange.

Propp and Todorov

Propp and Todorov play huge parts in the structure of conventional films, and this is reinforced in most thrillers too. 

Propp: Propp focused on characters and concluded there were 8 stereotypically:
The Villain: who struggles against the hero
The Dispatcher: the character who makes the problem known and sends the hero off
The usually magic helper: who helps in the quest
The princess/prize: the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of the villain. The hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess and has beaten the villain.
The Father: who gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero and is usually against the hero until he proves himself
The donor: who prepares the hero or gives hero a magical object
The hero: who reacts to the donor and marries the princess
False hero: who takes credit for the hero's actions or tries to marry the princess


However this is very stereotypical and can be seen as old fashioned, as most films now try and break free of the conventions in some way or form. 

Todorov: Focuses on narrative structure and developed his own theory.
Each story begins with an equilibrium. Everything is in balance.
This is then disrupted by some event, causing a whole chain of events.
This disruption is then recognised.
There is some attempt to repair this damage.
The equilibrium is then restored.


This is very typical of a happy film, and is noticeable in most mainstream films today. 

The Thriller Genre: Codes & Conventions

The Thriller Genres main elements include suspense, thrill and tension, which is what makes it such a popular genre of film, television and literature. Most thrillers tend to hold some sort of element of surprise, particularly towards the ending. Conventionally they include a villain(s) and also a hero of some de script.  The sub-genres of thrillers include; psychological thrillers, crime based thrillers, political based thrillers, paranoid thrillers, spy thrillers and mystery thrillers. These have become increasingly popular over the last few years particularly. Thrillers can be defined by the mood they set. 

   Psychological thrillers focus mainly on characters and their journeys. They hold a great sense of mystery and drama. They focus more on the mind and the mental state of characters. They sometimes show the characters being out of touch with reality, and this has a hold over the audience who also start to doubt what they think is being portrayed in the film. They usually include first person narrative, giving a personal feel and making it more of a personal film. Usually also a back story of the characters past, which holds some significance to the film itself. Richard Kelly directed 'Donnie Darko' which is a psychological thriller, also David Fincher who directed 'Se7en'.

 Crime Based Thrillers usually focus of police officers, detectives or gangsters and some sort of crime commited in which the main characters are at some form of conflict. They focus on people working in and out of the law. They usually include an armed robbery, someone with hidden identity, gangs, murder, wealth, money. Crime Thrillers include films like 'Silence of the Lambs' and 'Witness'. 

Political based thrillers became more popular after the assasination of J.F Kennedy. They usually involve someone in political power and someone who focuses on stopping them. These include conventions as terrorism, corruption and warfare. 'The Lives of Others' would come under this sub genre. 

Paranoid Thrillers usually include the 'Good Guys' fighting the 'Bad Guys', they are more traditional and follow the typical 'women' or 'child' in trouble. They follow a 'who committed the crime' theme. There is usually some shocking deception which effects the plot greatly. The conventions include lies, rumours, disbelief. 

Spy thrillers include secret agents and usually someone decieving the side they supposedly work for. The plot usually goes along the lines of working against corruption or going against or for the government in some way and the thrill of not being discovered by their enemy. Such as 'The man who knew too much'. 

Mystery thrillers are more general and usually the most well known. They focus on the theme of revealing something, either someones identity or the crime that has usually been committed and solving the puzzle. They usually include detectives or police officers or someone who takes it on themselves to be involved and solve the mystery. Mystery thrillers usually reveal information to the characters at the same time as they are revealed to the characters. Or sometimes the audience as made to feel like an omniscient viewer as they find out information before the protagonist, making the audience on the edge of their seats, anticipating if the characters will find out or if they will be put off task by 'red herrings' who are distractions. 

The main conventions of a thriller usually include; death, ransoms, kidnap, weapons such as guns or knives, car chases, forensics, robbery, stalking, obsession, death traps, prison, paranoia, heists, revenge, a quest of some sort, however these tend to depend of the sub genre. Characters can include a villain, a hero, a victim, stalker, assassin, police officer, agents, terrorists, vulnerable children, psychopaths, mental patients, people with troubled pasts, ex convicts and detectives. 

The story and setting usually follows the usual line of some sort of conflict or trouble causing the main characters to interact with one another in some way or form. Thrillers take the aspect of mystery and suspense and toy with this as much as possible, causing the audience to be thrown into the wrong direction of thinking and finally being left with a great deal of shock. Hitchcock is still well known today for his use of placing an ordinary person into a life threatening situation, causing them to feel highly vulnerable and helpless. Thrillers usually take place in large cities or suburbs, but can also take place in derelict land or exotic locations.

  

Thrillers have been around since the late 20's early 30's, with such directors iconic directors as Hitchcock, who created such films as 'The Birds' and  'Rear Window', and are still as popular today with such directors as Martin Scorese who directed 'Shutter Island', 'Cape Fear', and the crime thriller 'The Departed'.