Filming: We will be filming on Wednesday the 2nd of December from 6-10 pm, and on Sunday 6th December from 5 - 11. We've chosen to film then because we need it to be dark and the people acting in our opening are only available on those days.
Actors: We will be using Joe's sister Lauren for the girl in our piece, and our friend Ollie to play the stalker.
Transport: We will be going from Selhurst station to East Croydon, to London Bridge, then to Welling.
Location: 44 Kenmere Road (Joe's House)
Phone Numbers: Holly - 07751822111
Joe - 07859103083
Laura - 07847552897
[written by Laura]
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Character Profiles
The Stalker: We wanted the stalker to be really creepy. Someone which would raise the hairs on the back of your neck. We also didn't want him to be stereotypically creepy though, we decided that he'd have a job, dress well and always be neat. But perhaps, a little too neat. We knew straight away that we wanted him to be very OCD. This would become obvious within our thriller opening as you see him straighten and clean things. We wanted him to always be calm and collected. When you hear the girl re-enter her home, his face stays the same. He doesn't panic, or rush, or run. He always has a plan in his head and can think extremely quickly. This would add to the creepy feeling that he was always one step ahead of you. We wanted him to be tall and in his thirties.
The Girl: We wanted her to be/look about twenty. We imagined her to be pretty, slim and completely normal. This is so that the beginning of our opening with just her would put the audience at ease, and create more tension when we introduced the stalker. We wanted her to be quite the opposite of him; messy, bubbly and cheerful. We definitely wanted her to seem sweet and nice so that the audience would like her character, and therefore feel threatened and worried for her safety when she came back into the house and nearly found the stalker.
[written by Laura]
The Girl: We wanted her to be/look about twenty. We imagined her to be pretty, slim and completely normal. This is so that the beginning of our opening with just her would put the audience at ease, and create more tension when we introduced the stalker. We wanted her to be quite the opposite of him; messy, bubbly and cheerful. We definitely wanted her to seem sweet and nice so that the audience would like her character, and therefore feel threatened and worried for her safety when she came back into the house and nearly found the stalker.
[written by Laura]
Monday, 30 November 2009
Props List
Below is a list of the props that we need to film our opening sequence-
GIRL'S BEDROOM
-radio
-hair dryer
-makeup bag (lipstick, mascara, eyeliner etc)
-wine glass
-photo frame
-hairbrush
-purse
KITCHEN
-clock~ preferably an analogue clock
-white latex gloves
-large kitchen knife
-grapefruit (several, to allow for practice and retakes)
[written by Holly]
GIRL'S BEDROOM
-radio
-hair dryer
-makeup bag (lipstick, mascara, eyeliner etc)
-wine glass
-photo frame
-hairbrush
-purse
KITCHEN
-clock~ preferably an analogue clock
-white latex gloves
-large kitchen knife
-grapefruit (several, to allow for practice and retakes)
[written by Holly]
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Shot List
SHOT LIST- THRILLER FILM OPENING SEQUENCE
1. CU radio (hear static noise at first, fades to music playing)
2. MS young woman drying her hair
3. MS of the dressing table, pan to show her putting on lipstick
4. Multiple on-screen shot-
*left half of screen~ woman standing in front of her wadrobe, opens it
*top right of screen~ CU of glass of wine
*bottom right of screen~ MS of her makeup scattered on the table
5. Bird's eye shot- woman getting her shoes on
6. Worm's eye shot- of her feet, leaving the room from the gap in her door (she goes out of shot, light turns off, door slams)
7. CU of clock ticking
8. ECU of scattered makeup
9. LS of kitchen, hear the tap dripping, see the flash of car lights going past window
10. Low angle shot from the banister at bottom of stairs (hear scratching, the door opens, shadow of man is seen)
11. ECU light switch, light comes on
12. MS (from doorway, looking at the man's back) man walks to kitchen
13. LS establishing the kitchen
14. MCU him putting gloves on
15. CU of him dragging his finger along the worktop
16. POV checking his fingers for dirt
17. MS (side on) opens fridge, slowly reaches in
18. (cut to) Over the shoulder shot, him reaching into the drawer for knife
19. MS (side on) him lifting up the knife- it shines slightly in the light
20. Bird's eye shot of the knife cutting grapefruit, he puts his fingers in the juice, lifts hand to mouth
21. ECU (slow motion) wiping the juice from his mouth
22. MS he throws the gloves into the bin
23. Low angle MLS- his legs are seen as he goes up the stairs
24. MS from the gap in her bedroom door, stillness and silence, his face suddenly appears in the gap
25. Worm's eye shot- door slowly opening and he comes into the room (see his feet)
26. LS from behind photo frame. He is out of focus. His head turns, he comes into focus. He rushes towards the photo
27. POV, he lifts up the photo
28. ECU of his eyes, he stares intensely
29. Over the shoulder shot (but slightly further away than the shoulder) he puts the picture down gently. Sudden turn of his head, half of his face is seen
30. Low angle MS slowly reaches for the hairbrush on the table, holds it still and pulls a hair from it. begins to wrap it around his little finger lovingly. Hear her come in, see his reaction. Stillness as he waits for her, we hear her coming up the stairs on the phone, getting nearer. He looks up at the door
31. LS of door from the bed where her purse is, door swings open, she enters the room. Moment of stillness, grabs the purse, turns to go and notices ensuite light is on. She goes to the door
32. CU of her hand on the door handle
33. Two Shot- the door splits the screen, he is stood hidden behind the door and she is on the other side, she reaches for the light switch
34. black screen END SCENE
[group work]
1. CU radio (hear static noise at first, fades to music playing)
2. MS young woman drying her hair
3. MS of the dressing table, pan to show her putting on lipstick
4. Multiple on-screen shot-
*left half of screen~ woman standing in front of her wadrobe, opens it
*top right of screen~ CU of glass of wine
*bottom right of screen~ MS of her makeup scattered on the table
5. Bird's eye shot- woman getting her shoes on
6. Worm's eye shot- of her feet, leaving the room from the gap in her door (she goes out of shot, light turns off, door slams)
7. CU of clock ticking
8. ECU of scattered makeup
9. LS of kitchen, hear the tap dripping, see the flash of car lights going past window
10. Low angle shot from the banister at bottom of stairs (hear scratching, the door opens, shadow of man is seen)
11. ECU light switch, light comes on
12. MS (from doorway, looking at the man's back) man walks to kitchen
13. LS establishing the kitchen
14. MCU him putting gloves on
15. CU of him dragging his finger along the worktop
16. POV checking his fingers for dirt
17. MS (side on) opens fridge, slowly reaches in
18. (cut to) Over the shoulder shot, him reaching into the drawer for knife
19. MS (side on) him lifting up the knife- it shines slightly in the light
20. Bird's eye shot of the knife cutting grapefruit, he puts his fingers in the juice, lifts hand to mouth
21. ECU (slow motion) wiping the juice from his mouth
22. MS he throws the gloves into the bin
23. Low angle MLS- his legs are seen as he goes up the stairs
24. MS from the gap in her bedroom door, stillness and silence, his face suddenly appears in the gap
25. Worm's eye shot- door slowly opening and he comes into the room (see his feet)
26. LS from behind photo frame. He is out of focus. His head turns, he comes into focus. He rushes towards the photo
27. POV, he lifts up the photo
28. ECU of his eyes, he stares intensely
29. Over the shoulder shot (but slightly further away than the shoulder) he puts the picture down gently. Sudden turn of his head, half of his face is seen
30. Low angle MS slowly reaches for the hairbrush on the table, holds it still and pulls a hair from it. begins to wrap it around his little finger lovingly. Hear her come in, see his reaction. Stillness as he waits for her, we hear her coming up the stairs on the phone, getting nearer. He looks up at the door
31. LS of door from the bed where her purse is, door swings open, she enters the room. Moment of stillness, grabs the purse, turns to go and notices ensuite light is on. She goes to the door
32. CU of her hand on the door handle
33. Two Shot- the door splits the screen, he is stood hidden behind the door and she is on the other side, she reaches for the light switch
34. black screen END SCENE
[group work]
'Opening of a Thriller Film' Project- initial ideas
After getting into groups of three, Laura, Joe and I started to plan some initial ideas. To begin with our idea centred around a technique, whereby we film the sequence in black and white and highlight key objects in red (to represent blood, symbolising anything linked to the crime that had taken place).
Our idea then developed to an opening sequence of a man running through the streets of London. We would cross cut between this and a woman in her flat, moving at normal speed, doing her daily routine. To make the idea more original we discussed reversing this sequence, so he is running forwards but she is running backwards. We then wanted to bring the two sequences together, linking the characters. However, we decided that this would be complex to film, difficult to link the two characters and it would possibly become difficult for the audience to understand.
We took the idea of a woman, doing her daily routine, contrasting it with a man in a dark room, looking at photographs of her and her children and smiling. At first this does not seem strange then with a combination of music and more unnaturalistic camera angles, this would start to seem strange. The photos become more strange (eg. ones of her taken from a distance- in a coffee shop or across the street from him), giving the impression he has been stalking her. Although we liked this idea, we felt it lacked energy and it might not be thrilling enough.
Developing this idea of a creepy stalker character, we decided to have the man inside the woman's flat when she is not at home. He is going around normally, treating it like his own house. Then he is interrupted by her coming home. We could leave the opening on a cliff hanger to build suspense and tension in our audience's minds. Her movements will be loud and energetic compared to the man, who will be still, composed and mechanical.
Our idea then developed to an opening sequence of a man running through the streets of London. We would cross cut between this and a woman in her flat, moving at normal speed, doing her daily routine. To make the idea more original we discussed reversing this sequence, so he is running forwards but she is running backwards. We then wanted to bring the two sequences together, linking the characters. However, we decided that this would be complex to film, difficult to link the two characters and it would possibly become difficult for the audience to understand.
We took the idea of a woman, doing her daily routine, contrasting it with a man in a dark room, looking at photographs of her and her children and smiling. At first this does not seem strange then with a combination of music and more unnaturalistic camera angles, this would start to seem strange. The photos become more strange (eg. ones of her taken from a distance- in a coffee shop or across the street from him), giving the impression he has been stalking her. Although we liked this idea, we felt it lacked energy and it might not be thrilling enough.
Developing this idea of a creepy stalker character, we decided to have the man inside the woman's flat when she is not at home. He is going around normally, treating it like his own house. Then he is interrupted by her coming home. We could leave the opening on a cliff hanger to build suspense and tension in our audience's minds. Her movements will be loud and energetic compared to the man, who will be still, composed and mechanical.
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
Target Audiences for Thriller films
I think that a target audience can be quite hard to pin down because although some social groupings are into the same sorts of movies, it can be hard to generalise. However, particularly with a genre like Thriller films, there are certain people that you can rule out of your target audience such as young children (and depending on the nature of the film, possibly even anyone under 15 or 18).
Creating a film for a younger generation (such as the 15-25/30 age group) would make decisions about characters, locations, language, graphics... etc. quite easy because a director could make these choices specifically to target a younger audience- for example using young, popular actors and using lots of attention grabbing special effects or camera angles.
If you are aiming for a more adult audience (eg. 18+) you may choose to make the actors/locations/characters... more neutral, or atleast have more variety in your film. For example, an actor like Zac Efron would perhaps be better suited to a younger target audience. Bruce Willis or Gearge Clooney might be more appealing to a slightly older age range. Some directors may decide to expand the target audience (in order to increase box office sales), in which case somebody like Brad Pitt, who falls in the middle of the age brackets, could appeal to both ends of the spectrum.
Alot of directors do make definate decisions when creating a film because the more specific the target audience, the more powerful it should be. For example, some thriller films are extremely mysterious and pyschological (requiring a fairly intelligent audience) whereas others are extremely explicit- invloving lots of blood, fast car chases and stereotypical characters.
I think that when it comes to putting together our own Thriller film opening, we should make it interesting for young people like us to watch. However, I think it would be good to avoid a limited target audience (such as 15-25) because this could restrict our ideas slightly and it could become cliched and not so "thrilling".
Obviously our work will be done as a group but at the moment I see our piece being quite a sophisticated, pyschological-thriller, rather than a cheesey thriller-with-elements-of-horror film. This could allow us to make our piece more subtle, using very specific camera angles or movements to state a point to the audience, rather than throwing the plot into their faces.
Creating a film for a younger generation (such as the 15-25/30 age group) would make decisions about characters, locations, language, graphics... etc. quite easy because a director could make these choices specifically to target a younger audience- for example using young, popular actors and using lots of attention grabbing special effects or camera angles.
If you are aiming for a more adult audience (eg. 18+) you may choose to make the actors/locations/characters... more neutral, or atleast have more variety in your film. For example, an actor like Zac Efron would perhaps be better suited to a younger target audience. Bruce Willis or Gearge Clooney might be more appealing to a slightly older age range. Some directors may decide to expand the target audience (in order to increase box office sales), in which case somebody like Brad Pitt, who falls in the middle of the age brackets, could appeal to both ends of the spectrum.
Alot of directors do make definate decisions when creating a film because the more specific the target audience, the more powerful it should be. For example, some thriller films are extremely mysterious and pyschological (requiring a fairly intelligent audience) whereas others are extremely explicit- invloving lots of blood, fast car chases and stereotypical characters.
I think that when it comes to putting together our own Thriller film opening, we should make it interesting for young people like us to watch. However, I think it would be good to avoid a limited target audience (such as 15-25) because this could restrict our ideas slightly and it could become cliched and not so "thrilling".
Obviously our work will be done as a group but at the moment I see our piece being quite a sophisticated, pyschological-thriller, rather than a cheesey thriller-with-elements-of-horror film. This could allow us to make our piece more subtle, using very specific camera angles or movements to state a point to the audience, rather than throwing the plot into their faces.
Sunday, 22 November 2009
Music in Thrillers
Music can be so influential- it can change somebody's mood, make them think, move them emotionally, used to relax, to dance to etc. In Thriller films, Directors often use music in order to enhance the atmosphere in a scene.
It could be used non-diegetically to add tension to the scene. Sometimes the music used is slow, haunting and orchestral to make the audience feel on edge, where as at other times it is much louder and more dramatic to scare or shock. The music could use both of these dynamics, peaking and falling in order to build and release tension as appropriate. The music could be structured to parallel the on-screen action (for example, it could be in time with the character's footsteps) or it could be used in opposition (to make the action seem strange and dislocated).
Music could also be used diegetically, eg. a character is listening to the radio (establishing a normal situation) and the lyrics could reflect something eery or the music could be covering up the sound of someone approaching their victim... etc.
Music may also be used to disturb the audience. This could be because the lyrics are linked to the action, contrasting to the action or maybe just because they sound quite strange (like synthesised instruments to make them sound odd and distorted or flawed music, such as the screeching sound that can be made on a violin).
It could be used non-diegetically to add tension to the scene. Sometimes the music used is slow, haunting and orchestral to make the audience feel on edge, where as at other times it is much louder and more dramatic to scare or shock. The music could use both of these dynamics, peaking and falling in order to build and release tension as appropriate. The music could be structured to parallel the on-screen action (for example, it could be in time with the character's footsteps) or it could be used in opposition (to make the action seem strange and dislocated).
Music could also be used diegetically, eg. a character is listening to the radio (establishing a normal situation) and the lyrics could reflect something eery or the music could be covering up the sound of someone approaching their victim... etc.
Music may also be used to disturb the audience. This could be because the lyrics are linked to the action, contrasting to the action or maybe just because they sound quite strange (like synthesised instruments to make them sound odd and distorted or flawed music, such as the screeching sound that can be made on a violin).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
