Final Opening

Our Evaluation

Casting and Shooting Schedule

Casting

Samantha Black- Leah O’Hare

We felt that she suited the role because; she has an easily changeable personality and look, which is a key aspect for her character.

Kelly Edwards- Jade Senior

We feel that Jade could fulfil her role as Samantha’s best friend, because, she has a certain aspect of innocence in her personality. But, she also needs to have a darker side to her, which reflects her killing Samantha.

Shooting Schedule

Day/Date	Location	Actors	Props	Technical kit	Notes
Monday 21st Feb	Amy’s house	Jade Leah	Lamp Bed linen Telephone Scissors Glass vase Flowers Artificial blood	Camera, tripod	Scene 1
Wednesday 23rd Feb	Jazmin’s loft	Leah Jade	Photos Drawing pins Lamps Chunky books Scissors Cellotape Pencil shavings Work pass Newspapers Red wool Knife Sheets Blood	Camera, tripod	Scene 2
Saturday 26th Feb	Ali’s work place	Leah	Briefcase	Camera, tripod	Scene 3

preliminary task jadeleahjazamy

The Script

Film synopsis

Now that we have completed the majority of our research, we now need to create a synopsis for our film

Synopsis

At the beginning of the film there is a scene with a dead women shown and a and reaching towards a phone after this there are clips of a psycho with a collage of images cutting and editing pictures of unknown people. The killers work pass is on the wall to give the illusion to the audience that she is victim. We are then shown the ‘victim/killer’ working into work looking smart and sophisticated.

There is a killer on the loose that is mysteriously killing people at Samantha’s work place; people are made to believe that their work colleagues are off sick or on a holiday although in reality they are being savagely murdered. The killer turns out to be Samantha however she is unaware of this due to her suffering of Dissociative identity disorder which causes her to lead two parallel personalities that never coexist, hence her memory is severly damaged and she is unaware of the sins she commits.

She convinces herslef she is normal altough throughout the film signs of her unusaul personality are revealed. As more wor collegues go missing she becomes more wary of what is happening. Samantha’s friend Kelly, who has known her for 5 years (since they srated working together), becomes suscpicous of Samantha and is convinced that she has something to do with the missing colleagues.

Kelly sneaks into Samantha’s house and finds a locked room which she finally opens and discovers Samantha’s dark secret (collage is exposed) simultaneously Samantha is on her way home, the scene becomes intense, Samantha finds Kelly resulting in a large aggressive fight resulting in the death of Samantha.

 

Institutions

Warner Bros. is our chosen company, with dark castle entertainment as an associating institution. Our chosen genre is psychological thriller therefore we feel that this company will be beneficial to the production of our film. As Warner Bros. Is a largely successful company we feel confident in the fact that our film will be suitably funded. Since Warner Bros. is an established company that supports Dark Castle entertainment the company has the ability to be more specific in it’s chosen genre, horror/thriller. Due to it’s experience in producing horror/thriller films, we are positive that the film will be of a high standard in regards to production. 

Dark Castle has produced a variety of successful horror/thriller films, such as Gothika, Orphan, The Reaping and Splice. The success of these films assures us that the company has a lot of knowledge on what the audience like or expect to see in a horror/thriller film.

For the production, distribution and funding of our film we have chosen two integrated companies, Dark Castle Entertainment is a branching company of Warner Bros. The significance of this association is beneficial in terms of funding and we think there can be too many companies in one film and therefore having one main institution in charge will be cheaper and there will be less conflict.

Warner Bros. have distributed a wide variety of films from different genres including; Terminator 3: rise of the machines, Spartan, Exorcist: the beginning, and Dominion: prequel to the exorcist. This shows that they are able to dispense lots of films from different backgrounds and have had experience in distributing successful thrillers

Presentation of Findings

Questionnaire summary

As a group, we summarised the questionnaires and tried to find common traits between them. This will help us build a successful picture for our audience profile.

Question 1

The majority of the people who we asked were females, which in some ways was quite surprising, because Thrillers are usually aimed at males. Knowing this, we expected the results for the questions from the females to be quite light-hearted compared to the results from the males.

Question 2 

The age of the people who we asked were mainly 15-17. This shows that before, when Thrillers were first shown, the target age was 18+ because of the nature of the Thrillers. But now, because there are so many subgenres of Thriller, the genre now appeals to more age brackets.

Question 3

The most popular hobby was reading. This could show that the “technology generation” do actually do others thing in their spare time; not just using social networking sites. Also, nowadays, more books are being turned into films, therefore, this could be a way that people find out about the films because the books usually include a bit of information about an upcoming film if there is one.

Question 4

The majority of the people who we asked watched films in general often. This is very useful, because we now know that films are something that our audience enjoy, so it is quite likely that they may watch ours. Also, film is a good way of advertising other films. E.g. a trailer before a film starts at the cinema or on DVD. 

Question 5

DVD seemed to be a popular way to access films. This could be for number of reasons: 1. It is easy to access e.g. buy it from a shop. 2. It is cheaper than paying to go and see it at the cinema- once you have brought it, it is yours.  The internet was the second most popular source, which could show that illegal downloads of film and YouTube have made it even easier to watch films at home. Whereas years ago, you had to go to the cinema or watch them on the television.

Question 6

The most popular answer was occasionally. This shows that many people like to watch a variety of genres and films and not just stick to one type. Furthermore it may indicate that the audience like the genre of thriller since they do actually watch it. This is further shown by the fact that the next popular answer is always. However rarely is the next option which could represent the fact that not everybody like thrillers therefore we are targeting a specific audience who like the genre. The least popular answer was often which may be accurate due to people not having time to watch lots of films or it could show that the genre isn’t something that people want to watch all of the time.

Question 7

The most popular answer to this was drama, which could represent the fact that many audiences like more of a realistic storyline behind the thrillers and not just a ton of blood and gore. Following this was psychological which shows that people like the element of the unknown and the idea of mind games intrigues people. Also the fact that they mess with your head could create an enigma and therefore capture the audience’s interest. The least popular was crime and before this was horror. This shows that the majority of the people that took the questionnaire don’t necessarily like the idea of blood and gore or crime where you follow the investigation of a murder.

Question 8

Most people said that they preferred their specific genre chosen because it was interesting and exciting; others said they liked the storyline. These are both common features that attract the target audience as they drag the audience into the realms of the film world and involve them. People that choose psychological thrillers in question 7 said that they liked the confusing element of testing your mind the most this is due to the complexity of the plot and shows that audience participation is key to a successful film.

Question 9

Typically most people choose the colour black, which has connotations of danger, mystery and unknowing these are all fundamentals explored in the genre thriller. As well as this the colour blue is mentioned creating a cold atmosphere that makes the audience feel uninvited. A number of people also choose the colour red this is due to the predictable association it has with blood and danger it also links in with the idea of murder or killing.

Question 10

Abandoned house was the top answer for this question, which shows that the audience must automatically associate this setting with a thriller. Furthermore it is an isolated place that must be considered dangerous and be something that means that the audience would recognise the film as a thriller. The least popular choice was hospitals. This could indicate that the audience don’t want the thriller set in a hospital because the hospital scenes are a place of safety or recovery therefore the main action will take place in a much more dangerous and less secure environment.

Question11

The main character associated with a thriller is the killer, this is predictable as the killer generally encompasses the villain of the film, who is the character that carries the most suspicion and mystery. Next conventionally comes the victim who is pursued by the killer this may be due to the enigma ceated between the two characters.

Question 12

Weapons were the most popular with over 75% of the people choosing this answer. This shows that weapons link in with the audience expecting to see death in a thriller therefore there logically must be weapons etc… in order to add an element of danger. Weapons are a broad spectrum so it can be anything from a gun to a futuristic style weapon e.g. a lightsaber. The least popular prop associated with a thriller was technology which shows that the audience don’t think everyday technologies such as television play that big of a part – unless the film is about it.

Question 13

Instrumental was the most popular with music with lyrics being least popular. This indicates that more affect is caused by having music without lyrics because the audience won’t be distracted by the lyrics of the song - especially if they recognise it. Plus the mood of instrumental music tends to have much more effect on people if there are no lyrics. A lot can be said without lyrics in music. The middle answer was also popular; this was sounds within the scene. For example screaming or creaking doors therefore showing that these realistic and more obvious sound effects are also popular with the audience.

Question 14

The data shows that shadows create the most effect in a thriller these can be formed through back and under lighting they make characters appear suspicious and produce an element of the unknown surrounding the setting. Secondly is rain this is a common feature of a thriller and is a stereotypical weather condition as it can cause many hazardous situations in which crime/murder scenes are set. 

Question 15

Most people answered that the suspense and tension are the key factors that are liked in a thriller these can be created through a variety of things: lighting, colour and props etc… therefore our group will attempt to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Secondly was the storylines that attracted viewers this may be due to the complexity (psychological thrillers) or realistic tones (drama thrillers) of the plot.

Question 16

The most common answer to this question was normal everyday clothes, this is common for an audience to choose because it creates a feeling of realism, whereas if the characters were dressed in capes, which was found to be the least common answer, the way the film is portrayed would appear more traditional and less realistic. Outfits specific to character was the second most popular, showing how audiences expect to see regular everyday people in thriller films, whereas black leather etc appears to be less expected of a thriller film.

Question 17

The most common answer to this question was that they like the thrill of watching a thriller. This is obviously expected from watching thriller movies due to that is what makes them different from other sub-genres of the horror genre. The thrill that is given from watching these films is what attracts the audience and gains their attention into watching them. The least common answer was that it was their favourite genre, this is a less desirable answer to reveal through a questionnaire due to our opening being in the genre of thriller, although the thrill appears to be the most desirable element in watching thriller movies.

Question 18

The most common answer to this question was 1 or 2 deaths, this was possibly the most popular answer because in a thriller film, a lot of deaths may appear slightly dramatic to the audience, therefore having only 1 or 2 deaths appears more realistic and maintains that thrill which is desired in thrillers. The least common answer was none, showing that if there were no deaths at all in a thriller film, the audience would not find it very satisfying and thrilling.

Question 19

The most common answer was suspense, meaning that an audience enjoy seeing suspense in the beginning of a thriller film, possibly due to the excitement that it brings, being unaware of what is happening, and creating a bit of mystery. A less common answer was normality, this was possibly less common due to the audience enjoying excitement rather than a normal day scene, creating suspense builds up the tension, meaning a more interactive audience.

Question 20

The most common answer to this question was family, this shows how an audience enjoy to watch thriller movies with their family, also another common answer was friends, thriller movies can be exciting and interesting when watched with friends. Therefore our target audience would be more family orientated.

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

1)     What is your sex?

Male                      Female

2)     How old are you?

15-17                 18-21                 22-29                 30+

3)     What is your main hobby?

Sport                  Reading                  Dancing                 Singing                  Art                  

Shopping                 Other _____________________________________________________

4)     How often do you watch films?

Never                 Rarely                 Occasionally                 Often                 Always

5)     How do you access films?

Internet                 DVD                 Cinema                 Television                 Other

6)     How often do you watch thrillers?

Never                 Rarely                 Occasionally                 Often                 Always

7)     What type of thriller do you prefer?

Horror (e.g. Halloween)        

Drama (e.g. Fatal Attraction)      

 Psychological (e.g. sixth sense)                 

Vampire (e.g. blade)                   

Crime (e.g. silence of the lambs)      

Other ___________________________________________________________________

8) Using the answer to question 7, why do you prefer that type of thriller?

9)     What colours would you expect to see in a thriller?

____________________________________________________________________________________

10) What setting do you most expect to see in a thriller?

Forrest          Abandoned house       Prison         Hospitals            Other ____________________

11) What character is most essential to a thriller?

Victim          Killer         Policeman          Parents           Supernatural creatures

12) Which prop does you associate most with a thriller?

Handcuffs       Weapons       Fast cars           Phone           Technology          

13) What type of sound do you think creates the most effect in a thriller?

Music (with lyrics)         Instrumental music (no lyrics)          

Sounds within the scene (e.g. gun shots, creaking doors, screams)

14) What type of lighting do you think is most effective in a thriller?

Daylight           Sepia (old fashioned looking)          Shadows        

Rain (bad weather conditions)

15) What is it that you like about thrillers?

Suspense/tension        Story lines          Element of mystery          Being scared

Other _____________________________________________________

16) What type of costumes do you expect to see in a thriller?

Normal everyday clothes          Outfit specific to character         Black leather        Capes          

Other________________________________

17) Why have you ended up watching thrillers?

There was nothing else on         You have seen advertisements            

They are one of your favourite types of films          You like the thrill

Other____________________________________________________

18) How much death do you think that a thriller should include throughout the film?

None          1 or 2            3 – 5              Over 5

19) What do you prefer in an opening of a thriller?

Death             Building of suspense             Normality              Other________________________

20) Who do you tend to watch thrillers with?

With family           With friends          Partners           Other_____________________

Audience research

The audience that any film targets is a very important aspect of the film. It helps the director, producers etc include things in the film that their audience will enjoy and appreciate. Therefore, as a group, we produced a questionnaire and distributed it to 20 people. This was useful, because it helped us get a clear idea of the wants of our target audience.

Summary of whole films

Stock settings

In any genre of film, setting is a very important aspect of it. It helps to create certain moods and feeling for both the characters and the audience.

·         Abounded houses were something that proved to be a very dominant setting through-out the genre. I found that it reflected the ways in which the characters felt at certain stages of the films- that sense of being not wanted, alone. This helped the audiences feeling towards the characters and helped to understand their state of minds easier. 

·         A number of the settings reflect the titles of the films. For example: Exam was set in an examination room with eight small desks. This helps the audience to understand the meaning of the title.

Stock characters

Stock characters are an important aspect of the genre of any film; therefore this was a very important aspect that we had to identify.

·         Villain- There was usually an element of unknown in regards to it wasn’t always obvious that the certain character or characters were the villain until the end of the film. E.g. Exam- the man, who was revealed at the end of the film to be the villain, was the character who throughout the film was helping the other characters. This made the villain seem even more evil, which is typical in Thrillers. When the villain was a woman, she was usually seen as being psychotic and unstable. For example: Orphan- the girl in the film, who was the villain, was the character who immediately was seen as being psychotic and dangerous. But in the majority of the films we watched, the villains were usually male.

·         Hero- The heroes in the genre like many of the other genres of film, were usually the main characters in the film. The heroes in film differ from what they are heroic for. For example: the mother in Changeling could be seen as a hero, because she never gave up her search for her son and she fought against the FBI for what was right. But on the other hand, the hero in Exam who is one of the women, is heroic because she didn’t really do anything other than save the life of one of the candidates.

·         Victim- The victim in the films were sometimes the heroes, who then turned the bad thing that happened to them into something positive. For example: the mother in Changeling, turned the negative aspect of losing her son into something positive by making other people aware of the goings on in the FBI. The majority of the victims who aren’t the main character tend to be victims of a murder, which is a key theme in the genre.   

Themes

The majority of the themes were similar throughout the films, but there were some obvious differences depending on the specific sub genre.

·         Death and murder were constant themes throughout all the films we watched. This is a common aspect in the genre, therefore, it was no surprise that it occurred so many times in the films we watched. 

·         Love and passion was also a theme in some of the films. It mainly occurred in the films with the victim or the villain for example: in the film Orphan, the villain falls in love with her adopted father- this is an important aspect in the rest of the film, because it almost helps justify some of her actions.

·         Revenge was also a theme that appeared in many of the films that we watched. It differed from the villain wanting revenge on the victim or vice versa. Revenge is something negative, therefore, because the genre is quite negative, it helps add to that sense of negativity that you get from thrillers.

Iconography

Iconography is important in any film, because it helps the audience to recognise the genre of the film by certain aspects that typically appear in the genre. The iconography in the thriller genre is usually negative and violent; therefore, we weren’t expecting anything different.

Fast cars were used in a number of the films we watched. This could connote a sense of the film being quite fact pasted constantly changing. For example: in the inner ring, the film starts with a series of historical images and films and then there is an immediate straight cut to a high impact car chase.

  

Flickering lights are also commonly used in the genre. They help to create suspense within scenes. For example: in the films Gothika and the Covenant, lights are used at some of the more intense scenes in the film to add to that scary atmosphere.

Medical equipment would obviously be used in a medical thriller, but in the film Awake, there is a scene where the doctors are inserting a knife into the main character’s chest. The camera is completely forced on the knife throughout the whole scene, almost trying to emphasise the fact that this is an important aspect of the film.  

Summary of openings

Enigmas

Enigmas in the openings are created by a number of ways e.g. text, colours and music.

·         Text is often used as link for the audience to the film, but the audience aren’t aware of the link yet.

·         Colours such as black are used to help create a sense of atmosphere. E.g. Awake

Introduce key characters

In many of the film openings we watched, the ways in which key characters were introduced in ways that helped the audience understand their character.

·         Introduced by another character- for example: in the film opening Awake, in main character was introduced by his friend who gave the audience some brief information about the character.

·         Camera shots are also used to help emphasis key characters. E.g. a mid shot was used in Underworld to show the main character.- This was more useful that a close-up, because not only did we see the characters face, but seeing their body’s movement and costume, helped the audience create an relationship with them.

Introduce key themes

Key themes in the openings were introduced in a number of different way according to the sub-genre of thriller it was. 

·         Religious artefacts were shown in the Da Vinci code, which helped make it clear that religion is an important, theme in the film.

·         Love as a theme was introduced by intimate situation between the characters. e.g. Five Fingers

·         Iconography such as: knives and guns were used to introduce pain and death in the openings of a number of films:  Le premier cercle (the inner ring), Se7en, the covenant and haunting in Connecticut. The fact that all of these thrillers have these themes in them, shows that death and murder are very dominant themes in the genre Thriller.

Introduce genre

The way in which the genre of any film is introduced in the opening is very important, because it helps the audience recognise the genre.

·         The typical dark background and setting was used in the majority of film opening we watched. This helps create a mysterious and scary atmosphere that is usually associated with thrillers. e.g.Underworld, Blade, Awake and Haunting in Connecticut

·         A piano was usually playing as part of the non- diegetic sound to help add to that atmospheric opening. Also, it causes the audience to concentrate on what is happening on screen because, the music is usually has a different feeling to the visual aspect of the opening. E.g. Haunting in Connecticut  

·         There was usually a death in the opening to help introduce the genre. This helps show the audience that the film is going to have elements of death in it.

·         A car chase is often used to show an action aspect of the thriller e.g. the inner ring, the Grudge and Goodfellas.

Use of titles

Titles and the way they appear in the opening are a very important aspect of the opening, because they help add to the effect that the ofter aspects of the opening are trying to create.

·         The font and the colours used for the title link to the film- this is important and effective in the opening, because it helps to create an relationship between the film and the title, Also, it creates possible ideas about the film.

·          The text used such as: psychotic – in the film Se7en, helps create a sense of atmosphere before the film has started. Which helps ready the audience for the film and possible emotions and feeling they may feel as they watch it.

Summary of film openings and whole films

As a group, we consolidated all our research into thrillers and the film openings and came up with certain aspects of the whole films and openings that included the key elements of the genre. We looked at a number of the key elements in detail and tried to find examples of films and openings to fit what we had discovered about them.  

Awake

·        At the beginning of the opening, there is a medical insight into the film which shows that the film is going to be a medical drama. 

     

·        The character who is speaking gives a brief background to the film and the other characters. 

 

·       The camera movement at this stage of the opening almost has the same jumpy effect as a handheld camera. 

·        The character is wearing a white medical coat which shows that he is a doctor. Also the fact that it is white connotes purity, therefore showing the audience that this is a character that is going to be a trustworthy character in the film.

·        Whilst the character is speaking, he talks about “losing a friend” and then there is an immediate straight cut from 

     him to his friend. This is almost like he is introducing this

     new character and an important aspect of the film. 

·        After this, the last thing the doctor says is “and he was probably thinking about her” this causes the audience to question who “her” is. There is a straight cut to the friend that the doctor was talking about, but this time, he was awake, lying in a bath filled with water.

·        The bath is an important prop in the opening, because it could connote the feelings of the characters, that sense of drowning in your own issues and thoughts, or being surrounded by them.