Individual Narrative

Individual Narrative

Target Audience =15

My idea for our thriller is based on a sleepover and a ouiji board. I think this will be very effective as it is extremely scary and is clearly a thriller. The ouiji board will get out of control 

The beginning of the thriller starts off that there are a group of girls at a sleepover in their pyjamas and cuddling their teddy bears. They are sitting wtching a film, eating popcorn and telling eachother secrets when someone comes up with the idea of doing the ouiji board. All sleepover crew go along with the idea and they go on the laptop to see how to set the ouiji up  porperly. Once they are aware of how to do it they set it up and begin to play it. As they are playing the game it all goes as plan and it works properly when it spells out a name that is Familiar to Kate therefore Kate begins to panic and asks to leave the game. The glass moves over to the word no, explaining if they leve the game they will be haunted forever. However whilst playing the game suspicious things start happening to the room they are sitting in. They begin to hear noises of whistling and assume one of the friends is joking around and making the noises. They beg to believe it is none of them and the noises become louder causing the characters to become scared and worried. As they are so startled they come together in a group and take their hands off of the ouiji board when someone shouts out letting them know they are not supposed to take their hands off the glass, everyone becomes more paranoid. Just when they begin to calm down they see a light come on in the room next door and assume it is the friends mum, then realise they are home alone and the light flickers on and off. As they are concentrating on the light a flower vase smashes infront of their eyes and they begin to get even more worried when a dark shadow runs across the outside of the window.

Pie Charts

Our group decied to use pie charts to show our results for our questionaire, as we felt that this is the clearest way to display the information we found out about thriller films. It is the easiest form of chart to read information quickly and easily and is visibly the ................

Interviews

For our interviews we went around the school in our group, our group consists of Tayler Coe, Will Stacey, Brittany Terrelonge and Katie O'Shaugnessy. We walked around West Hatch High School with camera recorder and interviewed 5 people. We asked various questions about thriller films, what they like about them and what conventions they felt appropriate when watching a thriller film. The clips will last around 1 minute each and once completed we will upload them to the computers and edit them and post them to our blogs

preliminary task

what was the purpose of the preliminary task?
The purpose of the preliminary task was to improve our groups knowledge on working with cameras and editing. It was to give us an insight view of what we are required to do within our own thriller movie.

what did you learn through the process?
(equipment, camera shots and distances, locations, sounds, framing)
Throughout the process we as a group learned exactly how the cameras work and how to deal with them in order to get a steady shot by using the tripods. We learned how to store
how will it help you with the main thriller task

evaluation

The purpose of having a target audience is so that you can find out who your thriller film is targeted towards and therefore can appeal to the audience. The research that we carried out to find out our target audience was a opportunity sample where we went into our schools common room where we handed out questionnaires. We done this particular sampling method as we an get an even spread of what we want and there is no bias or demand characteristics involved. We surveyed 40 people to get a good sample where we can get mixed views and find similarities on what people want giving our task population validity. The vox pops that we carried out helped us as we got a first hand view on what people want and we can tell if they are lying or being serious, however this particular method does contain demand characteristics.

group narratives

Out of our group we have each made an individual narrative but with all of them there will be advantages and disadvantages, by the end we will choose one of them and stick by it for our opening scene to our thriller film.

Brittany Terrelonge

For Brittany's narrative it is 4 friends sleeping over starting off as a normal sleepover watching films as discussing secrets when one of them decides to put across the idea of doing an Ouija board and they all end up agreeing to it. But when they do it one of them gets spooked and drops the glass, this is bad and as soon as it happens spooky things start happening around the house and they all become scared and what follows is unknown.

Advantages of this is that is has a good basis for a film and can easily include special effects that could show the house to be haunted and what things happen could be presented well. It is also is good as it relates to the age group as it is something that would happen at a sleepover but includes what could go wrong.

The disadvantages that come from this are that it may be hard to include all special effects as we only have the basics, it will also be hard to create a scene and make the house seem spooky and haunted. It will also be hard to be all serious about what is happening and will have to include some good acting which may be hard to do.

Katie O'Shaughnessy

Katie's individual narrative is that there are 4 people living in a house and one of them becomes possessed, this is because she is the youngest and most vulnerable, the other 4 get spooked out and decide to do an Ouija board and it spells out the girls name, and says other various spooky things, in the end the get in an exorcist to sort her out.

Advantages of this theory is that it is a good set for a thriller film, you could include various jumpy scenes, eery sounds and edits to make it seem as if the girl is truly possessed.

Disadvantages of Katie's narrative is that it would be very hard to edit it to a good standard to make the story believable and also have to include various props and things that may be hard to obtain, another down side is that it seems the narrative for the opening scene has all of the story embedded in it and what happens later on will just be little extras and no real surprise.

Questionaire

Questionnaire

1. Are you male or female?

Tick the selected box below

Male          Female

2. How old are you?

Tick the selected box below

15-18         19-21           22-25           26+

3. Within a thriller film, what would you see is your preferred age certificate?

Tick the selected box below

12                15                18

4. What advertisement would you say attracts you into a thriller the most?

Tick the selected box below

TV            Posters      Recomm-       Other

                                   endation     

5. What are you expectations of a thriller film?

Circle your choice below

Flashbacks, main characters as hero, protagonist/ antagonist (goodie/baddie), night scenes, car involvement, weapons, blood or other

6. What type of sound would you say works best within a thriller film?

Circle your choice below

Tension building, suspense sound, various sound effects, horror sounds or other

7. What characters do you intend to watch within a thriller film?

Circle your choice below

One main character, 2 characters (male/female), group of main characters, young characters, old characters

8. What well-known actors are expected to be seen in a thriller movie? Make a lost of the selected actors below

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

9. What setting within a thriller film would you say is most effective?

Circle your choice

A creepy house, graveyard, outdoors, haunted room, street, alley way or other

10. What other genres do you think works well when combined with a thriller film?

Tick the selected box below

Comedy      Action/            Crime            Other

                 Adventure

11. Would you prefer a thriller film to start with a story line and work its way through to the main plot or start with a scary opening and use flashbacks throughout the rest of the film?

Complete your answer on the dotted lines below

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Narrative Theory

There are 3 main narratives theory;

Vladimar Propp a Russian critic, Propp believes that narratives are not important for the story line, he feels characters are ore of an importance.

Tzvetan Todorov states that a story is not all about characters its about the narrative and the equilibriums and disequilibrium. Every narrative should have a beginning, middle and end narrative.

Aristotle claims that shorelines should be completely about themes and that characters and narratives are not important.

Our groups narrative theory links in closest with Todorov and how its not all about the characters but focuses more on equilibriums and disequilibrium with the story having a beginning middle and end. Our plan for our opening scene is a sleepover with 4 friends when they decide to do an Ouija board but it turns wrong and things start to happen. The lights start to flicker on and off and people start to hear things. The opening scene will end there but we have planned the future of the film in that one of the friends continues to become haunted and in the ends commits suicide due to them not being able to take anymore.

Our group will be using various techniques including cinematography, sounds, mise-en-scene and edits to create a detailed opening scene. The scene is meant to scare the audience and spook them out and intrigue them to want to watch more to find out what will happen to the 4 teenagers

Editing

Editing

The editing of a film is very important. There are so many edits in every single film that you wont even realise that you are watching them. The edits in a film make it interesting and will focus the audiences attention on the most important subject in the scene. The editing of a film can show the difference between an action shot when there is a lot going on and the shots are very fast to relaxed scene when the editing is very slow.

In The Strangers scene that i was analysing the first thing i noticed was the slow editing as the woman was walking toward the door. The creates an uneasy atmosphere with suspence and tension which is quickly bulding as she moves close to the door. The slow editing in the scene makes the audience aware that there may be something not very nice waiting for her on the other side of the door and the anticipation is building to see wheather or not she is going to open the door. Slow editing is used a lot in thrillers as this is mainly the best way to create a scene that is supposed to scare the audience as the slower the editing is the more the audience are left waiting to see what is going to happen next.

The next shot i picked up on was a reaction shot. This was when the women had told the person to leave her front door and after she heard no noise her first reaction was to go and check outside the window to make sure that the person had left. This is a good shot to have used because the audience are waiting to see if something is going to be behind the curtain as she lifts it to look out. A reaction shot is used a lot in thrillers because they are a good way of interacting with the audience by showing exactly how the subject is feeling or what they are going to do next to what happened in the scene.

Another edit that i saw was the jump cut. The girl drops the alarm and then the shot jumps to the door. Alarms mean panic so even having the alarm in her hands the audience are already thinking that something is bad is about to happen. As the shot changes to there door gives the audience the impression that whatever was behind the door is back and makes the audience nervous as to what is going to happen next. Jump shots are used in thrillers because they are very quick and it makes it very dramatic when there is a lot going on in the scene.

I have realised that editing is very important in thrillers because it can make the difference between creating an intersting and dramatic scene or a boring and dull scene.

Age Certificates

Age Certificates

Why is the BBFC important to the film industry?

The BBFC produces detailed information about the content of every film and video game that is classified, which  are called Extended Classification Information, or ECI.  This is in addition to the short sentence of Consumer Advice which appears on posters and advertising for films. The BBFC is important to the film industry as it protects the public and mainly young children from seeing harmful images, also it helps parents make an informed decision on whether allowing children to view certain age certificates. The BBFC is known as a content regulator.

Research into the different age certificates and define each age group,

U - Universal, suitable to all. No discrimination, no reference to drugs, no bad imitable behavior. Only natural nudity. Only very mild language.  Only very mild violence, and mild theme. No reference to sexual context, only kissing. Horror scenes cannot cause any anxiety or stress on a child.

PG - Parental Guidance - General viewing but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.

Reference to drugs must contain anti drug use message. Frightening scenes must not be prolonged or intense. No bad imitable behavior  no glamorization of real modern day weapons. Mild language  Natural nudity only. Discreet sexual reference or innuendo. Theme should not condone unacceptable behaviour. Moderate violence without detail.

12/12A - Suitable for children of 12 years and above. A child younger than 12 cannot enter the movie without being accompanied by an adult.

12 - means no-one younger than 12 can buy or rent a film this age certificate. Discrimination should not be endorsed or encouraged in any way. Any use of drugs should be infrequent and not give instructional detail. Moderate physical and psychological threat may be present if not prolonged or intense. Dangerous behavior should not be prolonged nor give instructable detail. No use of easily accessible weapons should be glamorized. Moderate language is allowed, strong language such as 'fuck' must be infrequent. Nudity is allowed but must be brief. Sexual activity must be brief. Mature themes are acceptable but must be suitable for young teenagers. Moderate violence is allowed but must not dwell on detail.

15 - Suitable for only 15 years and older. Must not endorse discriminatory behavior.  Drug taking may be shown but film must not promote drug use. Strong threat may be shown unless sadistic or sexualised. Dangerous behavior must not be detailed an  

d accessible weapon use must not be glamorized  Frequent use of strong language ie fuck is accepted but for stronger terms it must be acceptable in certain context. Sexual activity and nudity may be shown without detail, sexual reference is acceptable unless strong. All themes accepted. Violence is accepted but must not dwell on gore or pain.

18 - Not suitable for anyone younger than 18. Everything is accepted and permitted. A film may not be allowed if it endorses things suchas sexual assault and may cause harm to the public and public morals. Also if a film is made with the intention of sexual arousal it is certificated as R18 these types of showings are only allowed in sex shops and licensed cinemas.

Decide on what age certificate your film will be and why? consider the content of your narrative and your target audience too

The film me and my class members are producing is going to be rated a 15 and this is because this is the most suitable age. We have chose 15 because it is not too young yet it is not to old and would attract the most audience. The content of our film will be too much of a thriller for children younger but might not be as appealing to older people because the characters in our film are of that age.

Codes and Conventions

What is a thriller film?

Codes and Conventions

Enigma:
A mystery is always in a thriller film to help set the plot. Enigmas are used to make the audience ask themselves questions and to help engage them into the movie. For example in the film saw, the opening scene uses an enigma to keep the audiences attention to the film and make them want to watch more. Throughout the opening the enigma ensures the audience to ask themselves questions such as 'why is there a dead body? where is he and why is he there? why has he woke up drowning?' etc.

Representation of characters:
victoms are represented as being weak

Dramatic Irony:
audience know who the killer is

Intensity Sound:
going up and down dependent on the scene

Low key lighting:
creates shadows

High key lighting:
creates a happy scene

Iconography:
weapons / chains / ropes

Non-digetic sound (music the characters cant hear):
create tension and suspense

Mirrors:
Mirrors are used as a convention of a thriller film through the use of reflection of ones soul and inner self. They also represent the darkness within some characters.

Flashbacks:
Flasgbacks contribute to a sense of time and space disorientation in a thriller and this confuses the audience. It is also a convention of a thriller film because it can display what has happened in the past to give the audience an insight into the characters' pasts

Saw clip and answers

The opening sequence conveys most of the codes and convention of a thriller film, making it more clearer to the audience which genre it falls into. An enigma was mainly used within the movie constantly causing the audience to ask themselves questions such as 'why has he woken up drowning? why is there a dead body? where is he and what is he doing there?'

Main character is weak, trapped in the dark, chained to a pipe.

Setting: Dark, dirty, sewage filthy hidden broken bathroom

Sound: Gets louder and louder as it gets closer to finding something out to build sispense - intenisty sound

Mise en scene

Mise En Scene

Settings and iconography (props)
-plays an important part in film making and not just 'backgrounds'

Costume, hair and make up
- costume. hair and make up acts as an instant indicator to us of a characters personailty, status and job

Facial expressions and body language
- facial expressions provide a clear indicator of how someone is feeling

Positioning of characters and objects within a frame
-important because they draw attention

Colours
-Colours create meanings

Lighting
-low key lighting creates shadows
-high key lighting creates a sunny atmosphere


Prom night scene

Mise-en-scene is a french term for everything in the scene. There are 5 main elements of mise-en-scene. they are important for thriller films because it helps the audience to understand the narritives.

For prom night the setting is in a hotel which is not a typical setting for a thriller film because generally a hotel would mean that people were having a good tike and enjoy them selves which contradicts what is about to happen. this may fool the audience into believing that nothing bad is going to happen which then leaves the audience unprepared for the following events.


the costumes hair and make up of the characters are very appropriate to the scene which is happening. The identification of the killer is hidden throughout the first part of the scene and dressed in black which is different to everyone else in the scene as everyone else is in prom outfits and are seen to be having a good time. the identification of the killer is hidden because it creates an atmosphere of suspense for the audience.

the facial expressions of the killer serious and concentrated because he has told himself that he has to kill the girl. the facial expressions of the girl are clearly panicked and upset which differentiates the girl who is in danger to the killer. the fact that his facial expressions are so clear and stern makes the audience uneasy.

The colour which is used throughout the scene is it is dark outside and which that alone creates an eery atmosphere. the killers face is mostly covered by flashing lights. the flashing lights are blue which automatically triggers painc through the audience as flashing blue lights are gereally associtated with police and fire brigade.

SOUND

Sound

Sound is important in a thriller film because it can create the atmosphere and tension for the audience to make them scared. It can also tell how the audience are feeling and how they are reacting to what is happening. The music can say a lot about a film. If here is happy music with a dark horror or thriller it makes the audience distance themselves, however if the music is eerie and scary, then the audience feel uneasy and involved. If the wrong sound is used in particular scene it can completely change how a scene is meant to be interpreted, there are many different types of sounds that can be used and nearly all of them will be used in a film.

Digetic sound: sound which is part of the film world eg. dialougue, music from a radio jukebox. The sund can be on or off screen

Non-digetic sound: sound whcih is not part of the film world e.g. a soundtrack, sound effects, voice overs

Sounds in films

Sounds are used in films to create understanding for the audience and to create more meaning about the character and their emotions

On screen sound - you can see where the sound is coming from

Off screen sound - you can hear sound but cannot see where it is coming from, but it makes sense to the film world

Parallel sound - the sound you hear goes with the image e.g. a scene with children playing on the beach, happy

How does the speed of editing emphasis the action?
It can make the difference between an action scene with a lot going on and a slow scene where everything is relaxed. Fast editing matches the thriller and slow editing creates tension and suspense

After analyzing scream 2 I discovered both non digetic and digetic sound is used throughout the movie. Non digetic sound is used then the girl is waiting for her parents. The music begins with a slower, more of a soft eery music as she begins to get chased but as the antagonist catches up to the victim and time begins to run out causing the young girl to not be saved, the beat and tempo rises in the background music. This particular sound fits in with the scene because as the music builds and starts to become more intense, the audience also feel the tension and feel on edge as they try to become more involved with the scene and struggle to take their eyes off the scenerio. 

Parellel sound is also used within the thriller and this is when the girl is running to find her parents, there is very loud dramatic music and the killer can be seen in the background behind the girl. The dramatic music tells the audience that something bad is going to happen. This is a perfect example of parralell sound because the scene is very dramatic and there is a lot going on therefore it connects well with the sounds. This sound is important in thriller films because when there is loud music it can create a variety of atmospheres, the dramatic music will create a scary and jumpy atmopshere which is essential for thrillers.

Off screen sound is used as the parents arrive home and walk through the front door, the first thing that comes to their ears and also the audiences is the fire alarm. This straight away gives the audience a sense of un-ease because generally alarms convey panic and give the audience an insight that something bad is bound to happen. The alarm continues troughout the scene as the parents are rushing around and searching the house for the young girl. The audience watching feel on their toes as they are expecting and waiting for the next bad thing to suddenly happen.

Due to analysing this movie i am now fully aware of how important sound is to a thriller movie and the effects of using particular sounds during particular scenes. If the wrong sound is used at any time then it can change the whole way the scene is supposed to be seen and have a different effect on the audience. The different types of sound that can be used, make it easier to portray how you want it to look by adding the correct sound noises or music.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Cinematography

Terminology

Low angle: The camera is positioned below the object and this makes the image look bigger
High angle: The camera is positioned above the object and this makes the image look smaller
Canted angle: This is when the camera is tilted and this is used to suggest instability and imbalance (unsteady)
Eye level: The camera is positioned at eye level with the audience so that they are more engaged with the scene

Movements

Crane: A camera is mounted on a crane and it moves around at a distance above ground level and it can move up and down
Panning: The camera moves  from left to right, right to let following the moving object
Zooming In: The camera moves in and out of an object to create importance and to draw the audience into a closer relationship with the subject
Zooming Out: The camera moves away to create an emotional distance
Handheld: Is used to produce a jerky, bouncy, unsteady image, which can create a sense of immediacy or chaos
Point Of View: Is used to show the audience the same image as the character
Steadicam: The camera remains perfectly level and smooth as the camera moves positions
Close Up: Shows a fairly small part of the score and emphasis on something, such as a characters face and neck in detail that is fills the screen
Extreme Close Up: An image fills up the whole screen and no background is shown
Midshot: Is when the camera frames the actor from waist up
Longshot: A shot that shows all of a fiarly large subject (such as a person) and usually much of the surrounding
Shallow Focus: Is used in films to show the audience one image in full focus while the rest of the screen is out of focus and appears to be blurry on screen
Deep Focus: Means the depth that the audience can see background, middle ground - shows mise en scene
Extreme Long Shot: The camera is positioned at a further distance from the subject emphasising the background and also reducing the importance of the subject
Establishing Shot: defines the location and gives the audience a perspective on the action that is to. Also they are often essential to defining a genre.
two-shot: is where two people are featured in the frame
aerial: is where the camera looks down on something and it is like a birds eye view shot
tracking: is when tracking the camera itself is moved smoothly towards or away from the subject while the focus remains constant.

Cinematography is essential in a thriller film because they build a relationship with the audience and enables them to see the facial expressions clearly which can tell the audience how the characters are feeling and how they are reacting to what is happening within the movie. Also camera shots build an atmosphere throughout the movie, allowing the audience to feel involved as much as possible.

 

Within the thriller movie insidious, the director has used a variety of different camera shots causing the film to become more effective. The main camera shots that took my eye and stood out the most were the mid shots and the close ups. One mid shot I thought was most effective was when the little boy is found laying on the floor in the hospital room. The mid shot allows the audience to get a clear view of part of the background and the characters body language showing their feelings. The background consists of the hospital room and bed being out of sequence, making the audience think there was an attack inside the room. As well, the hospital bed is broken and the sheets are covered with blood handprints, which conveys someone has attempted to attack the little boy and that is the reason he is lying on the floor unconscious. The blood handprint also represents the child has been possessed and that chaos has occurred in the room. Both parents are holding on to their child and this shows the audience they are concerned about their son.

 

Another shot I thought was important in the film was the close up that was taken to show the main characters feelings. Within this particular shot, there is suspense built up as behind the main character there is a horrifying red demon face watching over him as if he is going to attack and as if the main character is in danger of being harmed. This close up also shows the facial expression being scared and worried. This shot also emphasises on the fact the film is a thriller as it makes the audience feel scared and on edge as they are wanting to find out what is going to happen next.

What I found out about using appropriate camera shots in a thriller film has helped me to understand how I can interpret these into my own thriller movie by seeing how the different shot can create a suspense and an atmosphere. It also helps me get a clearer understand of how each different shot can cause the audience to see different views. Also I am now aware how certain shots convey a clearer view of which genre certain films are.