Film Pitch & Mindmap

Film Pitch & Ideas

Ideas for our film opening scene:

Structure Ideas;

• A cyclic structure. The ending is at the beginning of the film, then starts from the beginning and shows the events leading up to the final scene.  As the end scene is at the beginning it makes the audience wonder what is going to happen next and question why it’s happened, this also creates tension for the audience.

Horror film ideas;

• In a park in the night. The swings are moving on their own. Trees swaying in the strong wind.
• In a haunted house. Use night vision effects to create the illusion that the film is being recorded by a person and you see their version of events as you follow the person around.

Thriller ideas;

•  A police chase – use sound effects and lighting without seeing any police.
•  See the beginning of a kidnapping.
•   A plane crash – survivor.
•  A crime film – burglary, kidnapping.   

Rom com ideas;

• See a proposal at the start then rewinds to a year before and shows the events leading up to the proposal and in the end it all goes wrong and he doesn't ask her to marry him.

Favorite idea;

• I like the idea of filming in an abandoned park in the night. It would be a dark, cold, windy night where the breeze was howling and the trees are swaying vigorously. This will create a spooky atmosphere for the opening scene and also create tension. After a few seconds the howling becomes louder and the swaying becomes more vigorous then all of a sudden it all stops. When the camera turns around the swing is moving on its own and not due to the wind. The camera focuses on the swing set for several seconds before panning round the park to see the rest of the playing equipment moving on its own.
• Another idea for a horror film would be filming in an abandoned house with a few of my friends. We could all be having a night in when we hear weird noises in the house. One of the friends will be filming the entire thing on a camera as we want to be like a paranormal activity film were the camera is held by a person and the setting would be on night vision. This makes a peculiar feel as it’s not recorded by set cameras around the house. This would be more of a jumpy film than bloodcurdling.

This was our original idea for our film however when analyzing the film we came across several problems. This included not having an outdoor area that was safe to film and also we couldn't find 7 people to act in it that were available at the same time. Therefor we had to compromise and change the idea of the film. We are still using the same story line but changing the opening of the film to a more suitable and practical opening to film so that the opening would be what happened at the end (cyclic). Some of he problems that would of occurred was a area of woodland in the winter would of been cold, wet and muddy and could possibly ruin the filming equipment. Also as it gets dark early the lighting would be off and would be hard to edit as its extremely hard to pick up footage in the dark.

The idea that we came up with was to film it at a high school that we was familiar with. So we filmed it at our old high school called Wilnecote High School. We decided to have the villain and the victim walking into a police station (the school) after the crime had been committed as it was a easy place to film and only needed a middle aged male and a teenage girl. We asked one of the male teachers from the school to be in our film and he agreed, for the teenage female we asked one of our friends who is 16 years old. As well we had a police officer who was shown briefly, who was one of the teachers who's worked with the police prior to the filming therefor it came naturally to her which helped make the film more realistic. As we were no longer students at the high school we had to go to one of the deputy head teachers and ask permission to film. He allowed us to film as long as non of the students were filmed. 

Representation In Thrillers

Representation In Thrillers

Representation is portraying something in a specific way. It is so present something or stand for something. The word suggests that something was already there and might of been represented by the media. 

In films characters are represented as you find out information like social class, sexuality, culture ect without them having to directly tell the audience. This could be through characters conversations or objects around the scene that could represent it, for example if a character was religious they could have a cross symbol in their bedroom to show that they are a religious.

Stereotypes in thriller films;

What is stereotyping? The portrayal of people or paces through a few obvious characteristics.

Mr & Mrs Smith

Females are usually the victims who are vulnerable and young. Sometimes the female can be the antagonist this is usually in thrillers where the women is some sort of agent or assassin therefor she has to be cold-hearted and unattached to the victim.

The Purge

Males are usually portrayed as a strong hero, who saves the day by figuring out the enigma however in some thrillers they are the antagonist (villain) like in The Purge.

Development of thrillers;

Alfred Hitchcock's first movie was The Lodger (1926) which was based on Jack the Ripper. It was a typical psychopathic thriller as it followed the typical story line however it was a silent movie. Hitchcock's first sound movie was Blackmail (1929).

He continued to make films through the 1940's until the 50's where colour was added to his films, he produced films such as Strangers On A Train (1951) and Niagara (1953) which starred Marilyn Monroe. Niagara is a film about a women's plot to kill her husband.

In 1960 he released Psycho. In the film was the iconic scene where a women is brutally stabbed in the shower. This type of scene has been re-enacted in many other thrillers making it an icon in the thriller genre.

In the 70's and 80's Brian De Palma made several thrillers that had themes of guilt, paranoia, voyeurism and obsession. One of his psycho-thriller films was Sisters (1973) which was about dual-personalities.

At the end of the 80's the film by Phillip Noyce Dead Calm (1989) inspired many thrillers that were made in the 90's. It showed themes of being trapped and obsessions.

Throughout the 90's the theme of obsession and a agent hunting down a serial killer became extremely popular. A lot of the thrillers took inspiration from the horror genre.

Throughout the history of the thriller genre it seemed to be all about the psychological thrillers however in present day they seem to be more similar to horrors as there is more brutal behavior and violence. Some examples of recent thrillers are; Eden Lake (2008), P2 (2007), Cellular (2006), Unknown (2011), Hostage (2005).

 

Task 3.3: Target Audience Research

Task 3.3: Target Audience Research

IMDB Research

Nov 2014; 

• The most popular thriller and mystery-thriller movie is ‘Gone Girl (2014)’. The film’s star rating is 8.9.
• The most popular thriller-comedy movie is ‘The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman (2013)’. The film’s star rating is 6.4.
• The most popular thriller TV series is ‘American Horror Story (2011)’ which is also the most popular TV series out of all the genres. The series star rating is 8.4.
• A common thriller film is ‘Inception (2010)’ which IMDB star rating is 8.8.

 For 2013 the top thriller was Prisoners which is a crime/drama/thriller which got a star rating of 8.1 by IMDB.

   Jack Reacher is the top thriller film of 2012 taking a 7 star rating on IMDB.

From my research I have found out that although a thriller may not be the most popular genre, it does release high-selling movies that people enjoy thoroughly.

Mass Audience

Mass- Everybody sees it but people experience it in different ways. Media is often experienced alone.

Herbert Blumber in 1950 said; "Mass audiences are dangerous in the wrong hands eg Hitler. All mass media audiences came from all walks of life, they're anonymous groups, loosely organised"

The Mass Market:

Their isn't one audience there is specific little groups. 

Demography- the study of human population.

Demographics filter people by;

• race
• class/income
• gender
• age
• sexual orientation
• job
• religion
• disability

Also filter by age;

• under 16
• 13-15
• 16-19
• 19-30
• 30-45
• over 60

Lifestyle;

• values
• likes
• interests
• dislikes
• beliefs
• hobbies

1. Maintstreamers- 40% of the population.

2. Aspires- Want status, live off cash and credit.

3. Succeeders- People who already have status and control.

4. Reformers- Define themselves by self-fulfillment. 

Family Life Cycles:

Singles- young single people living alone

Newly Married Couples- young with no children

Full Nest 1- young married couples with youngest child under 6

Full Nest 2- young married couples with youngest child 6 or over

Full Nest 3- older married couples with dependent children

Empty Nest 1- Older married couples still in workforce, no children living with them

Empty Nest 2- Older married couples retired, no children living at home. 

I think that mainly teenagers would like to watch our film as it is a popular category for thrillers. Also from personal experience I know teenagers like the thrill of adrenaline pumping films. Also i think that singles, married couples ad full nest 3 would like them. 

   

  

Task 2.2: Analyse Genre - Thriller

Analyse Genre - Thriller 

Conventions of a thriller;

• A thriller is supposed to create tension and suspense for the audience.
• Often set in a urban or suburban area.
• Generally there is violence in a thriller.
• Can be a supernatural explanation of the puzzle.
• Villain and hero share some characteristics.
• Can be centred around injustice in society.
• Plot twists
• Cliff hangers
• Conspiracy
• High intensity chase scenes
• Peoples minds, thoughts- linked with paranoia, mental illness, schizophrenia.
• A mission or puzzle

Conventional Characters;

• Convicts
• Soldiers
• Men associated with danger
• Stalkers
• Criminals
• Prison inmates
• Spies
• Innocent citizens that get dragged into danger

Character Shots;

• There's a lot of close up shots and extreme close ups of the protagonist usually to show their emotions.
• The shots of the antagonist character will usually be cut quickly this is to hide their identity eg; the shot will be of their back, silhouette, shadow of character ect.

Film Shots;

These kind of shots are used to make it look like their is a person looking down. This creates a dominate shot as it makes the character on the floor vulnerable and powerless.

The medium shot is used to show the characters emotions, what props they may have and part of the location. This helps set the scene and mood of what the character is feeling. This shot is from the film Taken which is a typical thriller. Guns a commonly used in thrillers.

Close up and extreme close up shots are used to show what the characters are feeling. Also these shots are used in thrillers when a character sees something and this shot establishes what they are feeling.  

Tracking and panning shots are used in high intensity car chases. They can be used to follow the car or used to show the intensity and adrenaline of the chase. These shots can also be used to show that a character is being watched or followed.

Point of view shots are also used to show that a character is being watched or followed. The point view shot is when the shot looks like what a person see's for example in the picture the shot looks like a person is looking up before he gets shot.

Editing;

•  They will use lots of jump cuts to create tension. At the time they may be unaware of what is happening but further on it will become visible.
• Cross cutting is used to create suspense when something big is happening. This creates a dramatic atmosphere.
• The sound will often build throughout the thriller film. The music is often intense and dramatic.

Mis en Scene;

• The lighting is low key to create an on-edge atmosphere. Often when the villain is shown the lighting is dimmed to show that he is the antagonist.
• The clothing that the characters wear can sometimes represent their type of character for example the antagonist could wear dark clothing whereas the protagonist could wear everyday clothing. Sometimes the protagonist could wear every day clothing so that its not obvious that he is the villain in the film this is used a lot in films especially when they want to make it look like the villain is somebody else then at the end of the film its revealed that its the 'ordinary' looking person.
• The location is important for a film because it gives the setting of the film. Most of the time thrillers are set in a urban or suburban area.

Thriller Sub-Genres;

• Action thriller; uses physical action to create suspense in the film.
• Crime thriller; based more on the criminal than police.
• Physiological thriller; overlaps with a horror.
• Spy thriller; usually a spy completing a mission.
• Supernatural thriller; either character has a physic ability or film is out of this world with tension, plot twists and suspense.
• Conspiracy thriller; when hero confronts a large group of enemies.



The clip above is from the film 'Taken 2'. This demonstrates several conventions and shots that are seen in thriller movies.

Firstly there are many shots of the car driving to establish that the car they are driving is there car.

When the antagonists look in the car, the shot pans around to make it look like they are looking inside the car. This is a point of view shot. This is so we can see what they can see.

There is no music in the background of the scene but there is street noise to show that they are in a public area. After a while it is shown that they are in a market stall. Every couple of seconds a short soundtrack will fade in to create tension. Also the sounds of the car a intensified.

When the intensity and adrenaline speeds up the shots become shorter.

Typical Thriller Films;

Seven



Silence of the Lambs



Cellular





Taken

        

Inception

 



Feedback - Miss Spencer

Your analysis of Incention is competent, you pickup on many of the elements within the opening that contribute to meaning. However it needs mor work. When you say the shots switch rapidly, you could improve this by making it clear you understand this is editing.

You should also use DISTINCT
Don't
Ignore
Setting
Technical code
Iconography
Narrative
Characterisation
Themes
You probably covered the setting and technical code (but it needs more mise en scene and editing discussion) but there is little for the rest of the areas.

Level 2/3 border. These improvements would secure a good level 3

Angus, thongs and perfect snogging
Again a decent analysis, and you go further into the DISTINCT formula. go ovet this again and see if you cna cover the areas you have missed (themes and some of the technical code as well as iconography) also can you change eye birds view to birds eye view...

Similar level to above.

Task:2.1 Thriller Film Analysis: Inception

Thriller Film Analysis: Inception

The opening music is loud and sounds like a trumpet it being played. The title 'Legandary Pictures' appears on a black/grey, cloudy background. It slowly gets louder and then fades out which creates tension.


The first image we see on the screen is the serenity of crashing waves (slightly slow motion) which is seen as a pleasant, soothing sight however after a few seconds a washed up body is revealed which is more unpleasant. Which contradicts the mood. Immediately we are unsure of what's going on as the character opens its eyes to see a scene of a child laughing and shouting. We, at this point, are unsure of whether it is real like or a hallucination. The shots cross back and fourth from the character laying on the beach and the children playing which suggests that they are linked in some way in the story. The close up here of the main character allows the audience to get a bit more of the story as we can make out some cuts and bruises, which automatically makes the audience question what has happened.

The noise of the waves and the children's voices are drowning out the character thoughts as they are loud and exaggerated. We can see the character is confused as shown by his facial expression.

The shots switches very rapidly. There has been no establishing shot to set the scene therefor the audience is unaware of what's happening. However soon after a giveaway is shown of a beach, with cliffs and a house. We are unaware of whether the character lives in the house on the beach at this point.

A shot is shown of the character lying face down and a second character is introduced as he pulls up the back of the first character top to which a gun is revealed, this tells the audience that the genre of the film is a thriller.

In the second setting a prop placed on the table. To an audience this is a unimportant prop however further on in the film it is shown to be very important therefor establishing it in the opening sequence allows the audience to recognise it further on in the film.

After the first minute the music becomes very deep and quite in the background of the dialogue which reflects the characters to be antagonists. Prior to that their is light music in the background as there is hardly any dialogue in the first minute.



Task:2.1 Romcom FIlm Analysis: Angus, Thongs & Perfect Snogging

Opening Sequence Analysis For Romcom: Angus, Thongs & Perfect Snogging



title sequence from 0.33 - 4.10minutes.

Shots;

• Camera follows car whilst driving as the father is following his daughter in the car.
• Establishing shot when character was running to set the scene  of where they are. They use connotations of town eg; when she runs horizontally with the sea to show that the film is set by the seaside.
• Point of view shot when she walks into the party and everyone stares at her to show the feeling that everyones looking at her so the audience knows how it feels
• A few eyebirds eye shots; one when she was running in the fancy dress costume and the second when she jumps into bed and cries because shes embarrassed.
• Hardly any close up shots, maybe because in the first scene they don't want to get too intimate with the characters as they just want to set the scene in the opening sequence.

Editing;

• Each shots is fairly long as it follows the main character running through the town however the pace of the character is represented by her running.

Sounds;

• At beginning of the scene we hear light hearted music and we also hear hand snapping/triangle playing, then speeds up then fades in and out.
• Another connotation of the seaside is seagulls and you hear them throughout the opening scene
• Theme tune fades in quickly and loudly. Still hear the street noise in the theme song eg cars driving past, bike bell, birds

Titles;

• The opening title of the film is white to suggest purity and swirly which is quite a romantic connotation, the fact that there is lively music being played whilst the titles are on suggests that the films genre is romantic comedy therefor the audience doesn't need to be told the genre of the film as it is known from the beginning.
• The way the credits are displayed aren't very 'romantic' like but they just pop onto the screen then disappear. however the swirly righting is continued.

Characterisation;

• Within the first few minutes of the film you can tell the main character Georgia is going to be a comical one as there are already a few jokes thrown in in this first scene. You can tell just from the opening that she's a teenage girl who sounds like she's having a mental breakdown half the time.
• The enemy or the antagonist is also introduced however this type is much different to a horror movie antagonist. As this is a Romcom this antagonist will inevitably steal the man.