Film

Rough Cut:


Second Rough Cut:


Final Film:

Resit- inital Ideas Through Final Stage

Basics:My group wanted to create a short film opening for a psychological thriller that
would leave the audience wanting to watch the rest of the film and eager to learn the enravelling story.
Storyline / Characters:Our storyline was originally about a high classed family of a mother, father and one child of young daughter. It included children all over the UK going missing and it not being explained, with then the young daughter becoming the next victum with the family then trying to find out what happened. we then changed this storyline, because of casting issues we changed the father character to a teenage brother. we then also then added a reason to why the children were going missing we added a element of religon, which would then unravel within the film.

Resit - Inital Ideas

Here I wrote about my inital ideas for my film opening I included

• Locations and settings
• Characters
• Content of Film Opening
• Storylines

I wrote what I thought about these topics and plan on expanding my ideas.

Resit - Moodboard of Typical Audience member

Here I created a moodboard in order to show the target audience through images I wanted to show there is a range in ages over 15. I also wanted to make it clear it is for both males and females and that the target audience works well with the film opening.

Resit Evaluation Questions:

Evaluation Question One:



Evaluation Question Two:

Evaluation Question Three:

Question three

View more documents from LITTLELJT.

Evaluation Question Four:

Media Evaluation on Prezi

Evaluation Question Five:

Evaluation Question Six:
Blue Productions Question Six

Evaluation Question Seven:

Final Stage of Inital Ideas on Prezi

Resit- Target audience

For our film we decided to give our film a 15 certification.

This means no-one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ certified film in a cinema and no-one under the age of 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.We have chosen this as it will allow us to incorporate the required aspects of our genre such as the horror and psychological thriller.  A 15 allows a strong threat and menace unless sadistic which is what we are aiming for and dangerous behaviour. We may also look at using strong language at times in the piece and a 15 rating allows us to do this as long as it isn’t repeated.

Our film is a psychological thriller which is aimed at a British audience of whom are interested in mystery and horror.We are targeting the class groups B through to E, people of middle management, creativeness and teachers down to students and casual workers as all of these will be able to relate to our film.
Our film is based on a topic that is frequently brought up in the news which makes it easier for the variety of different demographic groupings to relate to the film. We are aiming our film at both men and women of about 15 years and above (as our film has a 15 certificate) as there isn’t anything to single out either men or women, the film depicts both genders equally.

Here is three films from my genre that have given me there target audience, release dates and figures to do with the films:

Usual Suspects (1995)
Budget $6,000,000 est.
UK box office gross £2,503,343
12/09/2005
Certificated 18

The Butterfly Effect (2004)
Budget $13,000,000 est.
UK box office gross  On opening weekend £735,287 (276 screens)
Certificated 15

Inception (2010)
Budget $160,000,000 est.
UK box office gross on opening weekend £5,919,814 (452 screens)
Certificated 12A

Resit- Generic Conventions Of A Psychological Thriller

Normally psychological thrillers (until the often violent resolution) the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical. 

Generic Conventions Include:

Sound:

With Psychological thrillers mainly use eerie music  to create suspense and keep the audience on edge.  After looking at sounds we will now use eerie sounds within our film opening.

Character:

 The characters can vary.

 Usually there is a  ‘antagonist’  within psychological thrillers, there could be a detective or police officer trying to uncover the crime that has been committed or stop the ‘antagonist’ from committing crimes.  After looking at the conventons of Characters we will now have a main protagonist and antagonist.

Camera angles and Shots:

Simple tracking movement to follow characters.

Close ups to show the emotions of characters fears are normally included to show the audience and therefore keep the audience up to date with how the character/ characters are feeling. 

 High angle shots to be able to see a wider viewing of the location and show the character is being intimated with whatever is happening within the scene or low angle shots could be used to make the 'antagonist' or 'protagonist' look powerful. After looking at camera angles and shots we will use certain shots in order to help create suspense and atmospheres within the piece for example we will need to use close ups to show emotion of the antagonist.

Lighting:

 Low key lighting is normally used to accompany the eerie mood of the music and to help create an atmosphere. we will then use low key lighting after looking at this convention to help build up our atmosphere.

Props:

Use of weapon like knives, guns, Blood and cuts and bruises if a killer is involved.

From looking at generic conventions for Psychological thrillers I have gained extra knowledge about what my film will need to include in order to be the best it can be. With what I have learnt I will then consider when planning and producing my film.

Resit- Timeline Titles

The Others (2001)


For one of the film openings from my chosen genre (psychological thriller) we were asked to write a timeline of titles for when each title appeared in the opening. This would allow us to gain an insight into when titles were introduced to the opening.
Titles Timeline
0.13-0.16 - a CRUISE/WAGNER PRODUCTIONS
                                         SOGECINE
                    LAS PRODUCCIONES DEL ESCORPION
                                          production
0.20-0.23 - Nicole KIDMAN
                                     in
0.26-0.30 - The OTHERS
0.33-0.35 - Fionulla FLANAGAN
0.37-0.39 - Christopher ECCLESTON
0.42-0.44 - Alakina MANN
                   James BENTLEY
0.46-0.48 - Eric SYKES
0.50-0.52 - Elaine CASSIDY
0.54-0.57 - Keith ALLEN
                   Renee ASHERSON
                   Michelle FAIRLEY
0.58-1.02 - casting
                   Jina JAY
                   Shaheen BAIG
1.03-1.06 - costume design
                   Sonia GRANDE
1.08-1.10 - sound
                   Ricardo STEINBERG
1.11-1.13 - production design
                   Benjamin FERNANDEZ
1.15-1.18 - director of photography
                   Jaier AGUIRRESAROBE A.E.C
1.19-1.24 - executive producers
                   Tom CRUISE
                   Paula WAGNER
1.25-1.29 - executive producers
                   Bob WEINSTEIN
                   Harvey WEINSTEIN
                   Rick SCHWARTZ
1.30-1.34 - produced by
                   Fernando BOVAIRA
                   Jose Luis CUERDA
                   Sunmin PARK
1.35-1.39 - written and directed by
                   Alejandro AMENABAR
(End of Titling)
1.44-1.47 - Jersey, the Channel Islands
                   1945
(Introduction to place and time - historical)

I found that the institutional titles came first introucing production and presenting with the main actor following. This increases box office appeal as it states the main actor which viewers would have an interest in. The main title of the film (The OTHERS) was introduced close to the beginning of the titles, followed by other actors casting, costume design, sound, production design, director of photography, executive producers and finishing with written and directed by.

This task gave me an idea of what titles we should try include in the opening to my groups psychological thriller and at what time they would appear so i am able to take this into account when filming and editing the piece in order to create a strong title sequence like the one in this film.
I think that showing the audience the location and time is a good idea as it gives them an idea of the setting and creates an atmosphere so I will take this into account when planning and producing my film opening.

I then compared these titles a different genre film I chose to analyse the opening and title sequence of mean girls(2004) which is a comedy.
Mean Girls (2004)


Titles Timeline
0.00-0.17 - Paramount institutional logo (animated)
0.18-0.20 - PARAMOUNT
                   PICTURES PRESENT
0.21-0.23 - A
                   LORNE
                   MICHAELS
                   PRODUCTION
0.24-0.26 - LINDSAY LOHAN
0.27-0.29 - MEAN GIRLS
-------------Film introduction - long pause of titles-------------
Titles begin to use a sliding and bouncing transistions - unusual & different 
1.41-1.44 - RACHEL McADAMS
1.46-1.48 - TIM MEADOWS
1.52-1.54 - AMY POEHLER
1.55-1.57 - ANA GASTEYER
2.02-2.04 - LACEY CHABERT
2.14-2.17 - LIZZY CAPLAN
                   DANIEL FRANZESE
2.27-2.30 - NEIL FLYNN
                   JONATHAN BENNETT
                   AMANDA SEYFRIED
2.38-2.41 - AND
                   TINA FEY
2.47-2.50 - CASTING BY
                   MARCI LIROFF
3.00-3.03 - BASED ON THE BOOK
                   "QUEEN BEES AND
                   WANNABES"
                   BY ROSALIND WISEMAN
3.06-3.09 - MUSIC SUPERVISORS
                   AMANDA SCHEER DEMME
                   BUCK DAMON
3.15-3.17 - MUSIC COMPOSED
                   AND CONDUCTED BY
                   ROLFE KENT
3.25-3.28 - CO-PRODUCER
                   LOUISE ROSNER
3.40-3.44 - COSTUME DESIGNER
                   MARY
                   JANE FORT
4.01-4.03 - EDITOR
                   WENDY
                   GREENEBRICMONT,
                                                  A.C.E
4.06-4.08 - PRODUCTION DESIGNER
                   CARY WHITE
4.18-4.21 - DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
                   DARYN OKADA, ASC
4.29-4.32 - EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
                   JILL MESSICK
4.33-4.36 - PRODUCED BY
                   LORNE MICHAELS
4.38-4.41 - SCREENPLAY BY
                   TINA FEY
4.53-4.56 - DIRECTED BY
                   MARK WATERS
END OF TITLES.

The titles in this opening are bold and colourful and stand out to the viewers and reflect the genre to give a  lively atmosphere. They are of a simple font but with the use of colour, this helps to introduce the film and actors.
There are many similarities and differences between the way in which the titles run and are presented in a psychological thriller and comedy genre.
Similarities
The titles run in a similar order:

•  Production companys
• Logos begin the title sequence with the main actors name following and then the title of the film which is the same in both openings.
• Other actors names are then shown followed by crew members, casting, screenplay, music etc.
• Both title sequences reflect the genre in which they are trying to convey and leave an open narrative.

Differences

• The two fonts and colours are very different as they reflect different atmospheres 
•  The titles in a psychological thriller are also closer together within the opening than a comedy and the timings of each title are closer together with no breaks where as a comedy is given a pause in titles in which it shows part of the opening in more detail. .

Resit - Top ten Psychological Thrillers

Top 10 Thrillers - IMDb
1) I Am Number Four (2011)

Extraordinary teen John Smith is a fugitive on the run from ruthless enemies sent to destroy him. Changing his identity, moving from town to town with his guardian Henri , John is always the new kid with no ties to his past. In the small Ohio town he now calls home, John encounters unexpected, life-changing events-his first love , powerful new abilities and a connection to the others who share his incredible destiny.

2) Unknown (2011)

A biochemist and his dishy wife arrive in Berlin for a conference at which a scientist and his controversial Arab funder will announce breakthrough research. While his wife checks into the hotel, he grabs a cab to return to the airport for his briefcase, left at the curb. En route, an auto accident puts him in a coma, from which he awakes four days later without identification and with gaps in his memory. He goes to the hotel: his wife refuses to recognize him and another man has claimed his identity. With help from a nurse, the cab driver, a retired Stasi agent, and an academic friend, he tries to unravel what's going on. Is the answer in the briefcase?

3) The Next Three Days (2010)

Lara Brennan is arrested for murdering her boss with whom she had an argument. It seems she was seen leaving the scene of the crime and her fingerprints were on the murder weapon. Her husband, John would spend the next few years trying to get her released, but there's no evidence that negates the evidence against her. And when the strain of being separated from her family, especially her son, gets to her, John decides to break her out. So he does a lot of research to find a way.

4) Black Swan (2010)
Nina is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily, who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side - a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

5) 127 Hours (2010)
127 Hours is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah. Over the next five days Ralston examines his life and survives the elements to finally discover he has the courage and the wherewithal to extricate himself by any means necessary, scale a 65 foot wall and hike over eight miles before he can be rescued. Throughout his journey, Ralston recalls friends, lovers, family, and the two hikers he met before his accident. Will they be the last two people he ever had the chance to meet?

6) Drive Angry 3D (2011)
John Milton is up against the clock: Jonah King, the leader of a Satanic cult, has murdered Milton's daughter and kidnapped her baby. In three days, King and his followers will sacrifice the child at midnight. Milton picks up the trail in Oklahoma as well as rescuing a waitress named Piper from her brutal, two-timing fiancé. There are odd things about Milton: his driver's license is out of date, he has a very strange gun, and he's being pursued by a man in a suit who carries FBI ID and calls himself the Accountant. Piper, who's lived a life on the sidelines, has to piece things together on the fly as they close in on King.

7) The Mechanic (2011)
Assassin Arthur Bishop is an artist at his craft; he can make any job seem like natural causes or an accident if necessary. He has learned to stay detached. But when he is told to kill his friend, Harry, it's hard for him but he does it anyway. He makes it seem like a car jacking. Harry's son Steve so despondent over his father's death sets out to go after every carjacker he can find. But when he gets over his head, Arthur saves him. Arthur then decides to make Steve his apprentice. And while Steve is not as refined as Arthur, they continue with their collaboration. Arthur later learns that the circumstances surrounding Harry's hit is not what he was told.

8) Sanctum (2011)
The teenager Josh McGuire welcomes his friend Carl and his girlfriend Victoria in Papua, New Guinea, and they immediately fly to the Esa-ala Caves where Josh's father Frank McGuire is heading a cave diving expedition. Josh has a bitter relationship with his father and Carl is the sponsor of the expedition. When Frank and the diver Judes explore an unknown cave system with a restricted access, Judes has an accident and dies. When the team is preparing to hoist her body, there is a storm that blocks the exit from the cave. The group is trapped with few supplies and has to find a way out to the sea through the labyrinth of the cave system. But fear and panic are their greatest enemies.

9) Inception (2010)
Dom Cobb is able to use his unique skills to his advantage - he can enter people's minds through their dreams and thereby learn their secrets. He is a thief for hire but Japanese businessman Mr. Saito has a somewhat different proposition for him. He wants Cobb to enter the mind of Robert Fischer Jr., who is about to inherit his father's massive business empire, to plant a simple notion: to break-up his father's conglomerate and sell it off. In return, Saito will make it possible for Cobb to freely return to the US where he is currently wanted by the police. Cobb accepts and assembles his team with a plan to plant the idea deep in Fisher's mind by generating a series of dreams within dreams so that he eventually thinks he came up with the idea himself. As the intended deception grows ever more complex, Cobb has to deal with his own emotions and feelings of guilt, which are projecting themselves into the dreamspace. Cobb has to deal with the eventual question of what is real and what is only a dream.

10) The Game (1997)
Nicholas Van Orton is a very wealthy San Francisco banker, but he is an absolute loner, even spending his birthday alone. In the year of his 48th birthday (the age his father committed suicide) his brother Conrad, who has gone long ago and surrendered to addictions of all kinds, suddenly returns and gives Nicholas a card giving him entry to unusual entertainment provided by something called Consumer Recreation Services (CRS). Giving up to curiosity, Nicholas visits CRS and all kinds of weird and bad things start to happen to him.


Top Ten Psychological Thrillers:
1)The Unusal Suspects(1995)
Police investigating an exploded boat on a San Pedro pier discover 27 bodies and $91 million worth of drug money. The only survivors are a severely burned and very scared Hungarian terrorist and Verbal Kint, a crippled con-man. Reluctantly, Kint is pressured into explaining exactly what happened on the boat. His story begins six weeks earlier with five criminals being dragged in by New York police desperate for suspects on a hijacked truck and ends with the possible identification of a criminal mastermind.

2)The Butterfly Effect (2004)
Evan Treborn grows up in a small town with his single, working mother and his friends. He suffers from memory blackouts where he suddenly finds himself somewhere else, confused. Evan's friends and mother hardly believe him, thinking he makes it up just to get out of trouble. As Evan grows up he has fewer of these blackouts until he seems to have recovered. Since the age of seven he has written a diary of his blackout moments so he can remember what happens. One day at college he starts to read one of his old diaries, and suddenly a flashback hits him like a brick!

3)Inception(2010)
Dom Cobb is able to use his unique skills to his advantage - he can enter people's minds through their dreams and thereby learn their secrets. He is a thief for hire but Japanese businessman Mr. Saito has a somewhat different proposition for him. He wants Cobb to enter the mind of Robert Fischer Jr., who is about to inherit his father's massive business empire, to plant a simple notion: to break-up his father's conglomerate and sell it off. In return, Saito will make it possible for Cobb to freely return to the US where he is currently wanted by the police. Cobb accepts and assembles his team with a plan to plant the idea deep in Fisher's mind by generating a series of dreams within dreams so that he eventually thinks he came up with the idea himself. As the intended deception grows ever more complex, Cobb has to deal with his own emotions and feelings of guilt, which are projecting themselves into the dreamspace. Cobb has to deal with the eventual question of what is real and what is only a dream.

4) Identity (2003)
Strangers from all different walks of life: a limo driver escorting a fading television star, parents with a young son whose marriage is in crisis, a cop transporting a dangerous convict, a beautiful call girl, a couple of young newlyweds, and a nervous motel manager are caught up in a severe rainstorm, stuck at a motel in desolate Nevada. Soon they realize they may be at the motel for another reason when one by one, people start getting killed off. As tensions flare and fingers are pointed, they have to get to the bottom of why they're there. Meanwhile in an undisclosed location, a psychiatrist is trying to prove the innocence of a man accused of murder in an eleventh hour trial. How these two through-lines are related can only be found in Identity.

5)Shutter island (2010)
Federal Marshall Teddy Daniels and his new partner Chuck Aule travel to a government-run mental institution for the criminally insane on Shutter Island, near Boston, when there is a report that one of the prisoners has gone missing. Daniels has his own reasons for wanting to get to the island and carries baggage of his own. He is still traumatized from what he saw when his army unit liberated one of the Nazi concentration camps at the end of World War II and is still haunted by the more recent death in a fire of his wife and children. The head of the hospital, Dr. John Cawley, treats him alright but others give the agents a less than warm reception. Daniels particularly wants to find out what is going on in one of the wards, reserved for the most serious offenders. As Daniels begins to peal away the layers of deceit, it becomes obvious that not all is as it seems.

6)Fracture (2007)
Ted Crawford shoots his unfaithful wife, confesses to the police - orally and in writing - but then pleads not guilty and opts to defend himself in court. The young DA assigned to the case, Willy Beachum, has had a successful career with a 97% conviction rate. Beachum however is actually on his way to a lucrative position in a big private law firm, but his desire to win keeps him on the case. What ensues is a battle of wits between the two as Crawford systematically destroys his opponents case.

7)Memento (2000)
A memory inside a memory, Memento is a complicated head spinning adventure. Leonard is determined to avenge his wife's murder. However, unable to remember anything that happens day-to-day due to a condition he sustained, short term memory loss, he has to write himself note after note that still don't mean anything after he falls asleep. The film goes back in time to reveal each little bit of the puzzle as he tries to find out the person who killed his wife and makes the audience feel just as confused as he is. The narrative closely follows a phone call Pearce has in which he talks about Sammy Jankis a former client of his who he believed had the same condition. The film takes an unexpected twist as the two characters have a lot more in common than is initially put across.

8) Se7en (1995)
Taking place in a nameless city, Se7en follows the story of two homicide detectives tracking down a sadistic serial killer who chooses his victims according to the seven deadly sins. Brad Pitt stars as Detective David Mills, a hopeful but naive rookie who finds himself partnered with veteran Detective William Somerset. Together they trace the killers every step, witnessing the aftermath of his horrific crimes one by one as the victims pile up in rapid succession, all the while moving closer to a gruesome fate neither of them could have predicted.

9)Fight Club (1999)
A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.

10)The Game (1997)
Nicholas Van Orton is a very wealthy San Francisco banker, but he is an absolute loner, even spending his birthday alone. In the year of his 48th birthday (the age his father committed suicide) his brother Conrad, who has gone long ago and surrendered to addictions of all kinds, suddenly returns and gives Nicholas a card giving him entry to unusual entertainment provided by something called Consumer Recreation Services (CRS). Giving up to curiosity, Nicholas visits CRS and all kinds of weird and bad things start to happen to him.
Taken from IMDB website.

Resit- Extra Research into audiences and auidence members:

To ensure our film the best  success, I researched carefully into the audience that would be viewing our piece looking at demographic groupings, certification and audience theories in order to be able to create a target audience suitable for our genre.

There are 2 types of audience, mass and niche.

A mass audience is a large, broad audience group with a range of interest enjoying the mainstream films and media texts.

A niche audience is a closely defined audience with a particular and specific interest, being a much smaller and limited audience.

For this reason we have chosen to aim our film at a mass audience and make our film mainstream as this would create a bigger success for our film.

Institutions consider audience in catergorised groups better known as the demographic groups.
These groups range from A-E and each group highlights a different audience member.

A-top management, bankers, lawyers, doctors etc.

B-middle management, teachers, many 'creatives'
C1-office supervisors, junior managers, nurses, specialist clerical staff etc.
C2-skilled workers, tradesperson (white collar workers)
D-semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers (blue collar workers)

E-unemployed, students, pensioners, casual workers.

After looking into similar products, i found that most psychological thrillers were given ratings of 15 and 18 due to the horror conveyed within the genre. Black Swan (2010) was certified as a 15 film by the BBFC, British Board of Film Classification who are a self regulatory body made up of film industry representatives.

The obligations prevent material of the film breaking the law and protecting the audience from items that may cause harm including the language used.

From this we have decided to ceritfy our film as a 15 also as the horror in our film may be a mild threat and there may be frequent use of bad language within our film but our film will not be given an 18 rating as there will not be a lot of sexual activity portrayed within the storyline and any violence used will not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury.

Resit: History, meaning and information on Psychological Thriller

Psychological Thrillers: on Prezi

Resit

This is my resit of G321 media AS level.

Evaluation Questions By Blue Productions

Question1:
Blue Productions Question One

Question2:
Blue Productions Question Two

Question3:
Blue Productions Question Three -

Question4:
Blue Productions Question Four

Question5:
Blue Productions Question Five

Question6:
Blue Productions Question Six

Question 7:
Blue Productions Question Seven

Blue Productions Finial Film

Blue Productions Finial Film

Link To Group Blog Blue Productions

Blue Productions Group Blog

Final Shot List

This is final shot list for our final film. We decided to use many different shots to show the potential of the film  and show what we had learnt over the past year. At the beginning of the film opening we decided to use a few close up shots in order to show as much emotion on the characters as possible, and also to show as much detail of the props (CCTV, NEWSPAPERS, ETC). We decided to use a lot of long shots towards the end of the film in order to get the full use of the setting and emotion in the film. Our group didn't just have long shots though we changed from a long shot of the main character (Abbie) in the mirror to a close up of her doing her teeth with the villain in the background to a low angle shot back to a long shot this showed how the villain had control in the scene and showed his power towards the child.

Inital Shot List

This is our inital shot list we chose these shots as we thought they would make the film look proffessional and match well with the genre and story.

Comparing Psychological Thrillers To Our Ideas For Our Film

Montage:

http://youtu.be/vdPWrAMXGGo
(cant be embedded)

In this video clip of "Dawn of the dead"(2004)  there is a montage in the opening scene, we took inspiration from this. We took the idea of a build up in sound and editing effects which would effect the audience and build tension. We wanted to build up an atmosphere and after watching this clip we realised that a montage would be a perfect way of doing so, however we did also think that a montage could make our film opening look a little to like a trailer and therefore had to re-evaluate whether or not we thought we could pull it off without making our opening into a trailer. To make our montage different we thought we could add lots of different clips into it, including news reports, the girl going missing and other clips relating to the genre.

After watching "28 days later" (2002)'s opening scene our group noticed that they had used CCTV to show a character walking. we took inspiration from this as we thought it was different and would look really effective in a montage with the character jump cutting so the audience would be unsure to what is going on.

Titles:

After looking at both the "black swan" (2010) and "Salt"(2010) our group decided to go for a plain title which would match our genre. Both "Black swan" and "salt" contributed to the ideas for our main film. "Black Swan" is a psychological thriller that had a massive hit in cinemas all over England which is what we want our film to do, whereas "Salt" has a similar story line and the same narrative as our film.

Comparing Other Characters

Tom Welling:

Tom would be great for playing our teenage brother as he has acted in roles before which show the qualities we were looking for, for example when tom acted in "Cheaper by the dozen"(2003) he played a teenage brother with 10 younger brothers and sisters. In this film he spent most of his time with one of his younger sisters showing his love for his family and his love for his sister but also showing he is a teenage boy who wants to have fun. As he spent a lot of time out driving, seeing friends and his girlfiriend. Just like the brother would need to in our film.

Cameron Diaz:

In our film we were looking for a actress which can relate well with children and can show just how extreme being a mother can be. we thought that cameron diaz would be a perfect actress for our film. When she acted in "My sisters keeper" (2009) she showed amazing acting skills through all the emotions she portrayed. She acted as a mother of two young girls one with terminal cancer. This film is an emotional rollercoster and cameron acted amazingly throughout the film. Just like the Mother would need to in our film.

John Travolta:

For our film we wanted to use an actor with many qualities and experience in acting as a villain, we would use an actor like John Travolta as he has had a lot of acting experience not only as the hero but also as the villain for example in "The punisher" (2004) John played the main villain of the film and showed many acting skills from turning off all emotions to showing many emotions through body and facial expressions. Just like the villain would need to in our film.

Comparing Main Actress

Dakota Fanning:

Dakota Fanning is a very popular and very wellknown actress.  She started acting when she was very young and has continued to carry on her career as she got older.  In our film we need a actress that is just like her when she was younger as she showed real emotion which was very believable.  She played a very convincing role in a film call 'I am Sam' (2001) she played a 7 year old girl with a Dad who was
mantally handicapped, had to look after herself and to a degree after her Father from a very young age. 
In our film we need a young actress who can show raw emotion just like this.  We need her to look realistic and believable and for the audience to connect with her.

Dakota not only connected with the audience but connected really well with her fellow actors for example in 'I am Sam' Dakota co-starred with Sean Penn who was her on screen Father.  Through the way they both acted it was believale that they were related.  She also acted in 'War of the Worlds'(2005) and was the daugther of Tom Cruise, just as in 'I am Sam' she related really well to Tom Cruise and it was totally believable that he was her Father.

Just as Dakota can show real emothion she can also be really hard faced if required when acting. For example in the 'Twilight Saga' she plays a villain vampire and we see a different side to her acting skill from the innocent young girl to the unemotional, hard villain vampire.

In our film the young girl will need to display many emotions, at the beginning of the film she is a normal happy child but as the film continues she has to show that she is frightned and her emotions will change throughout the film.

Target Audience For A Psychological Thriller

For our film we decided to give our film a 15 certification.

This means no-one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ certified film in a cinema and no-one under the age of 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.We have chosen this as it will allow us to incorporate the required aspects of our genre such as the horror and psychological thriller.  A 15 allows a strong threat and menace unless sadistic which is what we are aiming for and dangerous behaviour. We may also look at using strong language at times in the piece and a 15 rating allows us to do this as long as it isn’t repeated.

Our film is a psychological thriller which is aimed at a British audience of whom are interested in mystery and horror.We are targeting the class groups B through to E, people of middle management, creativeness and teachers down to students and casual workers as all of these will be able to relate to our film.
Our film is based on a topic that is frequently brought up in the news which makes it easier for the variety of different demographic groupings to relate to the film. We are aiming our film at both men and women of about 15 years and above (as our film has a 15 certificate) as there isn’t anything to single out either men or women, the film depicts both genders equally.

Deffinition and History Of Psychological Thrillers

Definition of Psychological Thrillers:

• Psychological – Elements that are related to the mind or processes of the mind; they are mental rather than physical in nature. Sometimes the suspense comes from within one solitary character where characters must resolve conflicts with their own minds. Usually, this conflict is an effort to understand something that has happened to them. These conflicts are made more vivid with physical expressions of the conflict in the means of either physical manifestations, or physical torsions of the characters at play.
• Thriller – Generally, thrillers focus on plot over character, and thus emphasize intense, physical action over the character's psyche. Psychological thrillers tend to reverse this formula to a certain degree, emphasizing the characters just as much, if not more so, than the plot.
• Psychological thriller – Characters are no longer reliant on physical strength to overcome their brutish enemies (which is often the case in typical action-thrillers), but rather are reliant on their mental resources, whether it be by battling wits with a formidable opponent or by battling for equilibrium in the character's own mind. The suspense created by psychological thrillers often comes from two or more characters preying upon one another's minds, either by playing deceptive games with the other or by merely trying to demolish the other's mental state

History Of Psychological Thrillers:
Many psychological thrillers have emerged over the past years, all in various media (film, literature, radio, etc). Despite these very different forms of representation, general trends have appeared throughout the narratives. Some of these consistent themes include:

• Reality – The quality of being real. Characters often try to determine what is true and what is not within the narrative.
• Perception – A person's own interpretation of the world around him through his senses. Often characters misperceive the world around them, or their perceptions are altered by outside factors within the narrative
• Mind – The human consciousness; the location for personality, thought, reason, memory, intelligence and emotion. The mind is often used as a location for narrative conflict, where characters battle their own minds to reach a new level of understanding or perception.
• Purpose – The object for which something exists; an aim or a goal humans strive towards to understand their reason for existence. Characters often try to discover what their purpose is in their lives and the narrative's conflict often is a way for the characters to discover this purpose.
• Identity – The definition of one's self. Characters often are confused about or doubt who they are and try to discover their true identity.
• Death – The cessation of life. Characters either fear or have a fascination with death.

Psychological Thriller Opening timeline of titles Of Hard Candy

0.01 Line Gate film presents
0.10 A Volcant Production
0.12 In Association with Launch Pad Productions
0.16 Patrick Wilson
0.20 Ellen Page
0.24 Hard Candy
0.28 Sandra Oh
0.33 Jennifer Holmes
0.42 Casting Valerie McCaffrey
0.46 Original Score by Molly Nyman & Harry Escott
0.48 Digital Colourist Jean-Clement Soret
0.52 Editer Art Jones
0.57 Production Designer Jeremy Reed
0.59 Director of Photography Jo Willems
1.02 Co Producers Ryan Nelson & Hans Ritter
1.07 Executive Producers Paul G Allen & Jody Patton
1.10 Executive Producer Rosanne Korenberg
1.13 Produced by Richard Hutton & Michael Caldwell
1.18 Produced by David W Higgins
1.22 Written by Brian Nelson
1.26 directed by david Slade

By doing this i have learnt all about the ordering and importance of titles. The titles of Hard Candy helped me understand

Psychological Thriller Mood Boards

Our group made two psychological thriller mood boards. We found a number of different pictures and words that we associated with psychological thrillers. Our images reflect psychological thrillers and sterotypical items and scenes in within this genre. we have also included water and mirrors which incorporates with the genre of psychological thrillers.

Extra Research On Psychological Thrillers

Extra research

View more presentations from LITTLELJT.

Student Film Analysis

We started to do research on existing student film in order to give us an understanding of differences of film openings and film trailers. We viewed three films within our media lesson and looked at different aspects of each film. We picked out strengths and weaknesses from each film in order to give us an idea about how to create our own film openings.

Student Film 1
Strengths:

-the music and setting of the film fitted in well with the horror genre

-the layout of credits at the beginning were good, didn't go on for to long

Weaknesses:

-the font of credits and titles was too blocky and didn't relate to the genre

-it came across as more like a film trailer rather than film opening and the narrative was left closed.




Student Film 2

Strengths:

-the music and titles related to the horror genre.

-effective editing techniques such as the transitions

-even though there was a lack of continuity, the storyline was understood and everything linked in well.

Weaknesses:

-the filming was more like a trailer than opening to a film and the narrative was closed.

-the introduction and titling took up too much time




Student Film 3

Strengths:

-this film was open narrative with a clear opening (not like a trailer)

Weaknesses:

-doesn't portray the genre as well

-the 'bad apple productions' title does not fit in with the film or the genre as it looked too computer generated.

-didn't erase editing errors such as smiling and movement.



This enabled us to see what and what not to do when creating our film opening and improve upon these weaknesses in order to create a stronger film opening without the weaker aspects. We must make sure that our film opening is an open narrative so it does not look too much like a trailer and make sure that the atmosphere, titles and music all fit in with our desired genre.

Analysis of two other film openings.

Resevoir Dogs:


Narrative:
-Open narrative
-Introducing Characters
-Suggesting the characters are important
-Suggesting he characters are professional

Genre:
-Action
-Gangster
-Gangs

Character:
-Eight men
-Reservoir dogs
-Introduced with text

Atmosphere:
-Masculine
-Rough
-Lively

Themes:
-Gangster
-Black tie
-Boy group

Setting:
-Exterior
-Car Park
-Street

Sound:
-Rock
-Gives ideas of a solid group
-Upbeat/ relaxed

Titles:
-Introduces actors
-Box office appeal
-Strong coloured which stands out to audience


Superman returns:


Narrative:
-Open narrative

Genre:
-Action

Atmosphere:
-Masculine
-Lively

Themes:
-Superhero
-Comics

Setting:
-Exterior
-Universe

Sound:
-Superhero theme tune
-Upbeat
-Picks up and gets faster and more intense

Titles:
-Introduces actors
-Box office appeal
-Strong coloured on strong background
-Matches the out of space theme.

Analysis Of Three Psychological Thrillers:

Film one :
Shinning - (cant be embedded)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw23KM3-Ry8

In the beginning opening scene of “The shinning” (1980) the soundtrack starts off with brass instruments playing quietly whilst getting louder throughout the clip. The pace starts to get faster and faster before the brass instruments just keep a constant sound in the background whilst string instruments start playing and take over with a sound that builds big tension in the background. The sound effects of the soundtrack keep getting faster and faster building up tension which relates to the psychological thriller by building the tension of the film up until they just stop and the brass instruments start again until the end of the clip which relates to a psychological thriller as we believe that something will happen then nothing happens, the music plays with the audiences minds.

Throughout the clip of “the shinning” the clip uses natural lighting, this added to the mysterious music builds tension to the scene. The fact the car driving in the scene is on its own throughout the clip without any other cars helps trick the audience into believing that something is about to happen, this also helps represent the genre of psychological thriller by building up suspense in the opening. Throughout the clip there is a lot of water which represents psychological thrillers really well, as psychological thrillers have a lot to do with horrors the one main difference between the to is that the difference of blood (red) and water (blue). Horrors tend to have a lot of violence a blood in them whereas psychological thrillers tend to have a lot of water and mirrors help scare the audience. The titles that show throughout the clip are also blue which again helps reflect the genre of psychological thrillers.

Film two:


In the opening scene of “se7en”(1995) the background soundtrack starts with a slow robotic sound effect which stays the same throughout most of the clip. Added to this sound there are many sound effects from scratching sounds to twitching noises which are still quite slow paced then there is different pitched squeaks which are fast paced and continue to get faster throughout the film in order to build tension in the audience. Whilst adding suspense to the clip. This reflects the genre of psychological thriller through the building of tension in the audience for nothing to happen yet. The titles for the film are all in a scribbled white lettering style which shows the genre of psychological thriller by using a pale natural colour, Unlike a horror which would probably use a red or dark colour to show violence and blood already in the clip.

Film three:
American psycho(cant be embedded)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvNL_u6IaRM

In the opening scene of this film the soundtrack plays a vital role, it straight away shows the time that it is from, it is a song that is famous from the 1980’s. The song chosen is a very eerie song that echoes around the room, it creates a feeling of unease against a backdrop of people dancing and having a good time. This song helps this opening fit in with the theme of a psychological thriller. The dialogue seems normal until the female is out of ear shot when the man threatens her, this shows the seediness of the bar and its inhabitants through the initial view that all seems normal it shows that the film will not be a straight forward horror.

The genre of the film is of psychological thriller. This is shown through different methods, these include the sound and the dialogue, and they go onto other less obvious things. The actors are all shown to be shady characters through the backhand money transitions. The lighting also gives this view as it is low level which creates the sense of danger and unknowing, this coupled with the disco lights creates mystery. The people in the club are shown to be dancing and all happy, but the character at the stereotypical 80’s bar is shown to be a killer or a man to be in fear of. The costumes all points back to the film being set in the 1980’s through the fashion of suites, the makeup which is very extreme and the style of dancing which is “yuppie” dance.

The genre of psychological thriller is shown through the way that people are dancing and being happy when a man is threatening to kill a women. This shows that the film would not be an open horror but will be more a psychological thriller.

Analysis of Different Genre film openings

Animation | Adventure | Family | Romance | Sci-Fi:


The first part of the opening for WALL:E shows  Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures film this shows the audience straight away the family aspect of genre as these institutions are seen as family film companies,  as in the past the companies have produced many successful family films
The lettering styles the audience first see are in a outer space location which gives the audience the idea that the film has a sci-fi genre.
The sound suggests animation with voicing music which appears happy and fast paced showing the audience that WALL:E is a family film. The background music picks up which shows there is a adventure genre in the film and the open narrative creates the atmosphere for the adventure to develop throughout the film.
The film opening landscape of outer space gives a sense of adventure to the audience, The setting then moves on to a sandy landscape which is light compared to the previous landscape, conveying a different genre of mystery which changes the audiences opinion and uses the “hypodermic needle theory” to make the audience want to watch the whole film.





Drama | Comedy | Romance:

At the beginning of the opening of forest Gump we are introduced to paramount pictures as the institutional company that presents the film. The opening has an open narrative which shows the audience that the film will develop.
The main part of the opening shows a small white feather slowly drifting down through the city which doesn’t represent the Drama side of the genre but could suggest peace which has juxtaposition the war and action themes shown in the film.
The music starts off light and picks up pace as the feather gets gradually closer to the ground. This reflects aspects of genre as it begins to show peace and picks up pace to give a sense of drama and some action is going to develop within the film. The exterior setting shows scenery of the southern state of America in which the film is set besides the war fronts.The introduction gives titles of actors which increases box office appeal and the themes and atmosphere shown reflect the genre well.

Casino royale opening

Casino Royale Opening:

Genre:
• spy- action thriller

Narrative:
• Gambling
• violence
• love

Character:
• James bond / Daniel Craig

Atmosphere:
• Sneaky
• Suspicious
• Violence
• Mystery

Themes:
• Aces
• Gambling
• Guns
• Fighting
• Love
• Mystery

Setting:
• Casino- cards and stereotypical surroundings.

Sound:
• Soundtrack- performed by Chris Cornell

Titles:
• White
• Plain
• Standout
• Singular

Casino royale trailer

Casino royale trailer:

Genre:
• Spy-action

Narrative:
• Killing
• Betrayal
• Love
• Redemption

Character:
• James bond – spy, cold hearted and killer.

Atmosphere:
• Spy
• Tension
• Upbeat
• Fast

Themes:
• Action
• Spy
• Love
• Betrayal
• Survival

Setting:
• Jungle
• Casino
• Hotel
• Sea

Sound:
• Theme tune throughout creates tension and familiarity.

Title:
• Stands out
• Uses logo in title
• White on dark background stands out
• Grabs attention
• Creates familiarity with brand products

Here states how many differences there are between both film trailers and openings:

Trailers:
- gives information and details of the film
- include montages (fragmented narrative), giving the audience an outline of the plot
- tend to fade to black several times
- include the title at the end of the trailer
- have a tag line
- include the institution logos at the start


Openings:
- list important members of the cast and crew at the start or throughout the opening
- include the title at the start of the film
- generally introduce the characters and setting
- set a mood or tone, historical period (if any) and genre
- create questions amongst the audience
- demonstrate the patterns/types of editing that will be used in the film

Differences Between Film Openings And Film Trailers

Openings:
*The film opening generally lists important members of the cast and crew at the throughout the opening
*It also Includes the title at the start of the film during the first part of the opening
*Normally introducing the main character/characters in the film
*The film opening tends to highlight the genre
*The Opening also tends to create questions amongst the audience making them want to watch the entire film.Trailers:
*Trailers only tents to give information and minor details of the film
*Trailers normally have the institution logos shown within the first 10 seconds of a trailer
*Most trailers fade to black to have some sort of effect on the audience to build some sort of atmosphere
*The title of the film will normally be the last thing shown on a trailer
* Most trailers includes different settings to create atmospheres to help piece together the storyline

Notes On Trailers And Openings

The filming.
- hold shot steady
- framing a shot
- using a variety of shot distances
- shooting material appropriate
- selecting mise

Opening.
- details of cast and crew and institution producing the film
- films title
- intro to character or character type
- indication of place/setting
- info on mood and tone
- info on signature theme tune
- info on genre

Genre
Narrative
Character
Atmosphere
Themes
Setting
Sound
Titles

Catch me if you can.
Link:


Genre.
- Drama
- Action
- Chase

Character.
- Detective
- Criminal
- Pointed out by an arrow

Atmosphere.
- Suspicious

Setting.
- Hospital
- Airport
- America 'yellow cabs'

Sound.
- Tension
- 1960's feel

Narrative.
- Tells the storyline
- Use of iconography
- Hiding and Chasing

Title.
- Title near the beginning of the opening

My Best Friends Wedding.
Link:

Genre.

Genre.
- Romantic Comedy
- The colour pink!

Narrative.
- Something is going to go wrong.
- Wedding
- Friends

Character.
- Bride
- Bridesmaids
- Groom

Atmosphere.
- Light
- Happy
- Feminine
- Musical

Themes.
- Love
- Happiness
- Wedding

Setting.
- Studio (micky take so not appropriate for a church)
- Wedding Preparations

Sound.
- The music giving instruction on how to treat a man

Titles.
- Handwritten font (maybe like an invitation)
- Julia Roberts (Box Office Appeal)