Clothing, Props and make up

Clothing

This is George, who is playing the villain, he is wearing a suit and is supposed to look smart as he is a psychiatrist. He is portrayed as intellectual and open minded but in the opening he is edgy and quite anxious. 

Jake played as the protagonist, is wearing casual clothes and just not taken seriously when the friend dies, but when he is visiting the psychiatrist, he also still wears casual as he is not taking anything serious after witnessing his friend get killed.

This is when George is going to kill someone, his clothing is hoody and hood to not be revealed too much, also a scarf that shows no emotion on his face.

Props

This pole is used, for the antagonist to kill his victim with strangling.

Make Up

In our opening, this is the only make up that was used, this is to look like a tattoo, it is used in our film affectively and used in a sense of realism. 

Character Profile

This is George and he plays the villain, the scarf is used to limit the emotion when killing victims and the hoody gives him the surprise factor.

This is Kevin Spacey, the villain in Se7en who has a more chilled out approach and doesn't hide his face.

This is The Joker in the Dark Knight, he has hidden his true face and has used make up to entice the viewers on his apparent identity.

Opening and Ending of Main

Our Unique Selling Point (USP)

This is one of the two which makes our movie different, this image of the tattoo, viewers will see in the opening will have an understanding of why it is a psychological thriller rather than any other genre. Our other point is the flashbacks in the middle of our opening and highlights the plot of the scene.

Filming Weapons of Choice

This is our first weapon we used and it describes that the killer is smart and doesn't want to use a gun to manipulate victims and chooses a more easier option rather than making a scene and also the knife is used very well in the opening not just to kill but to psychologically have the advantage against the victim.

Examples of weapons from other thriller films

This weapon is from Se7en.

This weapon is from Law Abiding Citizen.

We went for the pole and the knife because a replica gun would be to common in a thriller film and doesn't really portray the idea of a psychological thriller whereas a knife would.

Pictures on Filming Location

Target Audience Questionaire

Questionnaire


What is your favourite movie genre?


-Comedy - 3
-Thriller - 2
-Action - 4
-Sci-Fi - 1


How often do you watch thrillers?


1-2 a Month - 6
1-2 a Week - 4
Everyday - 1

Examples of thrillers that you have watched:


The Taking Of  Pelham, x3
The Italian Job, x2
Taken, x1


Would you enjoy watching a Psychological Thriller?


Yes - 7


No - 3


How old are you?


15 - 2


16 - 4


17 - 4


Where would the money come from if you were to go to the cinema?


- Parents - 7
- Yourself - 2
- Elsewhere - 1

Logo Research

We got our idea of a quarter of our faces and we first looked at these logos, especially the Paramount logo, which centered around the top of the mountain. Our idea came from George and Jake where decided on having our faces in the logo as our names go into our production name which was Bhachirdy. 

Logo

Logo

9 Shot Analysis (2) Law Abiding Citizen

Shot 1. shows a man opening the door a the start of this opening scene, its a mid shot and is typical in a thriller opening because firstly it doesn't give away the identity of anyone. There is no sound to this point, afterwards there is non-diegetic sounds.

Shot 2. This shot clearly represents the shock in the fact the they were being robbed. It is a another mid-shot and now reveals the antagonist and his motive in the opening, the non-diegetic music is very intense and quick because the scene is only for a couple of minutes.

Shot 3.  This is a close up of the wife being tied up, beaten and watching her family in pain as well as wondering why this is happening, this shows the expression on her face, and connotes that she is the protagonist in this thriller opening. Close ups are not that common in a thriller because it normally doesn't want to unveil the identity of many characters.

Shot 4.  Another close up, but this time it's on the man, showing the character in a helpless way. His eyes are closed as he has suffered a beating by the antagonists and is left defenceless as he watches his family get brutally handled. The close up like the previous shot, shows the audience what kind of state the protagonist is in.

Shot 5. This shot shows the antagonist who withdraws a knife and slits the man (protagonist) while tied up on the floor helplessly. The enigma continues for the audience as they are left with no idea why this is happening, and is not revealed, leaving the mystery to be unlocked. The clothing of the antagonist are traditional criminal clothing, as the all black top and trousers with gloves are the typical criminal clothing. 

Shot 6. The shot shows the protagonist on the floor in a long-shot leading through the doorway of which he is looking towards, this being because of the antagonists are heading towards his helpless young daughter, and shows the emotion and feelings of the man as he can't do anything to stop them. This leaves the audience to realise the situation, as they are aware of what will happen, because of the specific shot allows them to. 

Shot 7. A final dramatic close up of the protagonist as it expresses even more of the emotions/feelings of the character. It shows the man straining and crying as he is left helpless as the antagonists are heading for his beloved daughter. The sound of the scene is the protagonist trying to speak through the tape around his mouth, trying desperately to do what he can. 

Shot 8. The medium shot of the daughter, who is also a protagonist, shows her watching her parents being brutally beaten, left clueless and showing no emotion. The previous shot links with this shot, as he man trying to shout 'run' shows who he was aiming it towards. The shot shows the audience the little girl, realising with the dramatic non-diagetic sound, that something will happen to the protagonist, the daughter. 

Shot 9. The editing in this shot makes the scene come to an end, after a heavy use of intense parallel sound and fast paced shots, making the audience left thinking what has happened and are intrigued to find out. 

Target Audience

The following films that are similar to our opening, regarding target audience are Law Abiding Citizen, The Dark Knight and Drive. Here are the demographics of the following films.

Law Abiding Citizen

4-6 - 0%

7-11 - 0%

12-14 - 0%

15-24 - 24%

25-34 - 34%

35-44 - 13%

45+ - 29%

Male : 52%

Female : 48%

AB - 52%

C1 - 27%

C2 - 12%

DE - 9%

The Dark Knight

4-6 - 0%

7-11 - 3%

12-14 - 9%

15-24 - 36%

25-34 - 21%

35-44 - 18%

45+ - 13%

Male : 62%

Female : 38%

AB - 28%

C1 - 38%

C2 - 19%

DE - 15%

Drive

4-6 - 0%

7-11 - 0%

12-14 - 0%

15-24 - 40%

25-34 - 38%

35-44 - 13%

45+ - 9%

Male : 77%

Female : 23%

AB - 24%

C1 - 22%

C2 - 29%

DE - 25%

From all of these we know that Law Abiding Citizen is targeted by males and females and that the ages of 15-34 is where most people are being targeted and class is at AB which is the most targeted. The Dark Knight targets pro-dominantly males and so does Drive, with the same age range for all three films. 

Our Film Target Audience

Our opening is targeted at 55 % male and 45% female because the opening is psychological, the age range will be 15-35 due to firstly our film being a 15 and also they can resemble to the opening more compared to 45+ age ranges. We feel that our film is very similar to these films target audiences . Our class is targeted at AB and C1 as they can resemble to the film more and understand what is happening. 

9 Shot Analysis (1) The Dark Knight

Shot 1. This first shot is an establishing shot that sets the scene, the scene shows a very urbanised city. the audience at this point may not know that the whole scene is a bank heist. It is counter typical of what you see in a thriller opening.

Shot 2.  This shot is a two shot, where the two characters are going to cross the other building with the zip wire, there is non-diegetic music being shown. The characters in the whole scene are wearing the same clothes with suites and trousers as well as masks. The audience will not know who the antagonist is , until the scene is finished. The props used are a zip wire which is unusual in a thriller opening.

Shot 3. This shot shows one of the various antagonists waiting on a street corner, with his gang clothing and a mask ready in his left hand. The audience can tell this character is an antagonist because of he's being singled out, carrying a bag, and also a mask in his hand. It does not show the identity of the character, which is a typical convention in a thriller opening. 

Shot 4. This shot is a wide-shot, showing the antagonist being picked up by a blacked out vehicle, placing his mask on as he enters the vehicle. It also shows match on action as to when the antagonist opens the door to the vehicle. The tempo increases as the vehicle shows up. The location of this shot is on a publicly open street, not really hiding the fact that theres an antagonist.  

Shot 5. This shot is an aerial shot, showing another two antagonist characters going across two buildings via zip wire. The characters are very high up, making it difficult to be seen as they are clearly up to something. The shot shows the street below them, with vehicles driving along casually as they zip across to the next building. 

Shot 6. This shot is the over the shoulder overlooking the other characters in the front of the car, so still doesn't unveil the identity of any characters, the non diegetic music lowers in sound to hear them speak. They are still wearing the same costumes. This is typical in a thriller opening and adds the sense of enigma to it.

Shot 7. This shot is a long shot where the characters have entered the bank and have attacked bank manager and really set the moment that it actually is a bank heist, the sound starts to increase in tempo and is dominant still being non-diegetic. The props used are guns and there are about 4-7, in this shot there is just one threatening the man.

Shot 8. There is a close up of a character holding a device of some sort, still non-diegetic sounds and looks as if he is trying to break in. All characters throughout the opening have the same costumes which is clever and the audience gets gripped and not usre who the actual antagonist is.

Shot 9. This is a two shot, where it shows two characters facing off, one being the antagonist and the other a fake. The props are a few sacks of money, gun and a bus that slams through the building and hits the fake, this is brilliantly done as the enigma suspected has gone with the audience knowing what has happened. There is non-diegetic sounds still in the opening, the ending is typical in a thriller opening as it reveals what the opening is about.

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment, thoroughly thought for the possible risks for our chosen locations for our 2 minute opening film.

Law abiding citizen opening analysis

At the start of the film both companies use suitable music and sound effects to enhance there logo. This makes it look more astatically pleasing and professional. The fonts used in the titles are very nice because they are a basic font but have cracks and chunks missing from there stone like look. This hints at disruption or damage for something that is supposedly normal. The screen fades to black and light happy music is playing, the ambient guitar signals a happy normal family.

Close up shots are used to show the viewer what the characters are doing. The child is making something, much like her farther this shows the closeness between them. Medium shots are used to show the characters; also music is playing from a radio to show a normal family life style. The door knocks and it still seems normal because the viewer does not know what time of day it is in the film. Shot reverse it used very effectively in this. As the scene moves on everything still seems normal the child is doing the washing up and the man’s wife is cooking. The over the shoulder shot is used to establish that the man is opening the door. Suddenly the family atmosphere turns very dramatic and the editing is fast paced and cuts are quick. After and effective jump cut is use and the woman’s echoed screams creates a lack of hope for the viewer. Low pitched music and close up shots are used to show the man’s desperation for life. The music is becoming a higher pitch and tempo to create a build of suspense and the blackout screens are used effectively as if the characters were blacking out. Things get more graphic as the violin get louder and sharper as the knife is pushed into the woman’s stomach. Another blackout is used to show that the woman is dying. The second robber shouts at the one that is seeminglesly going crazy and dominates the dying woman. Both the shouting of the criminals and the crying of the victims add to the suspense. Focus is cleverly used here to show something appearing in the background the music stops. There is dialog from the first robber that adds to his creepiness, the child enters the scene and wide shot shows the Childs blank figure he picks up the child and moves off screen indicating that he had no restraint to commit the repulsive and immoral act.

The end has the music dying out to sirens and then silence to black out screen to show that the action scene has ended for the victims.

The way the music hits you when the title comes up it make you want to watch the rest of the film.

The Dark Knight Opening Analysis

The Dark Knight is a movie based on the comic book character Batman. Unlike most superhero movies, The Dark Knight takes a more realistic approach to Batman, and makes it seem as if this sort of superhero could actually be a possibilty in real life. The whole film is very authentic and aimed at an older target audience than previous batman movies, as the film only just managed to be classified as a 12A in cinemas.

The opening of the film jumps straight into a bank robbery, and partially relies on an audiences basic background knowledge of the Batman universe to create a tense atmosphere. The establishing shot of the scene is a large tracking shot taken from a helicopter. This shows the set up of the scene and helps the audience understand the plan of the bank robbery. The robbers are divided into two groups, each one carrying out the two parts to the plan. The scene starts off with almost two different scenes happening at once which gradually come together towards the end of the scene. This makes the narrative less linear and more engaging for the viewer. In many of the shots, you can clearly see the clown masks that the bank robbers are wearing. The audience will be able to link this to the supervillian the Joker as he is a well known character as the archenemy of Batman. The Joker is established as a mysterious figure to the people in The Dark Knight by the conversations between the robbers. They discuss the identity of the Joker and in one case where they discuss why he is called the Joker, two different answers are given, indicating that even the people working for him know nothing about him. The segment where the robbers enter the bank is very authentic and suprisingly violent. The people working at the bank are asked to hold on to grenades that would explode if the let go and the security guards are beaten into submission. This adds a moderate shock value to the scene as it is not what and audience would expect from a Batman movie. Throughout the scene the robbers turn on each other when they are alone. Whilst this is happening it is unclear to the audience why it is happening, this is the enigma of the scene. Throughout the scene there is a tense non-diagetic music playing which adds intesity to the scene. Towards the end of the scene where there is just one robber left, the robber takes of his mask and it is revealed that he is wearing clown make-up anyway and has scars at the sides of his mouth. This is when the audience realises that he is the Joker (the antagonist). The Joker kills the bank manager by placing a gas grenade in his mouth. This is a particular cruel way to kill someone and acts as character development for the Joker by showing what sort of person he is. This first scene essentially acts as an introduction of the Joker to the audience, and shows that this elaborate plan was his idea.

Locations For 2 Min Opening

Its a dark and damp area to shoot ourscene, it has its own lighting and it looks good filming at night. The area is easy to get to for most of our group, and the only downfall is the amount of people that could walk through the underpass.

This area is very relaxing and calm to film, its one room and filming will be easy. The location is diificult to get to for our group but a good area to film nonetheless.

Dedworth Underpass via Google Maps

Jakes House via Google Maps

Rhys Birdy - Textual Analysis – Conventions and Media Language of a Thriller Film (Drive)

The film Drive was set in 2011 and is a crime thriller, and the main star is Ryan Gosling and has got critical acclaim.

For the first 10 seconds of Drive, there is an establishing shot of a city with a lot of skyscrapers for the start of the opening. There are non-Diegetic sounds, it is upbeat and quick music, instruments of drums and electronic keyboard and guitar which runs through the first minute of the opening, this type of music is counter typical of a thriller opening with it saying Ryan Gosling in pink on the screen. It then has a mid shot which shows the character in the car however we don’t know who he is which emphasises the enigma portrayed, the man is wearing casual clothes which shows realism and the title Drive coming up. For the next minute there are the same shots with the same character but the audience does not know if he is the protagonist or the antagonist or any form of mistaken identity. There are other shots used such as the over the shoulder shot and the mid shot used consecutively which for a thriller is used a lot to add the suspense and mystery in the opening and the non-diegetic sounds still being portrayed. There are no editing techniques really used till this point because there are limited camerawork and sound is the same which shows that the opening is very simple and real when the audience watches. There is then a bird’s eye view of a highway which for a thriller is counter typical because normally in an opening they add more suspense and terror upon the audience. Now the non-diegetic has changed to a woman singing which is counter typical of an opening. There is some slow motion used when on the camera shot which is typical in an opening because it builds up the tension being portrayed. Then he is going to the elevator and there is a point of view shot being used which is a good editing technique and typical and creates realism in an opening. The enigma factor is there but the audience know that he is perhaps the main character. Then when he enters the hotel room, he drops the bag and leaves with the over the shoulder shot used. In this opening there are a lot of shots that are behind him and a lot of slow motion when waling and going through the camerawork, it adds that enigma therefore there is no mistaken identity.

To conclude, the opening of Drive has very limited camerawork, and mise en scene, as the opening was meant to be as realistic as possible and have that enigma being used and the audience not knowing if the character is the antagonist or protagonist. 

Manu Bhalla - Conventions and Media Language of a Thriller (Taken)

Taken, 2008, is a Thriller film, which is about a retired CIA agent, which travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who was kidnapped on a trip to Paris to be sold into prostitution.

The opening scene to Taken shows a blurred scene, with shots of a young girl and her mother in a room. This blurred scene has typical soft sad music, which goes along with the scene, to make it have an effect on the audience, as it would seem to them that there is an enigma of why this scene is being shown with the dramatic tune in the background.

The sounds of the two characters in the scene become echoed as a sound also plays part in the scene, which describes the scene being faded. The father wakes up in the dark realising he was thinking about an earlier time, a time of which had been a happy moment for him. He wakes up to a dark room with a silent house, making the audience realise that he no longer lives with the two characters, which he did before. The Mise-en-scene plays part on the father waking up to a dark room, as the lighting and location of that scene fit the situation. The clothing of Lee Nelsons character shows him as a typical father, dressed casually with a sweater and trousers.

The sad tune carries on to play as Lee Nelson (The father) wakes up and with a sad lonely face, holding a picture of his daughter.

Using smart effects to make the Lee Nelson snap out of the flashback has the effect on the audience as the enigma continues. The camera shots show Lee Nelson in a close-up, so they realise the facial expression and focus on what he's doing, which in this case was dreaming about an earlier time. The editing cuts the next shot to a wide shot to show his surroundings and where he is, so the audience begins to realise why he is dreaming about that time. The editing again cuts to another close-up to Lee Nelson to focus on his facial expression, and show he has the photo of his daughter in his hands, missing her and putting the picture back on the table, with slight sounds of crickets in the background to emphasise how silent it is.

The enigma seems to begin to be clear to the audience, as when the flashbacks in the opening scene were shown, it was the daughters 5^th birthday, and the next day it was her 17^th birthday, making the vision clear to the audience, as it showed how Lee Nelson feels, which were to do with his daughter growing up so quickly. All the enigmas used in the opening scene are made to string together to make the scene clear for the audience.