Location

One of our first location ideas was to use a forest we had many ideas which forest to go in but ended up deciding to use the one closest to one of our other filming locations, this forest in particular has the spooky feeling that we want to have about it and contains many opportunities for shots as it is a large and various landscape. We can get multiple different feelings of the forest just by using different sections, angles and edits of it, hopefully this will be demonstrated in the final piece. We would have our character off path most of the time making it seem like she is in a complete wilderness and will try to avoid any shots showing any buildings as it will ruin the 'distant, and abandoned aspect of the forest that we want.

Our next location was next to the forest and it will be the exterior of the hideout of one of our characters, as you can see from this panorama shot, the building in the middle is where we will focus our filming on however we might have an extreme long shot similar to this to establish the location of the next scene, we don't plan to have more than 4 or 5 shots of this.

Here is a close up view/ one of our potential shots for the first location. It has connotations of abandonment, danger and the fact that it is old adds to our storyline of a mystery being with held for centuries. This is our most likely location at the moment as we cant seem to find one quite like it.

 

For our second location we want to give it an underground cellar type feel, as we think that this is a key element in helping us create suspense and tension effectively. The location that we have chosen is also extremely convenient as it is in our school and we will likely have authorization to adjust the location to our needs e.g paint symbols on the walls. We also have a few handy props at disposal from the drama department as this location is under the stage, furthermore we will try to get floodlights to light up our cellar from the photography department hopefully; therefore at school we have many opportunities and possibilities and advantages as oppose to filming completely reliant on what me and Dario can get our hands on.

However there was another location that we had been considering which is in Imperial Court in Vauxhall as my dad is refurbishing the building he has access to the extensive cellar system under the building, however we also run the risk of not being allowed there or get permission to film as it is technically a private property. We also considered the factors of price, as we are extremely low budget we have very little money for travel and would preferably stay more local, on the other hand it is a very good location for filming, just all in all not practical enough. 

Potential health and safety issues + practicality.

1st location, is in hounslow, the area that we want to film in is dodgy and is a hot spot for local chavs and waste men, shattered glass on the floor and needles from drug use make raise the risk of injury as well as the questionable stability of the building that we would film in. Practicality wise it would be hard to get equipment to this area, furthermore painting our symbols on the walls would possibly be  easier to get away with than if we did it in school however this could be debatable, as the paints and brushes are in school.

Our second location in school is fairly safe as there will always be a teacher near by, however there are some safety aspects to be cautious of, for example the myriads of wires that surround the school basement could be a very potential hazard if where not careful, boiling hot copper pipes are severely dangerous to be around in the dark, but these problems can be overcome by staying away from certain parts of the basement. The dark could cause accidental collisions with the many tables scattered around downstairs making this are less ideal. 

In conclusion both settings have potential hazards, but we should be fine if we're careful.

-David Ziolkowski

Script 2nd Draft

'April 7th, 1989. After searching for months, finally I am here. And in good time to, the followers seem to have been getting closer to stopping me. Desmond's hideout appears to have been abandoned for quite a while. It's hard to make things out, but it appears that Desmond's findings are far greater than anything I've ever discovered. This. Changes. Everything. Finally, we might just discover the truth behind the events of the missing days.

I fear I have been followed. If anyone ever finds this, please, reader, you must stop the followers, soon it will be to late ... 


They're here.'


Script Draft


INT. HIDEOUT, PITCH BLACK, CELLAR, 1996

DAVID lights candle. He picks it up, start to light up walls, looking at symbols on the wall, gets out a diary and pencil. 

EXT. FOREST, EVENING, PRESENT DAY

CLARA walking through forest with a map, page and photo, looking at them, finding her way to the abandoned building. 

DAVID (narration):

April 7th, 1996. After searching for months, finally I have found it, and in good time too...

CLARA approaches and enters the building. 

INT. HIDEOUT, PITCH BLACK, CELLAR, 1996

DAVID writing in diary, by candlelight, on floor. 

DAVID (narration) Cont.:

...the followers seem to have been getting closer to stopping me. Desmond's hideout appears to have been abandoned for quite a while. 

Behind DAVID, strange noise heard. David looks around, thinks it's nothing, continues to write. 

INT. HIDEOUT, EVENING TIME, CELLAR, PRESENT DAY

CLARA rustles around bag, gets out torch. She shines torch about just looking around at first, then notices symbols, crouches, appears to study them in detail. 

INT. HIDEOUT, PITCH BLACK, CELLAR, 1996

DAVID, looking around some more with the candle, discovers a map crumpled in the corner, squinting as he looks closely at it, starts to write some more in the diary, excitedly. 

DAVID (narration) Cont.:

The findings seem greater than I had ever perceived. This, changes, everything. Finally we just might be able to understand what happened during the missing days!

DAVID, hears more noises, like creeks, muffled wind noise. Score intensifies. Point of view of David looking around, moving forward, waving candle about. It extinguishes and he rushes to his matches to quickly light it again, panicky sounds under his breath. Lights a match quickly which extinguishes.

INT. HIDEOUT, EVENING TIME, CELLAR, PRESENT DAY

CLARA, finds matches and box on the floor all destroyed, noises heard, she looks around, then continues to search about, shines the torch around the room again. She stumbles upon a candle on the floor. Picks it up and holds it in front of the torchlight, studying it.

INT. HIDEOUT, PITCH BLACK, CELLAR, 1996

DAVID holding the candle in the same position, panicking, waving the candle about. 

DAVID, dialogue:

...Hello?

...Is anyone there?

DAVID, Quickly he whips out the diary again in a rush writing... 

DAVID (narration) Cont.:

I fear I have been followed.

INT. HIDEOUT, EVENING TIME, CELLAR, PRESENT DAY

CLARA stumbles across the diary on the floor with missing pages, she picks it up carefully. She gets out the page she had and finds where it was ripped out. She starts to read, looking concerned.

DAVID (narration) Cont.:

If anyone ever finds this, please, you must stop the followers, soon it will be too late ...

A loud noise shocks her and she slams the diary shut, looking around carefully.

CLARA dialogue:

...Hello?

...Who's there?

I'm scared, stop scaring me...

Noises behind CLARA. Close up of her face in distress, she begins running towards the exit, Point Of View. She stumbles and trips.

INT. HIDEOUT, PITCH BLACK, CELLAR, 1996

DAVID dialogue: 

Come out, I'm not scared

Tilt up shot of David from a low angle to a high angle. Over shoulder shot of DAVID looking at what appears to be a figure, approaching it he realizes its nothing.


EXT. FOREST/PARK, EVENING TIME, PRESENT DAY

CLARA is seen running away in terror from the building, she suddenly halts and notices a hooded and masked figure in the distance, who is slowly walking towards her. 

INT. HIDEOUT, PITCH BLACK, CELLAR, 1996

DAVID is heading towards the exit, as he is a shadow can be seen following his on the wall, a shot of a high angle on David, antagonist is seen over DAVID'S shoulder. He writes one last thing at a steady pace. He then shuts the book in his hand and slowly turns around. He looks in shock, and lets go of the diary, dropping it to the floor. The antagonist steps towards him, this time seen up close.

DAVID (narration) Cont.:

They're here.

EXT. FOREST/PARK, EVENING TIME, PRESENT DAY

CLARA still running. The pursuer is seen following her, chasing CLARA at a slightly slower speed. CLARA drops her bag. She stops running and turns and looks at both the bag and the pursuer, unsure if she should attempt to retrieve it. She leaps for it, but the pursuer reaches her, the score reaches a dramatic climax as we look at the pursuer looming over CLARA. Cuts to black. Film title over black. 


By Dario Feddersen-Doyle and David Ziolkowski

Script 1st Draft

Based on the ideas from our brainstorm of what should occur in our opening sequence, we decided that we like the idea of a diary being found and narrating events in the past, but having some kind of parallel to the present. The diary entry that is read over the top of the scene had to set up enigmas and add to the suspense of the scene. This is what we has in mind for the diary entry. 

'April 7th, 1989. After hunting and searching for months, finally I am here. And in good time to, the hidden seem to have been getting closer to stopping me. Desmond's hideout appears to have been abandoned for quite a while. It's hard to make things out, due to only being aided by candle light, but it appears Desmond's findings are far greater than anything I've ever discovered. This. Changes. Everything. Finally, we might just discover the truth behind the events of the missing days.

I fear I have been followed. If anyone ever finds this and if something happens to me, please, reader, you must stop the (hidden) from hiding the truth forever. For the sake of all that is human, you must reveal everything.

They're here.'


Script Draft


INT. HIDEOUT, PITCH BLACK, CELLAR, 1989

DAVID lights candle. He picks it up, start to light up walls, looking at symbols on the wall, gets out a diary and pencil. 

EXT. FOREST, EVENING, PRESENT DAY

CLARA walking through forest with a map, page and photo, looking at them, finding here way to the abandoned building. 

DAVID (narration):

April 7th, 1989. After hunting and searching for months, finally I have found it, and in good time too...

CLARA approaches and enters the building. 

INT. HIDEOUT, PITCH BLACK, CELLAR, 1989

DAVID writing in diary, by candlelight, on floor. 

DAVID (narration) Cont.:

...the followers seem to have been getting closer to stopping me. Desmond's hideout appears to have been abandoned for quite a while. 

Behind DAVID, mysterious figures rushes past for a split second, strange noise heard. David looks around, thinks it's nothing, continues to write. 

INT. HIDEOUT, EVENING TIME, CELLAR, PRESENT DAY

CLARA rustles around bag, gets out torch. She shines torch about just looking around at first, then notices symbols, crouches, appears to study them in detail. 

INT. HIDEOUT, PITCH BLACK, CELLAR, 1989

DAVID, looking around some more with the candle, discovers a map crumpled in the corner, squinting as he looks closely at it, starts to write some more in the diary, excitedly. 

DAVID (narration) Cont.:

It's hard to make things out with candlelight, but the findings seem greater than I had ever perceived. This, changes, everything. Finally we just might be able to understand what happened during the missing days!

DAVID, hears more noises, like creeks, muffled wind noise. Score intensifies. Point of view of David looking around, moving forward, waving candle about. It extinguishes and he rushes to his matches to quickly light it again, panicky sounds under his breath. 

INT. HIDEOUT, EVENING TIME, CELLAR, PRESENT DAY

CLARA, finds matches and box on the floor, noises can start to be heard in the background, she looks around, then continues to search about, shines the torch around the room some more. She stumbles upon a candle on the floor. Picks it up and holds it in front of the torchlight, studying it.

INT. HIDEOUT, PITCH BLACK, CELLAR, 1989

DAVID holding the candle in the same position, panicking, waving the candle about, looking for his follower. Quickly he whips out the diary again, in a rush writing. 

DAVID (narration) Cont.:

I fear I have been followed.

INT. HIDEOUT, EVENING TIME, CELLAR, PRESENT DAY

CLARA stumbles across the diary on the floor, she picks it up carefully. She gets out the page she had and finds where it was ripped out. She starts to read, looking concerned.

DAVID (narration) Cont.:

If I get caught then no one will ever know of the missing days events, and all of humankind will be in danger.

Noises behind CLARA. She knows she has been followed, looks shocked. She runs out the hideout, pack her things in her bag in the process. 

EXT. FOREST/PARK, EVENING TIME, PRESENT DAY

CLARA is seen running away in terror from the building, looking back to see her pursuer. 

INT. HIDEOUT, PITCH BLACK, CELLAR, 1989

DAVID knows the antagonist is right behind him, they are seen over DAVID'S shoulder. He writes one last thing at a steady pace. He then shuts the book in his hand and slowly turns around. He looks in shock, and lets go of the diary, dropping it to the floor. The antagonist steps towards him, this time seen up close.

DAVID (narration) Cont.:

They're here.

EXT. FOREST/PARK, EVENING TIME, PRESENT DAY

CLARA still running. The pursuer is seen following her, chasing CLARA at a slightly slower speed. CLARA drops her bag. She stops running and turns and looks at both the bag and the pursuer, unsure if she should attempt to retrieve it. She leaps for it, but the pursuer reaches her, the score reaches a dramatic climax as we look at the pursuer looming over CLARA. Cuts to black. Film title over black. 


By Dario Feddersen-Doyle and David Ziolkowski

Thriller Genres

There are numerous thriller sub genres, as each incorporates its different conventions, storylines and elements it creates a unique atmosphere as each different factor adds demonstrates different attitudes to the audience. Some of the most prominent thriller sub genres are:

 

Conspiracy thriller: is a type where the hero/heroine confronts challenging and numerous group of enemies, or organisations which the main character often is the only one who realises the extent of the enemies power. Conspiracies sometimes based of sects, like freemasonry and illuminati, and/or integrated with political corruption and evil.

 

Crime thriller: This kind of genre is a hybrid of both crime films and thrillers that may be an attempt at a crime, or the police side trying to stop the crime, which is the main story plot convention for crime thrillers. These films often focus on the criminal(s) but can also be viewed from the perspective of detective or policeman. Central topics of these films include serial killers/murders, robberies, chases, shootouts, heists and double-crosses. Scarface by Al Pacino could most likely be an example.

 

Legal thriller: A type of film involving lawyers and their employees, that are often faced with a situation of having to present a case at court and defend the protagonist.

Political thriller: In which the hero/heroine must ensure the stability of the government that employs him. The success of Seven Days in May (1962) by Fletcher Knebel,

 

Psychological thriller: In which (until the often violent resolution) the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical. Characters, either by accident or their own curiousness, are dragged into a dangerous conflict or situation that they are not prepared to resolve. At times, the characters attempt solving, or are involved in, a mystery. 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. The Alfred Hitchcock films Suspicion

 
Or the more recent film silence of the lambs,

Comedy thriller: A genre that combines the contrapuntal elements of comedy and thrillers, a combination of humour and suspense or action. Films such as Silver Streak.

Spy thriller: In which the protagonist is generally a government agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government or (in recent years) terrorists. It is a significant aspect of British cinema, with leading British directors such as Alfred Hitchcock making notable contributions and many films set in the British Secret Service. The spy film usually fuses the action and science fiction genres, however, some spy films fall safely in the action genre rather than thriller (e.g. James Bond), especially those having frequent shootouts, car chases and such.

 

Supernatural thriller: In which the film brings in an otherworldly element (such as fantasy and/or the supernatural) mixed with tension, suspense and plot twists. Sometimes the protagonist and/or villain have some psychic ability and superpowers. Examples of this could be films like 6th sense.

Sub Genre Audiences

There is a correlation and connection between different sub genres and different audiences, you are likely to find the same kinds of people who are sharing similar interests to watch the same kind of movies as each other. Each sub genre attracts or repels certain demographics for example, many people are repelled by watching horror as they find it to gruesome, whereas some people get a thrill from it and enjoy it. The type of genre you prefer can usually depend on your age, with children enjoying animated or family friendly movies, teenagers enjoying thrillers and horrors and adults enjoying drama etc. The last demographic separation of film tastes is through gender, boys and girls respond differently to different stimuli, therefore one sex may prefer certain plots and story lines more than the other gender, this can be displayed by the example of girls enjoying romantic films.

There is a narrow area for a thriller to modify its conventions and morph into a different genre before it is a different genre, so what this means for thrillers is that they have to involve suspense and tension, otherwise they would be classed as a different genre which would mean audiences everywhere would never be sure what kind of film their watching. So it is hard to classify these films as they are not an easily categorized. Audiences are not always particularly bothered about genre and dont always look out for certain genres, however knowing the exact genre helps narrow down the films that the audience would be interested in.

-David Ziolkowski

Synopsis of Film and Opening Sequence

Synopses For Opening Sequence

Synopses for opening sequence ideas

Our ideas are still vague as we are allowing room for compromise both ways, however the basic concept begins with a black screen, titles appear along with music as this is happening a shot of a match being sparked alight in slow motion. The score will be very tense and suspenseful and we will try our best to synchronise what we can with the way the score develops. Cinematography wise the shot will most likely be an extreme close up or close up. Edits will be slow at this point as later on we will be increasing the speed at which they cut at to increase suspense. A figure will slowly come into focus and visibility and he will light a candle. He will shine the candle on a wall full of symbols and begin noting them down in a notebook, while he is doing this we might possibly have narrator dialogue speaking what the character as he is writing things down.

Our next shot is of a girl who is walking through a forest and walking toward an abandoned building. Cuts will speed up the time it takes her to approach the building. We will try to make the audience assume that she is looking for him and they are happening at the same time, however we will later reveal that they are during different time periods, one key prop of this will be the girl holding and looking at a photo of the boy in the previous shot. Next there will be cross cutting between the two characters with the girl following in the boys footsteps, cuts will make it look like both are doing the same movement and motion to build tension for the girl character. At that point strange sounds will begin to be heard, which should raise the suspense. The girl character will find a candle on the floor that looks exactly like that of the boy, and some dried up blood on the floor. She eventually finds the notebook and begins reading from it, some pages are ripped and torn, then a cut back to the first character, where theres a shot of him and a dark mysterious figure creeping up on him, and then a cut and he disappears.

Another synopses idea that we had was about a group of young adults driving to the forest for a camping trip, there would be contrapuntal music of dread and ambient high pitch score, while there is a long cut montage of the kids in the car messing around and having fun, this would quickly end and as they drive deeper into the forest small psychological elements like ripped signs and scary trees would be visible, they get out the car as the road ends and look around a spooky landscape of autumn trees with their leaves lost, the 3 main characters realise that the fourth is no where to be seen, running around looking for him and panicking he jumps out scaring them for a jokes, they all relieve themselves and carry on looking around they start setting up tents but the night beats them to it as it get's to dark for them to finish, eventually they are faced with a situation that the person who was playing jokes earlier disappears again, the group contemplate wether to look for him or not, it is from each of their perspectives apart from the one their looking for, they slowly begin losing each other and find themselves on their own. that would be the end of the opening sequence.





-David Ziolkowski

Thriller synopses research

Thriller synopses research

The definition of a movie synopses is "Brief condensation, outline, or summary of the main points of an articles, book, or plan. Unlike an abstract, a synopsis maintains the point by point sequence of the salient ideas." 
From: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/synopsis.html#ixzz2pHvXm0rg
Therefor thriller synopses are just brief summarisations of the movies main events and critical points/themes that help the reader to understand the overall direction and meaning of a film in terms of not only conventions and sub genre. There are many thriller synopses i have decided to analyse silence of the lambs as it's sub genre's include psychological, horror and mystery.

The Silence of the Lambs

• A psychopath known as Buffalo Bill is kidnapping and murdering young women across the Midwest. Believing it takes one to know one, the F.B.I. sends Agent Clarice Starling to interview a demented prisoner who may provide psychological insight and clues to the killer's actions. The prisoner is psychiatrist, Dr. Hannibal Lector, a brilliant, murderous cannibal who will only help Starling if she feeds his morbid curiosity with details about her own complicated life. This twisted relationship forces Starling not only to confront her psychological demons, but leads her to face with a demented, heinous killer, an incarceration of evil so powerful, that she may not have the courage -- or strength -- to stop him!
  - Written by Robert Lynch <docrlynch@yahoo.com>

Taken from the IMDB site- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102926/plotsummary

From this synopsis we can see that there are many important thriller conventions used, for example plot lines about 'psychopath murder' and 'psychological demons' all demonstrate the mental aspect (suspense/ tension) of the film. We can clearly see the sub genre's highlighted are the ones I mentioned in the introduction. The audience for this kind of film is also not likely to be a very young audience younger than 15 possibly as it may scare them, the film is clearly intended for young adults as it is about one and furthermore the themes displayed would be interesting mostly to this age range.






Next i would like to analyse a movie called "The Sixth Sense" as it is a very popular and interesting thriller movie.

The Sixth Sense

Child psychologist Malcom Crowe is one night visited by an ex-patient named Vincent, angry, enraged. He wounds Crowe, then kills himself. A few months later, Crowe is visited by a 9-year old boy named Cole. He sees dead people who do not know they are dead. Because of this, he is called a freak in school. Crowe, at first thinks he is seeing things, but after spending a lot of time with Cole (much to his wife's dismay), he discovers Cole may be seeing dead people after all.
Used from IMBD also address: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167404/plotsummary

The sixth sense is very psychological also as it possibly looks into a mental illness/ alternative reality that is scary and tense, the connotations of death and dead people are mainly scary, shocking and horrific. This kind of thriller is different from many others as it has no action, however the use of flashbacks is another convention, as it disorientates space and time confusing the audience furthermore there is a large use of obtrusive edits which add to the feeling of tension as they further unsettle peoples psychological understanding of movie events, thrilling them.
In terms of audiences the young boy would imply that young children can watch this movie, however they are likely to be very scared by this movie, so the appropriate classification of 15 is given to this movie, meaning mainly young adults would be the largest demographic for this movie of many sub genre's including mystery, psychological and weak horror mainly.

For my final analysis of film synopses i would like to research a different sub-genre of thriller, the disaster thriller, which has conventions of 'the end of the world plot lines' with survivalist concepts, furthermore they are likely to contain the first person view of someone who experiences and tackles the obstacle of the end of the world, either individually or with a group who often have to work together to survive. The movie that i have chosen which fits this sub-genre and contains all the conventions noted above is called 'The Day After Tomorrow' which i will analyse.

The Day After Tommorrow

• As Paleoclimatologist named Jack Hall is in Antartica, he discovers that a huge ice sheet has sheared off. But what he does not know is that this event will trigger a massive climate shift that will affect the world population. Meanwhile, his son Sam is with friends in New York to attend an event. There they discover that it has been raining non-stop for the past 3 weeks, and after a series of weather-related disasters begin to occur over the world, everybody realizes the world is entering a new Ice Age and the world population begins trying to evacuate to the warmer climates of the south. Jack makes a daring attempt to rescue his son and his friends who are stuck in New York and who have managed to survive not only a massive wave but also freezing cold temperatures that could possibly kill them.
  - Written by John Wiggins

IMBD address:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0319262/plotsummary

This movie is very different to the first two that i have discussed as the 'thrill' is in a different feeling category- this is more of an adrenaline building, instinctual, survival situation rather than psychological perplexion. In this thriller the conventions displayed are like i mentioned earlier of the survival plot lines and with individualistic point of view on life, with a positive message to help others. The sub-genre fits in very tightly to the disaster sub genre and audiences for this type vary greatly as well, but may be more appealing to a further audience of older and younger ages than the first two. It is more appropriate for a younger audience and is a PG, meaning all ages can see it, in my opinion children older than 8 would also enjoy this movie. On the other side of the spectrum this film might also be appealing to an older audience as disaster and survival is a universal topic interesting to older people as well whatever age.






-David Ziolkowski