Task 4: The Pitch

I decided to do a Thriller as it was my favourite out of the genres. I had four ideas for a film, one of which I chose to use as my main idea for my opening sequence. These are my ideas:
1st idea- There is a woman who is drinking in a dark pub on a Friday night; it is raining outside, and quite misty. Through the little light you can see a masked man standing in the shadows. She starts walking home, after saying goodbye to her friends; we can only see her as a silhouette. It becomes clear that the man standing outside the pub, is following her. When she starts walking over a bridge her pace quickens, and she walks under a streetlight in the middle of the bridge, she looks around to see that the man is right behind her. He pounces on her, pushing her to the ground, and starts strangling her. She is pushing, and there is a struggle, but after a few seconds, she falls to the ground dead, and her arm falls into the light. The man takes a step back, and then jumps off the bridge, into the river bellow them. The police investigate the murder, but find nothing on the killer, and after a year of research into the case, the police forget about it, until 7 years later, when there is another murder, almost the exact same, except this time, the woman’s face has fallen into the light!

2nd idea- When Rob (17) is shopping in Asda, looking at the DVDs late at night, the alarms go off, which Rob just thinks is a precaution, so he walks over to the information desk, but before he gets there, a gloved hand covers his face, and the man, who’s hand is holding him pulls him back onto a shelf, places a gun to his head, and says “I’ve got a little request for you, Rob!” He then pushes him outside, and into his car, gags him, and drives off. The police don’t find anything on Rob’s disappearance. Over the next few weeks the polices’ attention is taken away from Rob’s disappearance to bombings all over the West Midlands. Little do they know that the two mysteries are very closely linked!

3rd idea- Jimmy doesn’t live the most of exciting lives. He is in and out of relationships, can’t hold a job for more than a month as he is an alcoholic, and is approaching 30. He finds it hart to pay his rent every month, even though his house is a dump! After being fired one day he goes home, to find a man sitting in the middle of his dark room. The man says to him “Hello Jimmy- would you like me to change your life forever. Jimmy is immediately frightened and asks “how do you know my name?” the man replies, “Ow I know more about you than your name, Jimmy, I know more about you, than you know yourself!” “What do you want with me?” Jimmy asks. Then the man goes in to tell him that he can change his life, and if Jimmy helps him, he will in return help Jimmy. Jimmy listens to him, and eventually agrees to go with him. They go to a big building about 2 hours away, in what seems to be the middle of nowhere. There Jimmy is put into a room with 5 other people, where they are left for about 4 hours. Over the next few days, they go through an “elimination process” until they are left with Jimmy, Carl, and Tricia. Jimmy doesn’t know why he is there, but is being fed, and he wants to change his life. They are then told that Britain is under threat from terrorists, and they have been chosen to save their loved country. Jimmy and his 2 new friends use their different talents to do this, and end up as heroes after risking their lives for Britain. Of course Jimmy’s life changes and he gets together with Tricia.

4th (Main) idea- A mother and daughter find dead body (Rose) in the woods. The police immediately suspect Rose’s ex-boyfriend, Billy. Inspector Richards, who has recently split up from his wife, Harriett, is sure that this case has something to do with the disappearance of Rose’s mother, Julie, 16 years ago. Inspector Richards and his ‘sidekick’, Sergeant Murray interview all the people who may be involved in either of the murders. Rose’s father, Jack has an alibi for his wife’s disappearance, and he had a good relationship with her. Jack gets on very well with Billy and his mother, Stacey, who is his alibi, but surprisingly he never liked Billy and Rose dating. Stacey is seen shouting at Jack after Billy was arrested. The police investigate the case further, trying to piece the puzzle together. Different leads are followed, but nothing comes together. The case starts to get to Inspector Richards as there are many break ups involved in it, and he is still struggling with his divorce. Him and Sergeant Murray, Jo, get closer together, and one night she goes round to his house to discus the case over a bottle of wine, and they start to kiss; but then he pulls away and says, “32, 32, but there were only 31!” He realises that there were only 31 photos in an album from Jack, but there are 32 photos on a film. On this photo he finds out is the evidence that Billy is his son, after he and Stacey had an affair years ago, which is why he killed his wife. He forced Rose to break up with Billy, and she demanded an explanation, she ran off when he has explained everything. He followed her to the woods, where he tried to reason with her, but she said she could never live with a murderer, they got into a fight, and he killed her spontaneously. After Billy was let out of prison, Stacey was arrested for lying to the police, and Jack was given a life sentence for both murders, Inspector Richards and Jo get together.
In the opening sequence I will show shots of the mother and daughter walking their dog in the woods when they discover Rose’s body. I will also show a man running away from the scene.
In this opening sequence it is clear to be a Thriller as we see little bits of a murder story, but we don’t know who the murderer is, or what there motive is, and so there is suspense, and longing to know what has happened and why.

Continuity

I think that, as I had never used a cam cord before, my continuity piece went quite well. I ran through the sequence 3 times with my actors before I filmed it so they were familiar with what they had to do, and I was familiar with the shots. Most of it flowed quite well, but there were a few points that were unrealistic. At one point you could here me telling my actor to pause, which I would be able to edit out if it was my opening sequence. There were also a few shots where the actor stopped before I had paused the cam cord, which didn’t help the flow of the piece. Again, I will be able to edit this out for my opening sequence. I also learnt to pre-roll when filming, as my first shot was cut out. I think it went well, I did make mistakes, but I have learnt from them, and now know more for my opening sequence.

Task 3: Target Audiance

I have chosen to do a Thriller for my opening sequence of a new fiction film. It is hard to define what a Thriller is, as it has many sub genres and some other genres are similar. Actions, for example, can often be mistaken for a Thriller, as the conventions are often similar. They may have similar plots or storylines, both will often have a death of some sort, and both can be thrilling to watch. Most viewers will enjoy the action in Thrillers, and the thrills in Actions. Although it is hard to place a Thriller, they do have their own conventions. Most Thrillers will have a death, or a murder; there will often be a twist in the storyline; viewers will be held by the storyline, and uncertain about what is happening, until the end when all is explained. Many Thrillers start of with everyday people doing extraordinary things. This is often done so the audience can relate to the characters. There will often be a certain thing the audience wants to find out about the story, that makes them watch the movie intently, for example, in “A Law Abiding Citizen” The audience longs to find out how the main character is still committing murder while he is in prison, and the authorities know it is him that is committing them.

It seems as though Thrillers are not as well made as they used to be, however, they are still popular. Only 20% of the Top 50 Rated Thrillers were made after 2000, but 70% of the Bottom 10 Rated Thrillers were made after 2000. Even though the quality of Thrillers seems to be worse than they used to be, they are still quite popular. Out of the Top 20 Movies in the UK Box Office in 2007, 7 movies could be classed as Thrillers, however, a few of those are a bit unclear as to whether they are Thrillers or Supernatural Adventure Movies, such as Spider Man 3. Thrillers made 7.2% of Gross Box Office in 2007, where the average was 6%. It was also the 4th most popular genre in 2007.

I formed a questionnaire, and asked people from different age groups and genders to fill it out, and give their views on Thrillers. These were the questions on my questionnaire:

1. Please circle the age group you come under.

15-20 21-25 26-30 31-40 41+

2. Are you male or female? (Delete as applicable)

3. Which genre do you usually watch?
Thriller
Horror
Rom Com
Other (please specify) ______________________________________

4. Why do, or don’t you enjoy thrillers? ____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

5. What do you expect to find in a Thriller? _________________________________
________________________________________________________________

6. What is your favourite thriller? _________________________________________

My findings show that Thrillers were very popular through all age groups and both male and female. 32% of people said that they watched Thrillers more often than any other genre. However the average choice of genre was 16%. I found that Thrillers were more popular with men, but there were still popular with women. I found that they were watched by all age groups, but Horrors and Romantic Comedies, where particularly popular by certain age groups and genders. Romantic Comedies were more common with women under the age of 30, even though some women over the age 30 still chose it. Horrors were only really common among people over the age of 30, and surprisingly they were many women. What I mainly saw from this is that Horrors and Rom Coms are mainly popular among a particular age group or gender, but Thrillers were popular with all kinds of people. This is yet another factor that makes Thrillers hard to identify, as they have a very wide target audience.

Many people said that they watched Thrillers more than any other genre. 32% of people who were asked said that they preferred watching a Thriller, while the average was only 25%. Rom Coms and Horrors were also quite popular, but not as popular as Thrillers. Some people said that they didn’t like watching either three of them; instead they preferred films such as Comedies, or Period Dramas. This being the case only 20% of people said this, and many still said they enjoyed Thrillers.

Some people said that they didn’t like Thrillers because they do not enjoy suspense, and they prefer feel good films. Others said they didn’t like violence, which Thrillers often has. Some people said that they don’t usually understand the plot of Thrillers, and are often confused. Others, on the other hand, said that they enjoyed the thrills, and suspense, and liked not fully understanding what was going on until the end. Some said they liked to guess what the twist in the plot is, and liked the questions asked. One person said that it made their own life seem less complicated, as the characters lives can get very complicated, and so they enjoy Thrillers.

Task 2:Research into Existing Products

What is Textual Analysis?

Camera shots include:

• Extreme Close Up (ECU)
• Close Up (CU)
• Medium Close Up (MCU)
• Medium Shot (MS)
• Medium Long Shot (MLS)
• Long Shot (LS)
• Extreme Long Shot (ELS)
• High Angle Shot (HAS)
• Long Angle Shot (LAS)

Reperesentation- Re-presintation, things are presented in a certain way to make us think things- it often isn't the truth.

Signification- how we make meaning out of things we watch- what does it mean to us?

Denotation- describing what we SEE in a media text.

Connotation- describing what we see actually MEANS.

The Tools of Textual Analysis are:

• Sound

-Digetic sound is sound that is actually happening in the scene, for example, the sound of someone cutting a tree.

-Non-Digetis sound is sound that isn't actually happening in the scene, or sound that has been added in editing, for example, music during the opening credits.

• Camera

-This is all the camera shots, for example, a Long Shot.

-A shot can be used to give the audiance an idea of what is happening in the scene, if the camera is looking dow on a person, we belive that someone is looking down on them.

• Editing

-This is when each shot is cut an shown in a way to get the best understanding, of what is happening, or being felt.

-Editing can be used to enphasise a point, for example, a shot revers shot can show how two people are looking into eachother's eyes lovingly.

• Mise en Siene

-This is everything on set, so evry prop, stage, and costume is thoght out carefully.

-It can be used to give a more dramatic and realistic feel, for example, if a film was set in the 1950s the costumes would have to be from that period, and so would the cars, style of homes, and all other 'objects'.

Stereotypes and Representation

How are stereotypes established?

How isthis linked to 're-presentation'

Some steriotypes are:

• Pentioners
• Teenagers
• Footballers
• People from Africa
• Blonds
• Asians
• Glamour Modles

REPERESENTATION is MEDIATED and CONSTRUCTED by a PRODUCER for a DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP.

Conventions

Horrors

• Horrors are ment to scare the audiance.
• We useally see a merder.
• We are left feeling scared that those things would happen to us.
• There is often a simple plot line, but it is the horror we get from watching it, rather than the storyline, that intrigues the audiance.

Rom Coms

• Boy meets girl
• Problem-for example, boy looses or can't get girl
• Boy gets girl

This is the genrel storyline of a Rom Com.

In the opening sequence, you often find find:

• It set in a public place.
• A Narative.
• The main charicters introduced to the audiance.
• Classical Music
• A gentle feeling in the credits (it won't often be fast paced and flashy)

When I looked at the opening sequence of Love Actually I found that it matched the conventions of a Rom Com very well. We were met with the arrival gate at Gatwick airport, and we new straight away that this would be a movie about love, as all the characters, even though they were not part of the main storyline, were showing signs of love, such as hugs, kissed, waves, and smiles. This suggested that the main characters were going to show signs of love to one another. Another indication is that all of the credits have at least one letter in the 'love culour', red. As if this is not enough to tell us that this is a story of love, we then have a narrative to explain this to us. The gentle male voice tells us that love is all around, and we know straight away that love will be all around this movie.

In the next few minuets we are introduced to over five main storylines. In each one we have a clear indication of what their story will be about. Firstly we meet an ex-pop star who is trying to get back into the industry, after a drug addiction, in this scene we clearly see that that he and his manager have a very strange relationship. We can sense that even though there relationship is not a homosexual one, but is still one of love.

We are also introduced to a ‘triangle relationship’. It is clear that a man and a woman are getting married, yet another clue that this is a rom com, which seems simple enough, until we start getting hints that the best man is in love with either the bride or groom. In this scene we are given another huge indication that this is a story about love, the cast start singing ‘all you need is love’.

This may be a movie about many different love stories, but all the stories are unique. This next story of love is about a man who has just lost his wife; we are already given the question, ‘Is this man’s love life dead?’ We are given clear indications that we are going to see some changes in this mans life, however we are not yet introduced to the person he is going to change it with.

Finally, we are introduced to the story that all the other stories revolve around. It seems to be a simple enough scene, a young man has just been appointed as Prime Minister. Little does he know that he is about to meet the love of his life. We know within thirty seconds of meeting him, that he is a single young man, as the script tells us. We immediately think that he just might meet someone, low and behold, ten seconds later he is introduced to a beautiful young lady. We know right from the start that they shall have a story of love of their own.

In each scene it is very clear that this is a Rom Com. This is a very clever opening scene as we are also introduced to many of the characters, and feel as though we understand their background.

Thriller

• There is a problem, for example, a murder. But we don't know who did it.
• We are given clues as to who did it, or how it was done.
• it is not made to scare us but thrill us
• We have a suprising end when we find out who did it.

This is the genral story line of a thriller.

In an opening sequence, you will ofeten find:

• Fast pased or load music.
• Hand held camera.
• A sence that something Big is about to happen.

I looked at Fight Club. In this opening sequence I found:

• Fast pased music.
• Fast moving camera.
• Flashing lights.
• Shaking Credits.
• A swetting man.
• A Narative.
• A man with a gun.
• A dark scene.

When I choose to look at Thrillers I watched the opening sequence of ‘The Number 23’. It is very obvious from the beginning that it is a Thriller. It opens with a shot of an old scrappy paper, which then has blotchy writing on it, which suggests that it’s rough. This is shown while there is slow but pounding music, which makes the scene intense. The shots are flickering from one to the other, which also gives the effect of being rough.

We then get lots of shots of the number 23, that and the title show that this will be a movie about 23, it is shown in a messy way, which also suggests it being a thriller. When the title comes up it is in red, which suggests blood, another indication of it being a thriller, which intensifies the audience. At this point the music starts to speed up and is still pounding, and is getting louder and louder, which makes the scene even more intense, as it suggests that the movie will start off slow, but get faster and faster, and even more intense. Blotches of blood are starting to appear, and they are spreading over the actor’s names, which suggest that there will be death in the movie, or at least the effect of it.

We are then taken to a slow moving scene compared to the credits, which reminds us that we have been hinted that the movie will start slow but get faster, and more intense. The audience then hears a narrative explaining that that day should have been a normal day, which shows that that day won’t be a normal day, so again it is indicated that this will be a thriller. When we go back in time to the 23rd of December we know that it will be a very important date as it reflects the title, so the suspense heightens.In this opening scene it is very obvious that this movie is a thriller.

I also choose to look at ‘Identity’. It was also clear in the opening sequence that it was a thriller, as it fitted all the conventions, and the audience was given many hints. First we hear the sound of thunder, and we immediately get the feeling of suspense, and know we are in for an intense. We are then met by the sound of a deep voiced narrative, at a slow pace, which also heightens the suspence.

We then meet a character that we guess is mental, as he is being treated by a doctor, and he is being recorded on a tape that says he is a patient, it also says session 12, the word session is often used for mental patients, and so we wonder what will happen with him. We become entreated. We are also shown many quick shots of scrap paper, with many ‘hang men’ drawn on them, which suggests that there will be a few murders in the film, and we are intrigued. Then there is blood shown over the hang men, which makes the scene even more intense.

Next we see a few shots of finger prints, which also gives a suspicious feel to the scene, and we guess that there will be a crime committed, but we don’t know exactly what, which is why we are intrigued to watch more. We then see that the next character shown has had a hard life, as he says that his mother has died.

Then there are many shots of newspaper cuts, and we immediately know that it is about something bad as bad news sells. This is confirmed when we see a woman dead with lots of blood around, and then we are shown more bodies, all with a lot of blood. We are then told that 6 residents of a home have been murdered. We get more and more interested in the story with more we are shown. This is a very good opening sequence as the audience knows it is a thriller, and want to continue watching the film.