Script
HOME.DAY.
Anna walks through apartment door, throws herself on the sofa.
JOEY (hidden by camera) creeps up behind her with a knife and jumps on the sofa next to her and pokes her in the arm.
Anna: Joey! You idiot! What ya tryna do to me?!
Joey: Tea?!
Joey plays with Anna's hair jokingly.
Anna: Sighing go away Joe!
Joey: Laughing how's work?
Anna: Same stuff, you know, my dad and his ego!?
Joey: Coffee?
Joey goes into the kitchen and sets up the mugs.
Anna: I met a guy today.
Joey stops to listen.
Joey: You did...?
Anna: Taking off her coat yeaah! Daaavid.
Bringing the cups into the living area.
Joey: No need to worry, you won't be seeing him again, you probably scared him off!
Anna: Frowing shut up! I saw that dude today, you know the..laughs oh know you don't... he was my childhood sweetie, you know the creepy type attempts to scare Joey Lucas his name was.
Joey turns on the T.V
Anna: Laughing do you ever listen to me?
Joey: Smiling sorry... what d'ya say?
Anna slaps the back of Joey's head and they both laugh.
END OF SCENE
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
Monday, 8 December 2008
section 2 research into examples of comparable media
In class we watched the openings to three films: 'Jaws', 'Silence of the Lambs' and 'American Psycho' and discussed the conventions of a typical thriller opening.
Usually in the opening of a thriller, we expect to see someone die or for the film to start with action. Lars De Saurbergs theory was the idea of protraction and concealment. Protraction was to draw something out, and concealment was to deliberatly hide something from the audience. 'Introduce the exotic' was what John Cawelti thought and Pascal Bonitzer thought that 'partial vision' would be appropriate for a thriller.
The mise-en-scene in the opening of 'Jaws' would not normally be associated with a thriller. It is naturally lit by the sun as it is setting with the orange and red sky. This could be seen as a warning perhaps as red signifys danger. However on the other hand it could be seen as quite a calm and tranquil setting as it is set on a beach. The props include a bouy and a harbour which you would associate with the beach. The buoy is used as a lifeline as the woman grabs onto it when she is being attacked by the shark, but it is then taken away from her.
In the film there is a use of diegetic and non-diegitic sounds. The diegitic sounds being the sounds that the characters can hear such as the waves etc, and the non-diegitic sounds being the music that the character can not hear. The 'Jaws' theme reoccurs telling us that the shark is present. This is a non-diegitic sound. The increase in the tempo of the music builds the tension.
The narrative structure of 'Jaws' is in a linear order as it is straight forward.
The film opens with an establishing shot and we see everything thats in the scene and helps the audience to understand the setting. The end of this scene finishes with a re-establishing shot. The use of long shots show us how far out she is in the water. When the woman is being attacked, the camera is placed just above the water next to the victim. This involves the audience in the film and makes them feel part of it. As the shark is nearing towards the woman, a low angle shot is used to give us its point of view.
'American Psycho' begins by deliberately trying to trick us by using the typical conventions of a thriller film. We are made to believe that something bad is going to happen as we see a knife, and something that supposedly looks like blood. This film breaks the conventions of a thriller again as no-one is killed. The graphics of the film are fairly simple and don't really draw attention to themselves. The contrast of the font, (uses serif and san-serif font) contrasts which could be linked to the character as having a split personality perhaps. The use of bold and contrast in font breaks up the writing.
The use of the classical music makes the audience feel calm but the music then contrasts with the loud dance music which is played in the club scene.
The film is in a linear order as it shows us what Patrick Bateman (main character) does every morning when he uses his beauty products and his exercise regime etc. It could be seen as a montage as it is just a series of shots of him one after the other. When going through his routine, short shots are used to show how much he is doing but in a short space of time.
In a lot of parts, Patrick is looking into a mirror and we see the reflection - not the real person. This indicates that what we are looking at isn't real but an illusion. Also as he slowly peels of his facial mask, this also is linked as it seems he is more than one person.
The mise-en-scene in this film, such as the costume/hair/make-up show us that he is quite proud with his appearance, for example the use of face masks. Also he seems quite smart and rich as he is wearing a suit.
'Silence of the Lambs' begins with an establishing shot of the woods. This helps to orientate the audience. As the woman is running, a tracking shot it used to follow her as she is training. The end of this scene finishes with another establishing shot of the FBI building.
This film breaks the codes and conventions of your typical thriller as the hero is neither big nor strong physically.
The graphics are rather boring as they are just big, black and bold writing. The outline of the writing is a very thin line of white which makes them stand out more. The writing is that big that it blocks out parts of the scene, but not the important bits.
The music is quite eerybut it changes when she starts running. When we reach the FBI building
Usually in the opening of a thriller, we expect to see someone die or for the film to start with action. Lars De Saurbergs theory was the idea of protraction and concealment. Protraction was to draw something out, and concealment was to deliberatly hide something from the audience. 'Introduce the exotic' was what John Cawelti thought and Pascal Bonitzer thought that 'partial vision' would be appropriate for a thriller.
The mise-en-scene in the opening of 'Jaws' would not normally be associated with a thriller. It is naturally lit by the sun as it is setting with the orange and red sky. This could be seen as a warning perhaps as red signifys danger. However on the other hand it could be seen as quite a calm and tranquil setting as it is set on a beach. The props include a bouy and a harbour which you would associate with the beach. The buoy is used as a lifeline as the woman grabs onto it when she is being attacked by the shark, but it is then taken away from her.
In the film there is a use of diegetic and non-diegitic sounds. The diegitic sounds being the sounds that the characters can hear such as the waves etc, and the non-diegitic sounds being the music that the character can not hear. The 'Jaws' theme reoccurs telling us that the shark is present. This is a non-diegitic sound. The increase in the tempo of the music builds the tension.
The narrative structure of 'Jaws' is in a linear order as it is straight forward.
The film opens with an establishing shot and we see everything thats in the scene and helps the audience to understand the setting. The end of this scene finishes with a re-establishing shot. The use of long shots show us how far out she is in the water. When the woman is being attacked, the camera is placed just above the water next to the victim. This involves the audience in the film and makes them feel part of it. As the shark is nearing towards the woman, a low angle shot is used to give us its point of view.
'American Psycho' begins by deliberately trying to trick us by using the typical conventions of a thriller film. We are made to believe that something bad is going to happen as we see a knife, and something that supposedly looks like blood. This film breaks the conventions of a thriller again as no-one is killed. The graphics of the film are fairly simple and don't really draw attention to themselves. The contrast of the font, (uses serif and san-serif font) contrasts which could be linked to the character as having a split personality perhaps. The use of bold and contrast in font breaks up the writing.
The use of the classical music makes the audience feel calm but the music then contrasts with the loud dance music which is played in the club scene.
The film is in a linear order as it shows us what Patrick Bateman (main character) does every morning when he uses his beauty products and his exercise regime etc. It could be seen as a montage as it is just a series of shots of him one after the other. When going through his routine, short shots are used to show how much he is doing but in a short space of time.
In a lot of parts, Patrick is looking into a mirror and we see the reflection - not the real person. This indicates that what we are looking at isn't real but an illusion. Also as he slowly peels of his facial mask, this also is linked as it seems he is more than one person.
The mise-en-scene in this film, such as the costume/hair/make-up show us that he is quite proud with his appearance, for example the use of face masks. Also he seems quite smart and rich as he is wearing a suit.
'Silence of the Lambs' begins with an establishing shot of the woods. This helps to orientate the audience. As the woman is running, a tracking shot it used to follow her as she is training. The end of this scene finishes with another establishing shot of the FBI building.
This film breaks the codes and conventions of your typical thriller as the hero is neither big nor strong physically.
The graphics are rather boring as they are just big, black and bold writing. The outline of the writing is a very thin line of white which makes them stand out more. The writing is that big that it blocks out parts of the scene, but not the important bits.
The music is quite eerybut it changes when she starts running. When we reach the FBI building
Friday, 28 November 2008
Questionnaire
We were told to create a questionnaire asking people about what is crucial to include in a 'thriller' film. Within the research, we surveyed 40 people aged between 16 and 18 years old. Question 1 asked if jealousy was a good enough motive to commit murder as one of the main themes in our film is jealousy. More than 50% agreed that it was. The next question asked about the viewers favourite genre of film. The answers we received from this question is that more than a quarter people asked said that their favourite type of film was a horror and 12.5% said thriller. Another question asked whether they preffered the film to include a twist, and 65% agreed with this and be in a chronological order. We also asked what a thriller should include and from the answers we received we come to the conclusion that it should involve death, blood, gore and sex.
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
characterization
name: anna corwin
age: 23
sex: female
clothes & props: blouse + shirt, pyjamas, casualwear (jeans)
-gun
-coffee
-paperwork
character outline:
anna is an upcoming journalist, who faces the everyday stress of life and wants to be 'normal' and fit in with others. anna just wants to settle down into her career and enjoy being young. she doesn't realise the difficulties that will follow.
name: joe kay (joey)
age: 27
sex: male
clothes & props: casual wear (jeans, polo shirt)
-gun
-knife
-car
character outline:
Joe is Anna's best friend. They share everything with one another, even their appartment. Joey adores Anna and always has, but can you ever love someone TOO much?
age: 23
sex: female
clothes & props: blouse + shirt, pyjamas, casualwear (jeans)
-gun
-coffee
-paperwork
character outline:
anna is an upcoming journalist, who faces the everyday stress of life and wants to be 'normal' and fit in with others. anna just wants to settle down into her career and enjoy being young. she doesn't realise the difficulties that will follow.
name: joe kay (joey)
age: 27
sex: male
clothes & props: casual wear (jeans, polo shirt)
-gun
-knife
-car
character outline:
Joe is Anna's best friend. They share everything with one another, even their appartment. Joey adores Anna and always has, but can you ever love someone TOO much?
Monday, 24 November 2008
treatment kym sutcliffe
Alleyway- Man is followed and killed by a mystery man.
Alleyway 2- Anna makes her way home in the exact same alley.
home - goes home and tells her room mate (joe) about her day.
club - anna goes clubbing with friend lucy. lucas tries to talk to her but she talks with someone else. she then dances with another man and later kisses him.
toilet - man that anna has just been with goes to the toilet. he is killed by mystery man.
club - lucy tries to get a drunken anna to come home with her but she does't want to leave.
home - joe takes anna home and puts her to bed.
work - next morning, anna goes to work. lucy enters and reminds anna of the events that happened on the previous night. tells her that the man she was with was murdered. anna gets a phone call yet no-one speaks. finally joe speaks.
work (months later) - annas new work partner (david) stays with anna as they are both working late. end up sleeping with eachother. david takes anna home and as she walks up to her house she hears a crash. david has been involved in a hit and run. anna tries to help david, joe rings an ambulance. goes to hospital, talks to joe whilst waiting for the news. they are then informed that david is dead. anna is very upset and not the same.
death of father - joe takes anna to a derelict house. ties her up, looks and sees that her father is in the same state as she is in. lucas and joe both explain why they did what they did, because they both were obsessed by her. joe kills annas dad.
final death- whilst joe is cleaning himself up in a different room, anna begs lucas for him to let her go. eventually he gives in. she finds a gun and shoots it at joe. she wrestles with him, shoots him again several more times and watches him die. blackout. flashback to happier times with joe.
Posted by Sophie at 03:01 0 comments
Alleyway 2- Anna makes her way home in the exact same alley.
home - goes home and tells her room mate (joe) about her day.
club - anna goes clubbing with friend lucy. lucas tries to talk to her but she talks with someone else. she then dances with another man and later kisses him.
toilet - man that anna has just been with goes to the toilet. he is killed by mystery man.
club - lucy tries to get a drunken anna to come home with her but she does't want to leave.
home - joe takes anna home and puts her to bed.
work - next morning, anna goes to work. lucy enters and reminds anna of the events that happened on the previous night. tells her that the man she was with was murdered. anna gets a phone call yet no-one speaks. finally joe speaks.
work (months later) - annas new work partner (david) stays with anna as they are both working late. end up sleeping with eachother. david takes anna home and as she walks up to her house she hears a crash. david has been involved in a hit and run. anna tries to help david, joe rings an ambulance. goes to hospital, talks to joe whilst waiting for the news. they are then informed that david is dead. anna is very upset and not the same.
death of father - joe takes anna to a derelict house. ties her up, looks and sees that her father is in the same state as she is in. lucas and joe both explain why they did what they did, because they both were obsessed by her. joe kills annas dad.
final death- whilst joe is cleaning himself up in a different room, anna begs lucas for him to let her go. eventually he gives in. she finds a gun and shoots it at joe. she wrestles with him, shoots him again several more times and watches him die. blackout. flashback to happier times with joe.
Posted by Sophie at 03:01 0 comments
Sunday, 2 November 2008
thriller media kym sutcliffe
Martin Ruben wrote a book based on a range critics opinions and ideas on a how a thriller should be, the book was entitled 'Thrillers'. Ruben begins with G K Chesterton, who felt he had to defend the genre. Chesterton though that the thriller was a modern genre and mainly has the setting of an urban landscape. When speaking of the genre, he claimed the purpose was to find ''the poetry of modern life''.
Northrop Frye built upon Chestertons' critique. Frye stated that the hero is usually an ordinary person, and strangely that a thriller is very similar to romance saying ''the hero of romance moves in a world in which the ordinary laws of nature are slightly suspended''. He thought that a thriller is what turns an ''enchanted forest'' into a modern city.
Northrop Frye and G K Chestertons' ideas were combined by John Cawelti, claiming that a thriller ''transforms the city from a modern centre of commerce, industry and science into a place of enchantment and mystery'' and this was achieved by introducing ''The Exotic'' into the everyday, normal world.
W H Matthews based a lot of his work around fantasy and fiction, relating to mazes/labrynths. In Matthews opinion, he believes that for a thriller to be successful, there should be twists, turns, dead ends etc. It has to be a puzzling journey, one in which the audience doesn't solve too easily.
Pascal Bonitzer introduced the thought of 'partial vision' in relation to what Matthews had said previously, meaning that the audience should not understand everything that is going on throughout, to make it more interesting and build suspense.
Lars Ole Saurberg talked about two ways in which suspense can be added - concealment and protraction. He thought that the inevitable should be delayed, and that something should be deliberately hidden from the audience in order to make the thriller successful.
The final critic was by a man called Noel Carrol. Carrol said it was important to create questions as it keeps the audience in suspense, for example - ''Will the hero survive?''
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