Positioning the body...

We took some time to see what position looked best for Jazz lying on the floor. We wanted the positioning to look realistic and not staged.

We thought that the first position, which is shown in the photo on the left looked too unrealistic. We all agreed on this inclduing Jazz who thought it also felt staged when she was lying on the floor.

The photo on the right was the posotion we intially chose, however, after looking at it in more detail we realsied that her hand looked slightly staged, if she was dead, more than likely, her hand would not be placed on her stomach.

Finally, the photo underneath was the position we had chosen, this was becasue it looked more realistic and felt more natural for Jazz. We thought her hands were in a more natural positon and they didnt look like they were placed in that position on purpose.

Inspiration for our thriller...

We took inspiration from the AS Level Thriller 'Captive'. This is mainly becasue the opening of the film does not identify who has "captured" him and tied him up. This is something that we wanted to try and acheive in our film. We did not want to show the audience exactly who had murdered Jazz therefore, we only wanted to show them slight clues that would get them thinking.

We thought this would entice the audience and get them thinking more about the possible plot of the film. This would make the audience want to watch the whole film to know what actually happens.

We also took inspiration from dramas that we had watched on TV. These were all crime dramas that inspired our idea to have the aspect of a murder/crime that had happened in our thriller. All of the following thriller/dramas shown a crime and then the person who comitted the said crime was found out but at the start, the attacker was not known. This is an idea which we thought would be good to incorporate into our thriller.

          

These are all popular Drama's that appealed to us that were shown on ITV/BBC.

Draft Story Boarding

We have had many ideas for our film therefore we decided to make draft storyboards to save and view our initial ideas and to see what we like and what may need changing.

Filming Locations

The following locations are where we decided to film our thriller opening:

All filming took place at/in my house in Pencoed

Hallway:

Garden:

Garage:

We wanted to use some locations which were not typical of a thriller film so the juxtaposed aesthetics  of  the garage; which is a typical thriller film setting, compared to the hallway and garden worked really well. 

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

First Day Of Filimg

Location: My house - Pencoed

Date: Friday 6th January

Time: 9:30 AM

Today we started filming at my house and tried out a variety of shots which we thought would make our film interesting and unique.

Throughout the day we also got Jazz to lie on the floor to test the difference in the lighting at various points of time during the day and early evening.

The photo on the left is taken at approximately 4pm , whereas, the picture on the right is taken only a an hour later at around 5pm. There is a definite difference in the lighting therefore, we will have to be careful when filming to make sure the continuity of the lighting is consistent. The weather conditions will also make a difference as if it is raining or overcast, it could possibly get darker earlier. 

We preferred the lighting conditions displayed in the photo on the right and it looked more eerie and typical of a Thriller film colour and setting.

via GIPHY

Narrative Theorists in our Thriller

In our Thriller we will be using Todorov's theory of equilibrium and disequilibrium and also Levi Staruss' theory of binary opposition.

We have an idea for our film to open with a photo montage, therefore, this is moment where the equilibrium is evident, then, Jazz will be displayed lying on the floor which will be the disequilibrium, then the re-establishment of the equilibrium will not be shown in our opening but it will happen by the end of the film.

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via GIPHY

Binary opposition will also be used and this would be, life vs death, this is shown through Hannah and Josh living and arguing and then contrasted by Jazz's body lying lifeless on the floor.

We use a zoom in and out shot to represent one of the binary oppositions between Josh and Jazz. This zoom represents Innocence Vs Guilt/ Jealousy.

via GIPHY

Exploration into Narrative Media Theorists

Todorov:

Todorov in 1969 produced a theory which he believed to be able to be applied to any film. He believed that all films followed the same narrative pattern.

This pattern is as follows; the film beginning with an equilibrium, leading to a disequilibrium and then going back to an equilibrium. He suggested that this theory is structured in five stages.

1. A state of equilibrium at the outset.
2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action.
3. A recognition that there has been a disruption.
4. An attempt to repair the shown disruption.
5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium.

This theory is very popular and can be applied to many 'mainstream' film narratives such as: 'The Incredibles' 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Spiderman'

Propp:

Propp's narrative theory was based on the idea of having defined characters and roles throughout the narrative such as:

• Hero
• False Hero
• Villain
• Prince/Princess
• The Dispatcher

Propp believed that the protagonist would act as the hero figure in the film and would have some kind of conflict with the antagonist of the film who would act as the villain.

This type of conflict between the two roles/characters is shown in this scene of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2. The protagonist, Harry, battles with his enemy antagonist of the film, Voldemort.

Levi Strauss:

Levi Strauss believed in binary opposition throughout a films narrative. This is where a film would display evident contrasts between people, states of being or groups. For example:

• Good vs Evil
• Cats vs Dogs
• Life vs Death
• Boy vs Girl
• Peace vs War
• Strong vs Weak
• Black vs White

Levi Strauss used binary opposition as his theory was that all conflict was based around these oppositions and the majority of the time, the conflict between them would be the climax of the narrative.

An example of films that follow Levi Strauss' theory are below:

Planning the Narrative...

We created a mind map which displayed the ideas we had for our narrative 

Film companies that would produce our film

Thinking carefully about our target audiences and modern day society we discussed the idea of making our film accessible through the Internet. The main reason for this is because so many people stream movies and films via the Internet and sites such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.

We were very interested in the idea of Hybrid distribution for our thriller film, this was because it would ensure we could get our film out there and accessible through many social media platforms.

  

Film 4 Productions and BBC Three were companies that we were interested in looking at to produce our film as these are rather independent but have a large audience watching their productions. They are both easily accessible on an online platform and could be then further distributed onto movie streaming sites such as ,Netflix.

These type of companies are also suitable for the genre of our film as I have conducted some research and found that there are quite a few films that have been produced by Film 4, for example, that are of the Thriller genre. 

A main reason for choosing online distribution platforms for our film was indeed that fact that the majority of our target audience use online film streaming sites, however, we did take cost into consideration. Smaller and more independent companies would've been significantly cheaper than the larger production companies that our our there producing films for cinemas such as, Odeon and Cineworld. Therefore, the hybrid disctrubtion of our film using smaller companies and online, social media platforms was a much more suitable idea to use in the production of our thriller film.

Differences between a British & Hollywood Film Production

I made these mind maps to highlight the main differences between British Films & Hollywood Films

British & American Production Companies

I found these useful slides on Slide Share whilst I was researching into production Companies.

Link to original source - Slide Share

The Secret Window Analysis

Write an analysis of the opening sequence to 'The Secret Window', paying particular attention to how it attracts and audience.

The Secret Window is a psychological thriller, written and directed by David keopp and staring Johnny Depp. The film begins with the protagonist, Mort Rainy (Johnny Depp) in a car looking frustrated but focused. He then enters a motel room and finds a man and women in bed. Automatically, the audience assume that the woman is Mort Rainy's wife.

The sequence opens with the production and director titles followed by a sound bridge. Initially the sound resembles a heart beat as it is a constant heavy thud. This grabs the audiences attention as they are intrigued to know what the sound actually is. The sound is then revealed to be the wipers on a car which slightly shocks the audience as it is not what they are expecting.

The opening shot is a close up which is focused on the male character who's facial expressions can clearly be seen. He comes across as being focused and aggressive which reflects that there is something on his mind. This creates a feeling of tension for the audience as they want to know what is going through his head. A director would use this camera shot in order to entice the audience and make them feel involved and connected to the characters thoughts and feelings, which are confusion and dispair as he doesn't know whats going to happen to his marriage. The camera stays focused on the main character, 'Mort Rainy', for a long time making the audience question what is happening and what is going to happen next. During this, a close up of Mort Rainy's wedding ring is exposed suggesting to the audience that something is going to happen which may affect his marriage.

The next significant shot of the film  is of the car reversing at speed. His driving reflects his mental and reckless state of mind, This is then followed by a medium shot which shows him looking at a desk to where the motel room keys are stored. This shot suggests to the audience that the character is focused on something and is considering doing something he shouldn't do. This shot also clearly reflects the juxstapositioning of the cold outside and the warmth of the inside making the audience want to watch more.

Usually, an establishing shot is used half-way through the scene to clearly show the location, setting, time and day/weather. The director would use this shot to inform the audience about where the film is set. Also, the fact that the film is set at a 'Motel' suggests that other people are there which draws the audience in, making them want to see who is inside.

The mise-en-scene id this film is interesting. The colour is monochromatic as it is a dark, cold, winters night. There are different shades of blue used, making the red motel doors and taillights stand out. The red that is used for the motel doors could connote danger in the rooms, making the audience feel uneasy about him entering the room.


The open door on his car suggests that he is only determined on one thing, leading him to drive erratically and leave the doors open of the car.

The non-digetic sound of the voice saying "Don't go back", entices the audience as we don't really know who is speaking. It makes the audience question whether someone is in the car with him or is it his conscious speaking. As the sound progresses we can infer that it is his thoughts that are spoke aloud, almost a 'voiceover' throughout non-digetic sound.

The digetic sound of the car is loud and overpowering. The audience can see and hear the car moving. The car screeches showing that he is driving out of control, reflecting his state of mind, this makes the audience question whether something dangerous is going to happen to him. This is also taken from the fact that he is driving very quickly in snow and icy conditions. The director portrays Mort Rainys state of being and his out of control attitude throughout his driving. 

It is evident from the opening of the film that there is a sense of continuity editing with slow cuts between each shot, particularly the first and second shot. This makes the audience focus on Mort Rainy making them feel focused just like him.

From watching the film, I have found one continuity error. This happens when Mort Rainy gets out the car and goes into the building. The audience can hear the car door being slammed shut, however, when the following shots shows the car again the door is seen to be widely left open.