We came up with various ideas for locations for our thriller. For our first idea we thought of the following locations:
-The park
-Hillary Gardens by the alleyway.
We were going to use these two locations predominantly for our first idea, to show the two girls walking home from school being followed by the stalker.
However, after changing the idea slightly we came up with the following new locations for shooting our film:
- Mr Darby and Mr Heimens' Office and the school corridor.
-Crowshott avenue
- Chloe's house
These locations better suited our improved storyline for the film. The office conveys an idea of equilibrium in our theme, as it represents a normal , every day working environment. It also enables us to reveal Lucifer's character (the stalker) more.
Crowshott avenue was also used to show a state of equilibrium, as the stalker takes his normal route home after work. It is quite a quiet road, and there weren't any pedestrians around at the time we chose to shoot, therefore we could shoot the continuity of the thriller effectively without interruptions.
Chloe's house also proved to be a good choice of location as we could adapt a room (the study) in her house to lucifer's character as a stalker. Adapting the room would convey a sense of suspense, mystery and weirdness.
Overall our final three locations proved very effective for the filming of our thriller.
Film (1965)-This is a silent movie made by Samuel Beckett. Although there is no speaking in this film, we found that the soundtrack to be interesting because we feel that something like this would suit our opening perfectly. The soundtrack has a fairly high pitched quality which gives the piece a sinister tone, which is something we would definitely try to capture in our opening. The other reason that we would like to use something like this for our soundtrack is because the soundtrack is played over the top as a shot which is panning over an area, which is exactly how we will be using our soundtrack in our opening.
The Godfather(1972)- Another piece that we looked at was the soundtrack to The Godfather. The elements from this soundtrack that we will take for our own, will be the very orchestral sound that this piece has. This piece has shown us how we do not have to use a piece of music that would necessarily be scary on its own, to still achieve an opening that the audience will find frightening. As a group will also liked it because it was quite and we felt that if we were to have a more quite soundtrack then it would suit our piece better.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)- We also listened to the soundtrack from the thriller movie Silence of the Lambs. What we liked about this soundtrack was that the mood of the music changes throughout the piece and this is something that we want to do with our piece so that it will fit with what is happening at the different points in the opening. We also liked that with this piece of music it felt scary without any footage, which helps add to the tension when it is eventually added to recording.
The Shining- This opening is very different to the other ones that we have listened to. This one has a sense of irony because although it is a thriller, the soundtrack isn’t particularly scary. We don’t think that something like this would work in our film as we think we need our soundtrack to be more obviously scary and something that will create suspense.
Jaws- After listening to this soundtrack we decided that we wanted something that was more instrumental then this soundtrack, however we have taken inspiration from this soundtrack because we feel that this soundtrack creates tension, which is something we want to do for our piece.
After conducting more research into people’s motives behind stalking we decided that the plot that we had previously discussed could be improved. We also decided that we needed a more convincing story line which would not only establish the stalkers character, but also gave our piece more enigma codes then our original idea had. The research that we did into why people stalk has also given us reasons to change the plot. Now the plot starts with Lucifer at his desk at work. He has OCD and when Lily walks past his office window, Lucifer watches her walk past. This creates an enigma code because we want to know why he is watching her. Lucifer leaves his office and goes home. When he arrives home he goes straight upstairs, where he goes to look at a wall full of photographs, which are all shots of Lily. It ends with a shot of the photographs.
Using the new script we decided that between now and the next meeting Charlotte and Sadaq would work on the storyboards for our opening and then show them to the group at the next meeting. They would use the plot line that we had discussed in the meeting to do so. Chloe would think about the different costumes we would need for the opening. The costumes are for the two main characters Lily and Lucifer, who both work in an office so they would both have to wear office wear. Rahul was given the task of finding a suitable location for our opening to be set. He would also find out what permission was required if we were to use the different settings. As a group we would also research soundtracks from films to give us an idea as to what our soundtrack would be.
During the first meeting we decided on who would play which role in the filming process. Chloe and Sadaq- Camera. Rahul- Actor. Charlotte- Actor. We also decided on the order of our shots and what our plot line was.
Plot: We start with a girl (Lily), at college, talking to her friend about how she is paranoid that she is being stalked. The friend dismisses it but in fact Lily is right someone is following her. On her way home from college she becomes aware that someone is following her at that moment. We see a shot of the stalker (Lucifer) from the back and we also see shots of different parts of his body, which helps us build up an idea of who the stalker is. The scene ends with Lily and Lucifer coming face to face.
Between now and the next meeting we have decided to do further research into peoples motives behind stalking, which will hopefully gives us a better insight into why our stalker would be stalking Lily. We will also research different films which involve stalkers.
In our opening we have considered giving the villan OCD. His OCD would give an explanation for the obbsessive thoughts he has about a woman and his OCD could play a major part in the meis-en-scene of the opening. Before shooting we have decided to research OCD so that we can undersatnd the condition better, which will hopefully help us create a charcter who you would believe to have OCD more. The more convincing his OCD is the more impact it has on the film. The research has also given us ideas on how to arrange the scenes and it gives us a greater insight into the antagonists mind.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
OCD is repetitive obsessions or compulsions, which cause anxiety.
Obsessions are thoughts and feelings which cause distreess. Examples of this include:
Checking if doors are locked.
Checking repeatedly weather appliances are switched on.
Intrusive thoughts or images.
Intense fear of making mistakes.
Order and arrangement of objects.
Repeating words and phrases.
Compulsion are compulsive behaviour which counter acts the anxiety which your obsessions cause. Examples of this include:
Handwashing.
Touching.
Counting.
Arranging objects.
Doing things is a certain way all the time.
Checking things are safe.
Continuously making sure dangerous objects are put away i.e. kitchen knives.
Hording objects.
Asking others for reassurance.
OCD can cause people to feel stressed, anxious, guilty and even depressed. OCD is very time consuming and therefore takes you away from you away from a normal work and family life. OCD can out great emotional starin on your life.
The only way OCD sufferers can relieve themselves of anxiety is by carrying out their rituals. In most cases if people cannot carry out their rituals it just causes increased anxiety but in more extreme cases of OCD not being allowed to carry out their rituals can cause pyschotic episiodes.
The difference between someone with OCD and everyone else is that other people have the right and wrong way to do things, although they are open to changing their method, yet people with OCD are much more rigid in their methods of doing something. e.g. if a person with OCD loaded a dishwasher the 'wrong' way, an OCD suffer would have to reload the dishes in the 'right' way and wash them all over again, as they need things done in a certain way.
After all the research we have decided to use the different aspects that we have discovered to help build our OCD charcter and help build the mies-en-scene. In our opening we have paid perticular attention to the charcters obsessive thoughts, intrusive images (The stalker has a board full of pictures with the girl he loves). We have also focused on the fact he is obsessive with the idea he has a fear of making mistakes and rejection, which is the reason for him not asking the girl he has known for so long, out before this point. With the compulsions we have adopted the idea that the charcter has to check things a certain amount of time and the fact he has different images and belongings of the girl, shows he is a horder. We have taken inspiration from the film 'American Psycho' for this aspect of the film
After filming our preliminary task, we have learnt alot about the pre-production and production process. We now understand just how difficult it is to ensure continuity throughout filming, taking into account camera angles, camera shots and position, whilst also ensuring the characters, mise en scene and setting remain the same, with no errors, throughout the filming process. Every aspect of filming needs to be controlled in order to prevent disruption to the continuity.
We also learnt about the need for thorough planning. For this task, we completed a short storyboard and script, so as to make sure everyone knew exactly what needed to be done during the filming process, and that mistakes could be avoided. There was also limited time to film, and so reducing mistakes helped us work in a time-efficient manner.
Editing the film was also a new experience for us, and proved quite enjoyable as we experimented with different transitions, titles and other effects.
After completing the film, we have noted that there are areas in which we need to improve on before planning for our final film. In the future, we need to make sure that the mise-en-scene is planned in advance, and that any props we need are available to us. This should reduce the overall time taken to complete filming. Our new knowledge and experience using a camera, and finding the correct positioning in order to establsh continuity, should enable us to produce an effective, continuous film for our coursework.
What is your favourite thriller movie and what was it that you liked about it? The most popular choice to emerge from these results was The Godfather. Many people seemed to like it as it crossed audiences, for example the romance aspect in the film made it more appealing to women. Another popular film to come out of the results was pulp fiction. This was a popular choice because it used humour, whilst still being a thriller and it was also a very unique plot that is so unlike other thrillers. Silence of the Lambs was also a popular choice, mainly because they found the main character so scary.
From 1-6 (1being the highest and 6 being the lowest) which thriller sub-genre do you prefer? 1. Psychological thriller 2. Thriller of acquired identity. 3. The thriller of murderous passion. 4. The political thriller. 5. Morale confrontation. 6. Innocent-on-the-run Do you prefer the plot to keep to a liner or non-liner narrative? Non-Liner: 18 Liner: 12
Do you think that the plot should mean the hero wins at the end of the film? Yes- 28 No- 2
Do you think that the plot is more effective when set in an everyday location? Yes- 17 No-13
What role do you think costume plays in a movie? Very important -4 Important- 11 Unimportant - 9 Very unimportant-6
Do you think that props play an important role? Yes-20 No- 10
Do you like twists in the story? Yes-24 No- 6
Do you think sound effects add to the tension in a movie? Yes-19 No-11
What actors do you associate with thrillers? Al Picino Antony Hopkins Tom Cruise Shia LaBouf
The film that has inspired us the most in the making of our opening is 'Seven', starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. The main aspect that we have taken from the film is the idea of taking lots of different clips and then creating a montage of the clips. The film has also inspired us with the lighting, as the start of the film is very dark and the only colours are black, white and red. This has particular inspired us for the scenes showing the stalker gathering together there pictures of the person he is stalking. Other influences included, 'Secret Window' as this film shows a writer tracking down a man who believes that a man has plagerised his work. This film is about some one aquring the identy of somebody else, which is exactly what we have chosen to do in our film. This film hyas made use think about how our story could develop, for example we think the film could go on to the antagonist being in the protagonists house.
