Preliminary Task

Representation of gender in my film opening

My initial ideas for my thriller opening

This is my initial mind map showing all my ideas for my thriller opening 'mad house' which includes my ideas about props, location, music and potential themes within our thriller film.

Opening of Panic Room

The opening of the thriller film 'panic room' starts with the 'Columbia' production logo which is of the statue of liberty which makes it easier to associate the logo with the production as the statue of liberty is a well known landmark. As the production logo fades to black, we start to hear non diegetic sound which sounds similar to wind blowing, which could make the audience think that this film is going to be full of suspense, at 22 seconds, we can again see the production company, behind the text, we can see many buildings and skyscrapers, which we assume may be based in America as they are well known for there high buildings, the camera then zooms in slowly, and then cuts to the next scene which still has information about the production.
At 32 seconds the scene also changes to another wide shot over the city, the name 'Jodie foster' slowly movers right across the screen, Jodie foster is the star of the film we can tell that she is the star because her name appears first in the opening. Other stars start to appear until 48 seconds into the opening.
at 48 seconds of the opening the title 'panic room' appears, and stays on screen for 7 seconds, as the title appears the music becomes a lot deeper and slower, after the title goes credits of the cast begins to come up showing different backgrounds, in the background we can hear a ticking noise which raises suspense because it could represent time is running out which could also link in to the plot of the film. Also in the background we can hear a lot string instruments such as cellos and violins which also sets the tone of the film, and tells the audience that the film will be quite melancholy due to the dullness of the music and the use of greys and light blues in the scenes.
There is a use of iconography in the opening of the scene used, which is time square, what is in new York, but because it is well known we can identify and assume where this film is and the audience can then gain familiarity with the setting which will then increase the chances of the audience giving a response while watching this film.

Character Profile

Practice shots



 

-High Angle shot

-Extreme close-up

-Medium shot

-worm shot

-Over the shoulder

Wideshot

 

 

Extreme wideshot

 

- Low angle shot

Shooting script

This is our initial shooting script..

1) Close up of the stalkers eyes
2) Montage of the stalker putting on his clothes
3) Close up of the old letter he is ready
4) Shot of the man packing a bag
5) Extreme close up of the man putting something with a handle in the bag
6) Wide shot of him leaving the house and tracking him walk down the street.
7) Medium of the woman brushing her hair
8) Tracking shot of her walking down the road
9) panning of her walking down the road (fade to black)
10) Tracking shot of the woman running to seek help and then runs off when the gate is locked.
11) POV shot of the woman being chased by the stalker
12) Low angle shot of the woman on the floor after tripping over
13) Two shot of the stalker and the victim when the woman is on the floor
14) Extreme close up of the woman's eyes
15) Extreme close up of the man slowly going in his bag
16) (montage of the bloody weapon
17) establishing shot of the city
18) The mans face close up
19) close up of the woman screaming
20) close up of the maudsley hospital sign and other signs and notices
21) fade to black as the title comes in

Costume analysis

The costume in my film is very important but also very simple, the characters in my film will be wearing the most authentic costume most fitted to their role and how I wish for them to be portrayed by the target audience.
I made sure that the stalker (Eugene Leonards) was portrayed as creepy and a dark mysterious person, and I had done this by making him wear all black, which means he does not want to be seen by the victim.
Also in the opening we can see the man put on black gloves, black gloves can represent crime and law breaking as the stalker may not want to leave any DNA behind at the crime scene. Also it can represent death because usually at funerals the relatives and family are usually wearing black gloves to show remorse.

The victim Emma Reynolds, will be wearing normal authentic clothing such as jeans, coat etc, because I am trying to make her seem normal and innocent, there is a scene where she may be wearing white to show her purity, which is significant because it contrasts with black which the stalker will be wearing.

Collage style images to represrnt the target audience of 'Mad House'

Target audience research

It is very important to make ensure that you film appeals to the target audience you are trying to target and if they would genuinely pay to watch this film at the cinema. To ensure this we had to ask the target audience some questions, we asked 3 different people the same questions, the answers are highlighted in a different colour.

 

 Q) What is your favourite film genre?

A) Horror

B) Comedy

C) Action adventure

 

Q) How often do you watch these films and where do you watch them?

 A) “I usually watch them at my friend’s house with my friends as i am too scared to watch it by myself. I watch horror films about 3 times a month”

B) “I watch comedies with my family every weekend because they are always on television”

C) “I watch them at home, but I sometimes go to the cinema to watch the mainstream when they come out such as “fast and furious” or “expendables” etc”

 

Q) British films or American films? (And briefly explain why you think this)

A) American – “Americans have created better horror films than the British”

B) British – “British humour is a lot funnier than American humour”

C) American – “The American film industry has a lot more money which means a lot more special effects”

 

Q) After explaining to the target audience what our film is about, I asked them if they would watch it...

A) “Yes I would most likely watch it because although it isn’t a horror film, it has got some elements of horror which I would enjoy to watch”

B) “Honestly I can’t see myself watching this film because I am genuinely not interested in thriller or horror films”

C) “I would watch this film, but i would wait until it comes out on television because i only go to the cinema to watch films I really want to watch”

Costume and props list

For my film ‘Madhouse’ it is essential we use the right props and costumes to make the film look as authentic as possible;

Long black coat / dark clothing- so that the stalker can blend into the night and doesn’t give any of his features away as he may be recognised by the woman who he is stalking.  

Mask- to cover the stalkers face

Bloody knife- the knife is one type of iconography which can be associated with physiological thriller, because of previous films such as ‘Halloween’  

Black gloves- is usually associated with crime as the criminal wouldn’t want to get any DNA on the murder weapon, so that they would not get caught for committing the offence.

The girl would be wearing normal clothing as in the film she is a normal working woman, so the clothing would be quite formal for some scenes of the film.

 

Mad House shot list

Mad House shot list

 

During my opening of my film I will be using a variation of shots in order to create different emotions and responses from the audience such as;

Close ups to give the audience some familiarity with the characters in the opening so that they can create a bond with them so that if something happens to one of the characters in the film the audience would have more of a reaction and more emotions which would also get them hooked onto the film and would make them want to watch all of it.

Long shots/Wide shots are essential in my film as my film is a psychological thriller i want the main character to seem isolated and lonely, and it is extremely easy to portray him using these specific shots, as the shot would make him look smaller and weaker and very vulnerable.

There will also be a lot of high angle shots so make the characters look stronger and dominant which will also play a big role in my film as I am going to make the woman being stalked look vulnerable and weak, so that we can also establish the role and what’s happening to her and her uselessness in the situation as the stalker will be portrayed as dominant and stronger.

There will be a lot of establishing shots, because they also give the audience a sense of familiarity, during the establishing shots i hope to use a form of iconography which will make the audience easier to establish where the film will be set, and what genre the film will belong to.

Extreme close ups are also very important in my film, because as the shot will be focussing on a specific feature on ones face or a prop, there will also be a deeper meaning to it which will hopefully create a response from the audience, such as a close up of the eyes may be significant because it can show a lot of emotion because it is easy to read different emotion through the eyes and also it may create some suspense, because  they audience may think why are they feeling that type of emotion etc.