Thriller film final edit

Story board for "Fathers Day"

G321 Coursework:

Question 1, In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?


My groups thriller "Fathers Day" was greatly inspired by the edgy, gritty scenes of 'Kidulthood' the real life theme showing life of inner city kids, some misunderstood by others for the way they dress and talk, which inspired our character Stephan "Stevie" Bennett. The heat warming yet gripping and at the same time depressing scene of 'Kidulthood' where the main character "Trife" has been attacked and is dying in his friends arms, This scene inspired our last scene with powerful music and crafted camera work, The darkness and putrid location of the scene brings a sense of reality and disillusion. Our thrillers last strangling scene is a generic feature of thriller films, with such inspirations as in Misfits when 'Curtis' had a plastic bag over his head and was being strangled, the jolty camera work makes you feel as vulnerable and helpless as the character in question, which is a factor we used in our thriller, as Rachel Steele is being strangled by her father Joseph Steele you feel a lot of empathy for the character as you feel as defenseless as Rachel hoping that her friends Stevie, Adam and Mimi get to her aid in time before its to late. Just as in the film Witness the violent attack on the police officer both 'Witness' and 'Fathers Day' giving a gritty location to add to the tension and disgust of the scene, with 'Witness' murder scene being held in dirty toilets and 'Fathers Day' being filmed in putrid back ally's which the audience can relate to. Just as you know the fate of 'Marion' in 'Psycho' you  feel you can predict what is going to happen to Rachel, as the tension builds you know something is going to get her, Rachel does not save the day or is conceived as a Femme Fetal unlike such characters as 'Jackie' in Jackie Brown, Rachel is more based on characters such as Marion, where a seemingly nice and respected man, is not all right in the head, with the Generic stereotype of a woman being helpless and vulnerable. The title of the film 'Fathers Day' links into the film as the killer is the father of Rachel, an overprotective parent who takes it to far, a middle class character who stereotypes Stevie for how he dresses and does not want his daughter hanging around with such misfits. 




Question 2, How does your media product represent particular social groups?


In fathers day, Stevie is judged by people everyday for the clothes he wears, Stevie is refer'd to as a 'Chav' on a daily basis, when he just wants to be individual but also is in a lower class to Rachel, Adam and others so cannot afford to dress like them, so Adam being his best friend decides to dress like Stevie to make him feel like he does fit in, all this is widely linked to the attack on Rachel at the end of the scene as Joseph Steele, Rachel's father has been overly protective since Rachel was born, Rachel tried to break out and go around with boys who were up to no good so she could let out some steam, but unfortunately Joseph finds out and attacks her on the way home, where Stevie, Adam and Mimi run to save her, turning out that they are the ones being judged when in reality Joseph is the one who is hurting Rachel not Adam, Stevie or Mimi who are just being stereotyped. As soon as Joseph gets out his car you can see he is more middle to upper class, as he was wearing a suit and had a teachers badge on, we tried to make this clear to represent how upper/middle class were stereotyping lower class in ridiculous cases. While Rachel is attacked it adds to a genuine stereotype of women, where they need mens help and are vulnerable, which in this scene she does and is. 


Question 3, What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product and why?


Fathers day is a low budget, Indie, thriller film which could attract the attention of low budget company's which are interested in Indie films and creative story lines not big budget Hollywood films, a film company such as 'Warp' which could get us funding, although the chances of 'Warp' funding our film would be very slim, as it does not have the Niche aspects which would not bring in the regular audience that keeps such company's as 'Warp' going. So another more suitable way of trying to get funding and spreading the name of 'Fathers Day' would be by using the internet, with such websites as www.indiemoviesonline.com I could pass it around on there and hopefully get recognition and possibly funding. Another way to get views and recognition would be to post a trailer out on you-tube, which could branch out around the world and hopefully get people excited and willing to see 'Fathers Day'.




Question 4, Who would be the audience for your media product?


The primary audience for 'Fathers Day' would be the age group of 16 to 25, aimed at generic audiences which  enjoy thrillers, female audiences would enjoy 'Fathers Day' as it adds a chilling sense of reality with a storyline which could happen to anyone, the idea that anyone can snap and it you cant trust anyone, adding a horrible sense of fear. Our soundtrack would bring in audiences of both genders at its cold melody sends a chill down your spine which adds to the scene and makes it that bit more terrifying. 'Fathers Day' would appeal to male audiences because the dark paths and grim locations add the affect of it all being a nightmare, as the wind blows the leaves its as if you are in the scene watching Rachel move down the lonely path's in the misty evergreen.


Question 5, How did you attract/address your audience?


The one thing that confused the audience was whether the man who attacked Rachel was her father, Joseph. we were able to rectify this by the girl receiving a text from Joseph saying come home, and also making the name of the film "fathers day" to suggest it was the father, which was what we were trying to suggest in the plot. The fact that at the end of the scene we quickly cut the scene it adds a hook which leaves the ending a mystery of why Joseph attacked Rachel and what happens to them both in the end, which will keep the audience watching. Seeing as Joseph is an overprotective parent it will enable the audience to relate to the character of Rachel, just not in the same extent of being attacked by there father, which adds a shock factor.




Question 6, What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?


I have learned to use lots of different technologies while constructing my film, the one thing i have learned most about is the importance of close ups, in no other institute except from camera and film can you use close up, which shows the little details you would not usually be able to see, you can not go to a play and see a close up of the faces of the actors involved, but with the use of close ups in films and tv shows you can show a characters facial expressions and lets you into the mind of the character adding tension and bringing you into the scene with the character, we used close ups while Rachel is being attacked, to show the fear in her face and the anger in Joseph's while he is trying to kill his daughter. Another thing i have learned about technologies while doing my thriller is editing, we used all different types of editing until we came out with a final edit of "fathers day" with things like cross dissolves lacing scenes together so well. And adding a soundtrack into the film.

Question 7, Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to your full product?

There were quite a few things wrong with our preliminary task, including no one in our group feeling comfortable with being on camera, which led to the whole thing being very unnatural and rushed, but this made us all get together and work on the camera angles and editing of the scene, which helped us understand media terms and how to use them such as the 360 degree rule and over the shoulder perspective shots, with all the decisions on editing and camera angles being agreed by the whole group.

Audience feedback for our film was fairly good, with most participants saying they would like to watch the film to the end. One problem we came across was the audience not understanding the situation between Rachel and Joseph, but we anticipated this and tried to deal with it as well as we could, one way was naming our thriller "Fathers day" trying to eliminate the possibility of it not being Joseph who was attacking Rachel.

Joseph Steele

Name: Joseph Steele

Age: 47

Actor: Glyn Cadwallader

Background:

As a Head Teacher at the local high school, Joseph expects a lot from his students. He expects even more of his daughter. He is very controlling over his family and his wife has been submissive to his demands for their entire marriage. When he was a child, his parents were very over-protective of him which has led to him doing the same to his daughter.

Strengths/Weaknesses

• Hard-working
• Tough
• Appears to be a stable, hard-working member of society.

• Over-protective of his daughter
• Egomaniacal
• Looks down on everyone

Reasons for character name
The name is the English translation of one of the most infamous men in world history. It was chosen to show a similarity between the character and the real Josef Stalin, both being very determined to make their vision of the future come true.

Reasons for choice of actor
We chose the actor because he fits the description, middle-aged and respectable looking, of the character profile. He is also in the same profession as the character so he was able to play the character convincingly.

Character Inspiration

This character is based on James Cromwell’s Dudley Smith in the 1997 noir thriller, L.A. Confidential.

Rachel Steele

Name: Rachel Steele

Age: 17

Actor: Hannah Gibbs

Background:

Because her father is very protective of her, she led a relatively sheltered life until she began high school. She decided to lash out and has become involved with several unsavoury characters, including her boyfriend, Stevie his best friend, Adam, and Adam’s girlfriend, Mimi.           

Strengths/Weaknesses

• Kind-hearted
• Loving
• Determined

• Easily misled
• Vulnerable
• Naive

Reasons for character name
The name Rachel means “Lamb of Innocence”. This is to connote the potential her father saw for her when she was born.

Reasons for choice of actor
She has previous experience in acting and was able to look the part when she wore character appropriate clothing. The four teenage actors are very good friends so they have a good chemistry.

Character Inspiration

The character is based on Matilda from Matilda who has very protective parents but decides to lash out.

Stephen "Stevie" Bennett

Name: Stephen “Stevie” Bennett

Age: 17

Actor: Harry Fowler

Background:

He feels he has been severely misunderstood by adults for most of his life, preferring to live life for fun rather to achieve something academically. He is often judged by how he dresses, seen by many as a “chav”. Despite this, he is very loyal to his friends and holds a deep love for his girlfriend.

Strengths/Weaknesses

• Loyal
• Loving
• Passionate about his lifestyle

• Seen as a misfit within society
• Negative attitude towards education
• Likes to annoy others

Reasons for character name
We wanted a name that sounded relatively common but wasn’t something like “John Smith”. Stevie was chosen because it is the kind of name a teenager would choose as a nickname because he doesn’t like his birth name.

Adam Peyton

Name: Adam Peyton

Age: 17

Actor: Will Haynes

Background:

Adam doesn’t seem to be the kind of person that would associate himself with Stevie, due to his middle class family and above average intelligence. Despite this, he has been Stevie’s best friend for most of their lives and he has often convinced Stevie not to go through with something that could end up going wrong

Strengths/Weaknesses

• Intelligent
• Loyal
• Morally knowledgeable

• Troublemaker
• A “disappointment” to those who thought he would excel at school
• Doesn’t react well to authority.

Reasons for character name
This name was chosen as it sounds more middle class than the other male character but still sounds fairly common. The spelling “Peyton” over “Paton” was used to emphasise this aspect of the character.

Reasons for choice of actor
He was readily available for filming shoots and had the clothing that the character required. He also played a similar character in another media project. The four teenage actors are very good friends so they have a good chemistry.

Character Inspiration
This character is loosely based on the James McAvoy’s character, Steve McBride, from Channel 4’s hit TV show, Shameless.

Miriam "Mimi" Spencer

Name: Miriam “Mimi” Spencer

Age: 17

Actor: Frankie Morley

Background:

At a young age, Mimi was labelled as ditzy and hasn’t improved since, leading to frequent embarrassment when asked to answer a question at school. To prevent herself from looking stupid she has given up on school, preferring to make it look like she doesn’t want to do well rather than look like she can’t.

Strengths/Weaknesses

• Socially conscious
• Cares deeply for her friends
• Good negotiator

• Ditzy
• Slow learner
• Anti-authority

Reasons for character name
We wanted one of the female characters to have a name similar in connotation to Stevie. As it would make more sense for the main character, Rachel, to have the same surname as her father, we decided to give the second female character a very common sounding name. She also prefers to use a nickname, another similarity with Steie.

Reasons for choice of actor
She was readily available for filming shoots and had the clothing that the character required. Se also played a similar character in another media project. The four teenage actors are very good friends so they have a good chemistry.

Character Inspiration
She was very loosely based on several characters from the 2004 chick flick, Mean Girls. The ditzy aspect of her character is based on Amanda Seyfried’s character, Karen Smith, while her decision to look unwilling rather than unable to succeed at school is similar to the main character, Cady Heron, portrayed by Lindsay Lohan.

Casting for Thriller

Psycho Case Study/ Essay

Psycho, which is a US film made in 1960 is one of the best known films ever made. The director of the film was Hitchcock, Hitchcock was a well established film director and the film psycho demonstrates  how he liked to have experimental or unexpected elements in his films, for example killing of the main character, which is represented in psycho the famous shower scene. Hitchcock's reputation for his twists was also a product of the TV stories that he directed and also introduced in his jokey style with its seam of black humour, "we all go a little psycho sometimes" used in psycho is a perfect example.

Hitchcock's films from the 1920's onwards contain voyeurism, the theme of guilt, especially where a character takes on the guilt of another, such as Norman clearing up for his mother in Psycho, & where the audience might become involved in the guilt as well like how we want the car to sink as well at the end of the shower scene. Hitchcock also liked to add in his films notable scenes where there is very little dialogue, a character who seems normal, even respectable, but who is not, and the importance of the past or the dead. All three elements fit into the shower scene in Psycho as not much is said, Norman (man who owns hotel) seems normal and the fact that Normans mother is dead is the whole real reason for the twist in the end of the film.

During the shower scene in the film Psycho, Hitchcock uses a lot of the genetic thriller aspects to built tension and suspense which grabs the audiences attention and keeps the scene flowing and gripping. The film is shot in black and which which adds a noire lighting which con-notates artifice, fear and unnaturalness. Hitchcock uses brilliant tilt shots in this scene which connotates  disorder, disorientation and also adding aesthetic interest for the viewer, like just after Marion Crane, the main character, played by Janet Leigh is killed, while the shower is still running, which builds tension to the scene, the camera is in a place which shows what it would be like to see the end of the scene from outside the bathroom, with a tilt shot and Marie's hand being the thing of Marie in side the mise-en-scene which brings disorientation and fear for this character, while also using chiaroscuro lighting connotating surrealism but also adding aesthetic interest to the mise-en-scene.

Editing; this is the most often discussed aspect of the scene. Hitchcock emphasises the brutality with fast cutting, 'in the shower scene as Marie is getting stabbed the camera keeps cutting to different angles' which adds to the helplessness of the audience. The different angles such as mid shot, close up and high angle shot all used in the shower scene make the killing all the more incomprehensible. Shadow is used to conceal the killer from us during the attack, the use of a shadow in the film Psycho reinforces connotations of a nightmate or a sense of a mysterious presence, which is also represented in other thriller films such as the Third Man where this thriller aspect is also used.

                                           ^ The Third Man

                                            ^ Psycho

Mise-En-Scene; The scene can be related to others in the film, such as the windscreen wipers going back and fourth like the knife going in and out of Marie, also in the scene just before the importance of the birds with there sharp talons and beaks which also refer to the knife, and also to Marie's surname and Normans obsession with birds.

 The soundtrack is composed by Bernard Herman who only uses strings in this film and which in the shower scene, provides the screeching sound that is essential to the frightening nature of the scene and which seems to be the voice both Marion and 'Mother'. Also the slashing chords support the stabbing of Marion, adding suspense and tension.

The audience which psycho appeals to is generally a niche audience of both male and female variety, with the use of brilliant camera shots and gripping scenes means it appeals to both genders. But the dark lighting and noire based scenes the films appeals to the niche audience. This film is appealing to the audience as it has a very strong psychological aspect, with a story line that could happen to anyone, as the audience feels empathy for Marion Crane, but also fear and disgust at the idea of her death.

The film Psycho has some but not many secondary advertisements, as most is filmed in a motel, but this brings secondary advertisement to small motels in america as people might like to visit places which inspired Hitchcock's thrilling scene.

 The film Psycho uses a lot of traditional thriller aspects, and is the inspiration for other films with its eye catching camera work and gripping soundtrack. The use of the shower is a classic scene for a thriller as its using claustrophobic spaces, connotating entrapment. As Marion has her back turned this claustrophobic space you see a shadow popping up from behind her, so she has no whereto run. AS used in films like The Third Man where Harry ran to the sewers, a claustrophobic space with no escape, another thriller aspect is the use of shadows, leaving the audience as helpless and confused as Marion. 

Psycho uses representation in his film with aspect views of real life, like the policeman being corrupt, when the detective on the case goes missing, the sheriff just presumes he had a hot case and wanted all the glory, when in fact the twist was he had been killed by the killer who was who he was looking for, he just didn't know it yet. Which could offend policemen because as we all saw the detective was just trying to solve a case, and after his murder he was accused of running away. With a representation of a genuine nice guy, who is in fact the real killer (Norman), with the ideology of a helpful lonely man. In reality not all lonely men are psycho's but the twist element in this film is what allows the representation of gender; Marion being a victim. Psycho has quite a lot of 60's America cultural signifier s, the old ford cars, the desolate lonely motel, all things that could be associated with the 1960's America, bringing peoples attention to the country at hand.

The shower scene in Psycho is probably the most well known of Hitchcock's filming career, with a lot of thriller conventions thrown into one scene. The use of someone creeping behind someone else and then popping up is a classic aspect of a thriller film, being used in such films as Witness, where in the toilets a man comes up behind the policeman and starts to strangle him. 

Psycho has won such awards as Directors guilt of America (1961) for outstanding directional achievement in motion pictures and the Edgar Allen Po Awards (1961) won the best Edgar motion picture.

Costumes for my thriller

In our film we are using hoodies because then you cannot see the actors faces at all, and it adds a menacing sense to it which brings a certain darkness to the scene. Another reason we picked hoodies is because people can relate to people wearing hoodies and tracksuits as causing mischief and being a menace to society. With the look of someone who is anti-social, brings out a sense of reality but also connotes the feel of a nightmare, not being able to see the persons face, and not being able to know what there really thinking, facial expressions show alot about someone, but when you can bearly see the face of an actor it shows how synister and mysterious the character really is. Hoodies hide the identity of the wearer which brings a criminal aspect to the character, if the hood is up it seems asif they are up to something. The hoodie has become a social steriotype which is not always true, but people judge people as misfits even when not. One film we used to reference for our film is the film 'Kidulthood' which shows an image of kids going around causing trouble, dressed as the common steriotype of kids up to no good. The actors in 'Kidulthood' are just like the characters in our film, but in our film the characters are not really given the chance to show there personalitys apart from a brief encounter with the main female character.

The character who causes the crime, of attacking the female character is going to be wearing a suit, a suit represents someone with sophistication and authority, as it has traditionally been worn by people with power, and is there for associated with success and wealth, World leaders are generally seen in suits. A suit is also seen as part of a higher class backround as they are expensive, where as a hoodie you can pick up for cheap as its multifunctional and durable, but a suit is for people who need to be seen as smart and important. The twist is its the man in the suit is the real one that is causing the most trouble, which people would most likely associate with the people wearing hoodies, not the respectable looking man wearing a suit. A film which also uses people in suits which are causing trouble is 'Reservoir Dogs' were a bunch of gangsters looking sophisticated go and cause alot of trouble indulging in a big crime job which eventually gets them in trouble.

The genre of our film

The genre of our film is a mix between, drama and thriller expressing aspects of both genre's. We used refrences from films such as Witness and The Girl With The Dragon tattoo, as they go over the same thriller and crime drama conventions as us. We switched between the boundaries of genre's and shifting to become more permeable.
Audiences would enjoy watching our thriller because it shows a gritty reality in which people could relate to, our storyline is something that could happen and isnt to un-realistic, in our thriller we picked locations which seem gritty and grimey areas which people can relate to as there common area's in England, which brings the audience a look on the reality of these desolate discusting areas. Another reason the audience would enjoy our thriller is the fact that the girl in our film judges two boys for there appearence, when in reality they were not the ones she needed to look out for, and i feel the audience would be able to relate to that as lots of people judge others for what they look like, when in fact it could be anyone who has the sick twisted mind which enroll's into our thriller.


Our thriller has a good narrative pleasures, as there is a big twist in it, and also a mystery which is yet to be unsolved. Another thing our thriller brings is visual pleasures, but has a twist on that, as the visual pleasures are not always pleasant, but they show a gritty image, with a harsh reality on grimy areas. It also might add psychological pleasures as people could relate to some of the characters, like our character 'Stevie' who is always getting stereotyped for what he wears, I'm sure a large group of audience could relate to that which would give them a psychological pleasure as they would know what 'Stevie' was going through and in turn would make them feel great empathy for this character, also some female audience could have overprotective fathers who do not like them seeing certain boys, and when people can relate to a film they could enjoy it more.


Our thriller 'Fathers Day' would be more related to Indie films rather than mainstream as it has a low budget and not big name actors, the sort of film company's which would be interested in 'Fathers Day' would be 'Warp' and 'Working Title' as 'Fathers Day' has a unusual genre which is not really seen in such cinemas as Vue or Odeon, But more likely to be shown in more independent cinemas such as Cinema City. Unfortunately  'Fathers Day' would not appeal to all Indie audiences as our film does not have a brilliant niche factor to it.


Our thriller 'Fathers Day' would be more indie production based on other films like it such as Kidulthood and Adulthood, which would bring audiences more to our film with the success of other films like it. With hopefully the funding from some were like film4 or the UK film council, which are more likely to accept and deliberate with Indie films.


Our thriller adds a lot of different sub cultures into one including Mystery, Psychological and Realistic. With a twist at the end which keeps the audience interested and wanting to know the reasons why a father would attack his daughter,  so i would list our thriller as a Psycho realist thriller. And as it has a wide range of sub cultures and genre's it would apply to a wide range of audiences.

Reservoir Dogs Case Study

Director - Quentin Tarantino
Characters- Harvey Keital , Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and Lawrence Tierney

Proffesional review (BBC films) - 4 out of 5 stars
User Rating - 5 out of 5 stars

"Reservoir Dogs" is a supremely confident debut feature by writer and director Quentin Tarantino. And just like his follow up "Pulp Fiction", it generated the type of hype that it should struggle to justify. But it remains as shocking, perversely funny, and stylish as upon original release." (BBC Review)


This is another Quentin Tarantino film and was originally submitted for film classification in June 1992, and it gained alot of notice in a mix of film festivals. Its compilation of criminal behaviour, cool style cultures and exciting story of a bunch of thieves who fall out after a botched robbery, the story brang excitement and addrenaline to the viewers.




In this scene Tarantino uses alot of dark humor, which he uses in alot of his films. By saying things like "i hope you enjoyed that as much as i did" and saying "now dont you go anywere, even though the man was tied to a chair, all of this humor is seen as dark humor which is defined as a sub-genre of comedy and satire in which topics and events that are usually regarded as taboo are treated in a satirical or humorous manner while retaining their seriousness. Synonyms include dark comedy, black humor, dark humor, and morbid humor. which tarantino uses very well in this films. How one man is dancing along to very happy cheerfull music as he is about to kill another man, brings a horrible sense of reality and adds a sick twisted nature which is played so well by his character (Mr Blonde). As you cant see the police mans ear being cut off, the scene is made visual by just the sounds being made by the person in pain, which  How he is dancing and singing while throwing petrol on him about to burn him to death, as if he was mocking him, as if to say i'm so happy with the crime im about to comit.

Although strong, much of the violence in the film, such as that which occurs during the robbery, happens off screen or is limited to the climactic shootout at the warehouse and the strength of such ‘gangster’-related violence had been precedented in films such as Goodfellas.

 

This scene can be referenced to pulp fiction as they both start in a diner, and both have inter scene references.