Thursday, 12 November 2015

Survey

From this question we can infer that our predominate demographic will be female. However, we aim to cater to a wider audience, consisting of all genders, as our trailer is not gender specific.  

 Due to our survey results for question 2, we have decided that the certification should be a 18, as the majority of our audience is around 18. Additionally, as our film tackles the negative implications and effects of drugs, this is a suitable topic for this age range, as it is not overly taboo, but very relevant to our audience.

 As our results display that our demographic obtain a clear preference for the title 'Harmonious Delirium'. Therefore, this is the film title we have decided is best suited to our teaser trailer.
Due to the results of our survey, we have decided to subvert the convention of a psychological thriller by having a female protagonist.
After completely further research we have decided to use Studiocanal Production Company, as this is the production company for many of our main influences including Before I Go to Sleep.

Theories

Regarding the genre of psychological thrillers, one theory that is prevalent is Tzvetan Todorov's theory on Equilibrium.

He explains that most narratives start with a state of equilibrium, in which the protagonist leads a 'normal' and happy life.

Equilibrium, Disequilibrium, Attempted Repair, New Equilibrium.

Aristotle's Theory of Tragedy is also applicable to our trailer genre. He said that all narratives can be divided into 3 sections: the Protasis, Epitasis, and Catastrophe. The German novelist Gustav Freytag then split these up into 5 parts: Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action and Denouement.



Because of the fact that this is a Teaser Trailer, and is the first time the audience will get a glimpse of the film, it wouldn't make sense to end with Denouement- especially considering the genre is a Psychological Thriller. We plan to end our trailer on the climax, so that the audience will want to find out what the falling action and denouement consist of.

The Exposition introduces important background information.
The Rising Action shows a number of related incidents leading up to a consequence.
This consequence is the Climax, which changes the protagonist's fate. The situation changes from good to bad for the character.
The Falling Action stage contains conflict between the protagonist and others.
The Denouement should eventually create a sense  of catharsis, ending the conflict.

Roland Barthes was a French Philosopher and Literary Theorist was said that texts are either open or closed, and are influenced by 5 codes:

Hermeneutic Code/ Enigma Code- this relates to clues and subtleties within a story. It leaves the audience wanting to know more which is exactly what a teaser trailer should do.
Proairetic Code- contains sequential elements of action in a story. These add suspense to the ambience, which adheres to the purpose of our genre: Psychological Thriller.
Semantic Code- these are aspects of the story that have more than one meaning. Since the trailer is so short and shouldn't give too much of the plot away, the audience will be able to interpret our trailer in a number of ways.
Symbolic Code- this refers to symbolism within a text, certain aspects of mise en scene can be used to show contrast, create greater meaning, create tension and add character development.
Referential Code- this code probably applies the least to us, and refers to cultural, historical and scientific knowledge.

Party Scene Filming 30/10/2015

These are some of the shots from our part scene footage: We used a fisheye for some shots and strobe lighting to create a distorted, but colourful effect that corresponds with what our protagonist may see after taking a drug.

This scene is entirely post-drug so we wanted it to be colourful and eccentric. The protagonist has lost some of her senses and is feeling lightheaded but ecstatic. Her vision is distorted and she is surrounded by people who are invading her personal space while doing more drugs.

Some people are wearing masks and this is something we would like to include as a theme within the party scene. Adding the bright colours only make the masks more creepy.

Dark shadows and silhouettes can be seen around the room and this adds to the thriller element of our teaser trailer. Seeing these ominous shapes moving around creates a sense of the unknown, and hints at the potential danger than our protagonist will encounter.

By not showing our protagonists face in the party, we create a sense of mystery surrounding her. All of the shots are from her own eyes, which allows the audience to experience everything as she is experiencing it- while on drugs.


Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Famous directors of Psychological Thrillers

One of the most famous directors of Thrillers is Sir Alfred Hitchcock, who has been named The Master of Suspense.





Hitchcock always said he's choose suspense over surprise and explained his choice with this aphorism: "There's two people having breakfast and there's a bomb under the table. If it explodes, that's a surprise. But if it doesn't...."

He also liked to make voyeurs of the audience with the use of point-of-view shots from obscure places.

Hitchcock popularised the 'MacGuffin which he often used in his thrillers, and since then, many other thrillers. This is when a protagonist in the film desires a particular thing (place, person, object...) for a reason unknown to the audience. An example is the plans for the airplane engine in The 39 Steps.

Another director famous for his Thrillers is Christopher Nolan.

A great article that explains 'Why Christopher Nolan films look like Christopher Nolan films' is in the link below, but the main points of it are:

One of the features that might make an audience infer it is a Nolan film, is the use of IMAX.

He also makes use of colour- his final project is always "epic and crisp" which is enhanced by the larger format of IMAX.

For almost all of his films, Nolan works with the cinematographer Wally Pfister, who contributes to the widescreen, aesthetically pleasing films we see Nolan directing.

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/07/the-reason-christopher-nolan-films-look-like-christopher-nolan-films/260087/

A third director who is well known within this genre is Darren Aronofsky, the director of Requiem for a Dream and The Black Swan.

In his early films (Requiem for a Dream), he was renowned for his extremely short shots. While most films have 600-700 cuts, Requiem has over 2000.

Black Swan is one of his more recent films and one he filmed using a muted palette and grainy style to showcase the acting and narrative instead.

Similarly to Nolan, Aronofsky has worked with the same cinematographer for 6 films and this type of close relationship between a director and cinematographer enhances the quality of the film.



One last director who has had influence in the world of Psychological Thrillers, is David Fincher.

He has directed a number of films in this genre, and therefore has many distinctive features that label his films as his own:

Single Frame Inserts- when there's a flash on the screen in the middle of a scene.
Silhouettes
Low-key lighting with blue and green tints
Wide shots
Displays end credits as slideshows rather than the traditional method
Low angles
Flashbacks







Saturday, 7 November 2015

Mise en scene

Mise en Scene


In Psychological thrillers, low-key lighting and shadows are normally used.  They add tension into a scene, and in some cases, are used to represent the inner darkness within a character. Sometimes, red lighting, or white lighting is used to create a sense of disorientation and to portray a characters mood.

 
Setting:  The setting of a psychological thriller is commonly used to portray and outline a characters life, through where they live, the things they own and what their lifestyle is like before they meet a series of unfortunate events, which will haunt them psychologically. Psychological thrillers are usually set in an urban area, or a house.


Costumes: In psychological thrillers,  the protagonist usually wears something that draws the attention of the audience making them stand out from the other characters. The protagonist is usually wearing brightly coloured clothing, juxtaposing the Antagonist who would stereotypically wear dark, black clothing representing suspicion etc. The antagonist also usually wears smart clothing e..g. A suit or a shirt and jeans. Costumes usually match the location of the film, e.g. in  a built up area the character would be wearing a suit and tie.




Here is the mood board that covers the topic of Mise en scene in our teaser trailer. We have chosen to focus on red lighting for our teaser trailer, so we can convey the disorientation and confusion of the protagonist when she takes the drug. We want our trailer to have a variety of different locations, however it will mainly take place in her house. After she takes the drug, her personality will change and we want to convey that by using “dark” locations such as an alleyway or a dark corridor etc. We will also use low-key lighting for this to represent the darkness of the character. We decided that our protagonist would wear “normal teenage clothing” to fit with the conventions of the genre. She will wear a suit in the school location as it matches the location, this is conforming tot he costume stereotype in Psychological thrillers. Once she has taken the drug we are going to change her clothing to darker colours, similar to typical Antagonists in psychological thrillers. This subverts the stereotype of typical costumes in psychological thrillers. We decided to do this to convey to the audience that she is her own worst enemy, exploring the theme of split personalities, and that she is essentially battling with herself.

Friday, 6 November 2015

Characterisation

In Psychological Thrillers, the behaviour of characters usually represent  psychology, as the characters often battle their own minds, e.g. trying to determine what is real, or who they actually are.

Typical Characters in psychological thrillers include:
Characters with Dark pasts- Silence Of The Lambs
Psychotic Individuals- The Shining
Menaced Women-Sleeping With The Enemies
Innocent Victims-Hear No Evil, See No Evil

The Characters psychological state is the driving force of the plot line, and often there is a first person narrative allowing the viewer to better understand the characters psychological state of mind.

Typical Characters in Psychological Thrillers:


Here is the mood board that covers the topic of Characterisation in our teaser trailer.  We want to focus on the transition of our character from before he takes the drug, to after he takes the drug. We therefore collected photos of TV and Film "villains" as well as "heroic"  and "anti heroic" characters for our mood board, to portray the change in personality our protagonist will face in our teaser trailer. We focused on the character Bradley Cooper plays in the Film "Limitless"  and his character change  after he takes the drug, as it is a similar transition. This shown through the image on the mood board of a close-up of him holding the drug in his hand, and the image to left where he has blood over his clothes. 

Originally we wanted our protagonist to be a male, so we focused on looking at male characters when creating the mood board, however, after creating a survey, and asking people what gender they would want the protagonist to be, the majority chose female, so we decided to change the gender of the character. It is stereotypical of Psychological Thrillers to cast a male protagonist so we have decided to subvert this. It will challenge the audience's expectations and this is one of the criteria a film of this genre should conform to. 

Tuesday, 3 November 2015

Location Scouting-Party Scenes



We decided we wanted a party scene in our teaser trailer. We therefore decided to use a hall in order to film the party scene. The Images below show the exterior and interior of the hall we are planning to use when filming our party. We decided that the hall would be suitable due to its simplicity- which we hope will be much more effective when we add strobe lighting. We also liked its exterior, as the location of the hall is by the woods, and surrounded by trees, giving it an unnerving feel, which we would like to portray in our trailer.



This is the exterior of our location for the party scene. We will be using strobe lighting at the party, so there will be the opportunity to get some good shots of the lighting through the windows on the outside. 


We also decided we wanted to film along a road/alley, so we took some pictures of potential locations where we will film these scenes. We liked the effect of the street lights as it creates an eerie atmosphere. We will potentially use this location in the scenes after our protagonist takes the drug, due to the dark and creepy atmosphere that it creates, which will reflect our protagonist.