Our chosen genre is Teen-Thriller, other subgenres of horror exist and so do with teen, in a sense we have merged two main genres together. We have researched the Thriller genre before in earlier posts. We are following the conventions of a Teen-Thriller because our film includes teen main characters and thriller traits such as tension build up and a chase sequence. films that are similar to our film would be 'Scream', 'The Bourne Identity' and 'Donnie Darko'
A film that is similar would be 'Scream' however more the thriller side rather than the horror, the social interaction between the teens is something we would like to captivate. 'The Bourne Identity' is somewhat similar with it's tension build up and also 'Donnie Darko' for it's teen identity and editing techniques.
A typical narrative would be full of tension build up and then action with a chase sequence for example. In our opening we our creating a build up with a slow tracking shot and then an action shot with a chase sequence and then a motivated cut away to the teen again.
Conventional characters would seem normal but then have a dodgy past background so maybe a person like Taylor Lautner from 'Scream'. With 'Scream' came the girl hero so maybe we could adapt this into our film, stock characters would consist of classmates and friends. The villain would be the teen boy whcih would be unclear till the end, messing up with convenrtional views a bit because the audience doesn't know whether the teen boy is bad or the victim.
Locations for teen-thriller would be situated in and around a school but also importntly in other locations like a house or a field, even an airport for example. Settings for a thriller can be dark or light, for example most of the Bourne Trilogy is in the daytime, however darkness adds tension.
Iconography in a Teen-Thriller would consist of school outfits/suits, chase sequences, fast passed non-diegetic music, good looking characters.
Suitable costume would be school outfits/suits, american football and baseball jackets. Often the 'villain' wears dark clothing so for instance a black polo and dark jeans.
Teen movies are generally fairly light, however a teen-thriller could be light or dark, a chase sequence could take part at midday or in the afternoon.
Here is an example of a font we could use on the poster of the 'Bourne Identity', the font would have to be straight to the point and noting fancy.
1) Our chosen genre is a noir teen-thriller. We are following the conventions of a sub genre, at the moment our film will be classified as a noir teen-thriller however this might change a little between now and the pitch. Brick is the closest in terms of genre to our film however Eden Lake features a chase scene that may be similar to ours as it features a noir style with lots of Dutch angles and low shots.
2) Eden Lake features a very sunny happy opening, which engages the audience, as it knows that the happy opening is too good to be true and that something will go wrong. It features many low angle shots in the middle of the film and a good use of close-ups showing facial expressions. Eden Lake also makes good use of lighting as the main chase sequence is in a forest location meaning it is quite dark and glooming which is very noticeable in contrast with the opening where the colour is quite bright.
Brick also uses the same devices with close-ups emphasising important aspects of the film and a good variety of long shots and low shots. A filter is also used to dull down the colours so the film doesn’t look too glossy and Hollywood like
3) A typical narrative is that a private detective hunts down a murderer after the crime has been committed and saves a damsel in distress (see image below, a shot taken from the film 'The big sleep' in 1946). The opening of a noir film usually contains a murder or a sequence of events that tell the audience a person has been murdered or missing. This creates enigma because the audience wants to find out who the murderer is or who is missing, by not giving the audience the full details of the plot in the opening scene the audience automatically feels the need to find out who has been murdered and is compelled to watch more.
4) Noir films very often feature a secretive main character who often has a job as a private detective or something in crime, they are almost always the heros and the villain is often portrayed as being an old fashioned crook that has set out to make money fast not caring about who he hurts on the way. Most noir genre films feature an attractive female character that plays a damsel in distress type role where the hero has to save her.
5) A lot of noir genre films are set in urban environments, and a lot of shots feature narrow alleys, small offices and city nightlife.
6) You would expect to see iconography like a lot of Dutch angle shots, low angle shots, wide angle shots, characters smoking, silhouetted characters and steam coming out from buildings and sewers.
7) Suitable costume would include trench coats, black hats and smart suits however more modern day noir costume can include anything, In Brick the main character wore a grey coat, t shirt and jeans and his friend wore a suede jacket and jeans, a lot of noir films also have characters wearing glasses.
8) Many film noir films use filters to dull down colour and obviously originally film noir was shot in black and white. Low key lighting is used frequently and emphasised by banister rods or Venetian blinds creates dramatic shadow patterns and connotes mystery and creates tension as the audiences view of the character is obscured. Red colours connote murder, Blue colours connote technology and black and white connote noir.
main characters credits (slow non diegetic music with a slow speed)
fades to black
title (non diegetic music picks up volume and speed)
credits
jump cut to a shot of a bench and shed, high angle (music stops)
tracks out to show window
matched cut to family photo
mans face comes into shot, CU of face (diegetic sound stars as he breathes)
cut to shot looking over bed, LS
cut to man walking through door, steady cam not moving as man walks towards door (normal diegetic sound as man walks and opens door)
cut to CU of mans face near door
cut to shot from stairs looking up at man
cut to shot looking through a doorway (girl screaming)
pace of the film begins to pick up, cutting rhythm and rate speeds up and diegetic sound is heard more commonly
The opening credits is made to build up tension but then the cut to no music or sound of a very boring shot challenges what the audience expects, this is something hat i would maybe like to incorporate into our film. The shots are then fairly boring and mundane but then a signal is given to the audience that things are about to pick up (the girl screams) and then it does, I like the use of the signal and how it makes the audience react because they also want to know why the girl is screaming.
Themes film noir is pessimistic and portrays the world as corrupt and sexually enthused. Classic film noir has been assosciated with the social landscape just after the war, with heightened anxiety and alienation. Visual Techniques Low key lighting is used in film noir to produce light and dark contrasts and shadows. the shadows of venetian blinds is commonly used and very iconic to film noir. Noir films commonly use dutch angles, low angle shots and wide angle lenses. Characters Noir films feature characters that are morally floored and mostly misunderstood characters, stock characters usually consist of femme fatales and jealous husbands. The femme fatale is shot for her sexual prowess and rarely survives until the end of the film. Visual motifs of a femme fatale include ciggarettes.
The Film opened up with a series of logos including 'New Market', 'Pandora' and 'A flowers film production'. The actual film opened with a panning shot used with a handycam to give the shot realism as the audience were positioned with a person serveying the area from their point of view. Some simple music came in in the minor key. It almost sounded like a xylophone. A sillhouette shot of him laughing was used previous to the 180 degree barrier being purposly ignored. All of the above made a very strange opening and the audience was left pretty clueless to what was happening. The opening seemed very real yet very surreal at the same time which gives the audience a sense of bemusement.
Our opening can hopefully be of the same quality and create the same effect of bemusement which will give the audience an effect of them wanting more.
Sound Diegetic Thunder Birds singing Sniger/ laugh of Donnie Darko Leaf blower sound Sound of bike pulling up (push bike) Sound of bike being pushed onto the ground.
Non Diegetic Buzzing sound Sonar sound Xylophone sound (small tune) Minor key Female singer/ Choir New track starts: Guitar, Drums, Piano, Lyrics (male voice)
Editing Fade into longshot Sound bridge of thunder and fade out Fade in and increasing of volume of buzzing sound Selective sound of birds singing (loud) volume of sonar sound varies (up and down) Birds fade back in Xylophone fades in Female singing voice/ Choir fades in Motivated cut to landscape Sonar sound fades back in Title fades in and fades out as the light expands from the title Meets climax and imploding sound Start of more upbeat sound
Camera Tecniques 90 degree pan from right to straight on done with a handy cam Extreme long shot looking forward 180 degree rule break Camera man walks around donnie turning into a mid shot as he gets closer Closeup of face when he starts smiling Long shot pan surveying the landscape (shot of mountains)
Mise en scene Mountainous landscape Road Body in road Revealed to be main character 'Donnie Darko' In pyjamas Pyjamas are red and white checked trousers with white long sleeved top
'Thrillers provide such a rich literary feast. There are all kinds. The legal thriller, spy thriller, action-adventure thriller, medical thriller, police thriller, romantic thriller, historical thriller, political thriller, religious thriller, high-tech thriller, military thriller. The list goes on and on, with new variations constantly being invented. In fact, this openness to expansion is one of the genre's most enduring characteristics. But what gives the variety of thrillers a common ground is the intensity of emotions they create, particularly those of apprehension and exhilaration, of excitement and breathlessness, all designed to generate that all-important thrill. By definition, if a thriller doesn't thrill, it's not doing its job' - (James Patterson, June 2006, "Introduction," Thriller)
Suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers are commonly seen in the thriller genre, everything in a thriller film is there to increase the thrill of the film. The film 'Phone Booth' is a widely known thriller film, even though the film isn't as fast paced and as action filled as say the thriller film 'Transporter' the film still is able to deliver a thrill through the situation of the man, non diegetic music is also notably important in developing tension and therefore a thrill.
The theme of a 'monster' character has been increasingly used in thriller films, the 'monster' doesnt have to be a werewolf or an alien it could be a serial killer or even a chemical agent.
The horror genre have themes of death and 'supernatural or mental illness'. Early horror films were based on gothic literature such as Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde however newer horror films often draw inspiration from modern culture and insecurities of life often related back to the second world war. Many horror films that have done well at the box office are not necessarily originally westernised stories; for example 'The Ring' was originally a japanese novel and then a japanese low budget film. Many horror films have been dismissed as 'violent', 'low budget', 'B movies' however the genre is expanding and some of the better horror films are extremely psychological and represent the horror genre in a positive way such as 'The others'.
In the opening scene of 'Seven' the cuts and music is used to give the sense of things speeding up, The non-diegetic music starts of with a quiet, slow pulse with weird sounds and as the time goes on the pulse and beat picks up speed and the sound slowly gets louder, yhe music gains speed whilst the cutting rythm and speed picks up pace too. The different clips fade in and out of black which adds to the seemingly dark mood of the sequence. The sequence of clips doesn't clearly tell us what is going on, it only gives us clues, we see the man opening a book, sewing, using a black pen to mark over words and cutting out pieces of pictures and money, the cuts inbetween these clips are all either matched cuts or fades to black, the matched cuts gives the effect that this is all going on with one person and all inside one room. The sequence leaves the audience wanting to know more and intrigued into what is going on.
a horror film with a chase sequence, filmed with the point of view of the man being chased, the film starts with the end and then flashbacks to a man on a phone reporting a murder and then hangs up with a smirky grin on his face.
a slow paced clip of the camera slowly tracking in to a man walking, he has a happy expression on his face, suddenly the man falls to his knees and starts crying.
a sequence of short clips with a very fast cutting rate and special effects with editing, the scene could include a man washing his hands, setting out knives, writing, clicking his fingers, tapping a table etc.
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