Monday 4 November 2013

Our Teams Pitch.

Our teams film is called 'Paranoia'. Its plot follows a woman who has been the victim of a Mugging and now suffers from severe paranoia of the outside world and now remains house bound. It plays homage to films such as Flight plan or Orphan.

Film Treatment:

After being mugged, how does a girl with severe paranoia cope in the real world?

Certificate Ratings:


In Britain today there is an age rating system that rates the viewing age group based on the films, games and even books. The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) determines the age groups suitable for viewing films. They rate films mostly by these:

U- Universal, suitable for all age groups. For example; All Disney films

PG- Parental guidance is needed for younger viewers; Rango

12/ 12A- Suitable for people aged and over 12. Contain mature films, drug use and swearing mostly. For example; Scary Movie, Spiderman.

15- Suitable for people aged and over 15. Contains strong violence, mature films, limited swearing, drug use and not many sexual clips. Film example; The Dark Knight, 

18/ R18- Suitable for people aged and over 18. Contains strong violence, mature films, strong swearing, drug use, explicit sexual activity and references, strong gore etc. For Example; Kill Bill, The Descent.


Monday 14 October 2013

Mind Map for Dexter opening sequence Remake

This is the mind map our team (Liam Sewell, Natasha Berkeley- Hill, Adam Lee and Pricilla Nash)
Made to aid us with making the remake for the Dexter Title sequence. It has a simplified list of the timescale and what props and settings we need to use.

Research: Types of Narrative, Enigma codes, Sub-Genres

There a 4 types of narrative;

Omniscient- Where the audience knows everything about the character. Example: Silence of the Lambs, The audience knows about the main character and the plot of the story.

Restricted- Where the audience knows as much as the character knows. Example: Sutter Island. In this film, The audience is stuck knowing as much as the main character and knows the entire plot when the main character works it out as well.

Linear     - Where there is a clear beginning, middle and end.

Non-linear- When there are flashbacks to throw off the audience.

Enigma Code;

It acts to intrigue and entice the audience and builds a sense of suspense and drama throughout the film as the audience figures out another part of the plot and are left to feel smart and knowing of the plot. An example is Fight Club.


Sub Genres;


  • Crime Thrillers           - This Convention creates a more suspenseful account showing an attempted or successful crime as the main aspect of the film. This convention often focuses on the criminals planning and attempting the crime or ending the film as it started. Normally emphasise the action over psychological aspects  
  • Conspiracy Thrillers   - This Convention consists of a protagonist that finds themselves caught in a secret Organisations. The Protagonist has to overcome the obstacles that the Organisation send to him/ her. In the end the Protagonist stops the Organisations aim.
  • Disaster Thrillers         - This convention follows a person or group that attempts to survive or outrun a world disaster. Many disaster thriller conventions portray disasters caused by human activity and bringing mankind to the brink of extinction.
  • Mystery Thrillers         - This convention is a more psychological sub-genre where the story creates a non- linear point of view following the main character as he/ she uncovers a mystery.
  • Political Thrillers         - This convention portrays a character that is sent of by the government of political party that needs this mission completes successfully to maintain the balance of power in the political party or government.
  • Psychological Thrillers- This convention focuses on bending the mind of the audience and making them think about how the story progresses. It follows a protagonist that has an inner conflict with their mental and emotional state. 
  • Religious Thrillers       - This convention follows a team or protagonist that protects or tries to retrieve a religious artefact from the clutches of an occult or religious organisation.
  • Supernatural Thrillers- This convention follows otherworldly elements such as demonic possession or aliens.
  • Techno Thrillers          - This convention portrays sophisticated machinery and technology overcoming the commands of the human manufacturers. It is widely based in the future world and has aspects of Science fiction elements such as alien life forms and technological advances.

Monday 7 October 2013

Timeline for Edward Scissorhands

This is the timeline for the opening title sequence for Tim Burtons film Edward Scissorhands. The version of the title sequence i used lasted approximately 2 and a half minuets. View it here at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvOmlRkKRgQ

0.00-0.12- 20th Century Fox

0.13-0.30 - Pan view of old door opening with text

0.31- 0.44 - Opening text of film 'Edward Scissorhands' slow zooming in between the words.

0.45- 0.50 - Slow turning around a statue with more opening text showing the actors/ actresses

0.53 - 1.05 - Camera going up stairs showing more opening credits

1.07 - 1.18 - Camera showing close up of strange instruments and scissors

1.20 - 1. 32 - Camera going past metallic template of human figure

1.34 - 1.39 - Slow pan out of valve

1.40 - 1.47- Bopping machinery moving past camera

1.48 - 1.51 - Rotating strange machinery with steam billowing from it

1.52 - 1.56 - Zooming into strange door/ wall

1.57 - 2.01 - flashing and falling of strange objects

2.02 - 2.07 - zooming out of hands

2.08 - 2. 12- Spinnig view of man sleeping while zooming out

2.13 - 2. 30 - Fading into snow and overlook of house

0.12 - 2.30 - Music and other audio



Dexter Title Remake

This is my remake for the opening title sequence for the poplar american crime thriller T.V. show, Dexter. I feel that the audio editing can be improved. View it on youtube at :
http://youtu.be/KTEMZKW4XIA

Thursday 3 October 2013

Thriller Spoilers


Spoilers for Thriller Films

Shutter Island

Shutter Island is a psychological thriller based on two detectives sent to investigate a psychiatric facility on a remote island. The detectives attempt to solve a murder that happened on the grounds of the facility and end up discovering that the owner has been performing ‘questionable’ experiments on the patients in an abandoned lighthouse known as ‘Ward C’. The detectives attempt to get to ‘Ward C’ but soon get separated. The main character arrives at the lighthouse and breaks into ‘Ward C’ to find the owner at the top. The owner of the facility tells him that he is not a detective but in fact their ‘most dangerous patient’. Two police lead him off the premises and the film ends with him posing the question ‘Is it better to live as a monster, or to die a good man?’

The film itself is a Thriller because it focuses on building suspense and intrigue in its story line to draw in viewers. It is a dark, gritty film that engrosses the audience and captivates them. It builds suspense by using dark themes and music, also by using a sinister setting and the assertion that leads to a deeper plot within the psychiatric facility. The film is a Thriller also because rather than using blood and gore it captivates audiences by playing on the main characters emotions and gives a feeling of empathy, it also has a dream scene where he is shown with his wife (that he killed) in a meadow of bright and vibrant flowers. This shows a feeling of guilt towards the main character.

The Grey

The Grey is an American Psychological thriller. The main character (played by Liam Neeson) is hunted by wolves while he is trying to keep him and a team of oil workers alive when their plane crashes in a blizzard in Alaskan wilderness, which happens to be wolves’ territory. The group leave the crash site and attempt to stay alive and find civilisation, however, the wolves pick away at them until there are only three people left. The main character, A Christian and an Atheist who questions the main characters leadership. The Christian falls into a stream and drowns while the last to remaining members split up. The main protagonist is found to have wandered into the wolves’ den and is surrounded. He starts a fight with the Alpha Wolf and the result is unknown because the closing credits start to roll.

The film is a good thriller because it holds the suspense of the viewer by creating a series of challenges for the group and makes the viewer wonder how they will overcome them in time before the wolves attack. It holds suspense by showing the wolves are always on their trail and are shadowing their every move. It is also a good Thriller because it leaves the ‘Cliff Hanger’ ending open to suggestion. Did the main character survive the attack? Or did he get killed and ravaged by the wolves? Or did he escape? The film also uses music and a unique sound track to maintain the suspense.


Flightplan

Flightplan is a Psychological Thriller where a woman and her child board a plane to bury their father/ husband. While on this plane, the main character falls asleep and awakes to find that her child has disappeared. In a frantic search to find her child she asks the flight captain if he’s seen her and is she can search the plane. In her search she encounters an Air Marshal and he agrees to help her with the search. After being unsuccessful in finding her, the crew aboard the plane question the Childs very existence. The passengers also begin to question her allowance on the plane. In her schizophrenic state and the outrage that people would deny the fact that her child was ever on the plane, the main character searches the storage compartment and finds that inside her husbands coffin there is a bomb. Framed by the Air Marshal as a terrorist she is confined and the plane lands. Now she must find her child and stop the Air Marshal before he destroys the plane and any evidence that her child existed. She finds her daughter hidden in the nose of the ship and stops the Air Marshal.

This film is a good Thriller because it leads the viewers to think that she was just imagining her child when in the end her child was abducted by who was thought to be on of the protagonists of the film. It also makes the audience feel empathic towards the main character because the Air Marshal turned everyone on the plane against her when it was actually him just wanting her out