Mise-En-Scene Planning- Miss Georgiou

Mise-En-Scene Planning

We as a group are planning our Mise en Scene for our opening before we start filming it. Mise en Scene consists of a variety of elements of which design aspects of film production.

Costume

We would like our actors to wear contrasting colours to emphasize of whom is the protagonist and the antagonist throughout the Thriller opening. For example, we would like Evie (the sister) to be dressed in neutral colours for the nightmare scene. Maybe a nude nightdress and shoes to show her innocence as a young girl and the protagonist in our narrative. Where as Billy (the brother) will be wearing a mask to show hidden identity and dark colour tracksuit bottoms and a black hoodie to create a mysterious tension throughout the nightmare scene. However, in the bedroom scenes we would like Evie to wear pajamas's which consist of light colours to  echos my previous statement on colour choice and also as a stereotypical young girl in films/reality so the audience don't guess what may happen and who it will happen to. We would like Billy to wear dark colours in both the nightmare scene and the bedroom scenes as it would portray his dark personality and sadistic thoughts about his sister due to Schizophrenia. 

Iconography                  
              
Iconography plays a huge role in our thriller opening. Firstly, our film title is Perteniam which is the name of the pill Evie will be consuming in our very first scene and is the thing which causes her nightmare, the pill is also the first piece of Iconography of which has any importance to the scene and will draw the audiences attention. Secondly,Billy will be wearing a mask throughout the nightmare. The use of a mask was popular throughout our quantitative data questionnaire therefore we took that into consideration and we included it in order to enhance our audiences viewing, and also wearing a mask creates a hidden identity in which is also a Thriller convention. Thirdly, another form of Iconography throughout our opening will be a knife in which Billy uses to harm Evie during the nightmare. Knive's where also a popular choice when doing our questionnaire and they are extremely conventional to thrillers as they are a weapon which can put characters in lives at risk. We will also be using a mirror in which Evie will look in after waking up from her nightmare after from consuming Perteniam and notice a wound on her face which was created by her brother. The use of mirrors in thrillers are  conventional because the use of them can display the darkness within someone characters.

Actors 

For our thriller film we have asked two experienced young actors to be our main characters thoughout it. Evie and Billy are 12 and 15 but will both be playing the roles of younger characters. We have a clear idea of how we would like the characters to be presented as our opening is a Thriller and we have included a wide range of Thriller conventions throughout.. Evie, the younger sister will be portrayed as the innocent and vulnerable protagonist who gets hurt by Billys actions . Billy will be shown as a mentally unstable character as we learn he has Schizophrenia and is putting his sister at harm because he is jealous of her. Throughout the filming of this we will allow both actors to  experiment with facial expressions and body language as they are experienced in acting so therefore could use this as an advantage. However we will make sure they know how we want their characters to be represented throughout this. 

Location and lighting 

To begin, as our Location Manager I have decided to keep our narrative simple in terms of locations by only using a local forest and Daisys house. We have also taken our quantitative data into consideration by selecting the most popular location with our audience being a house and another being the forest. We aim to film in the forest as we feel low-key lighting is best suited for the tension and suspense we want to bring to the audience and also it follows conventions of Thriller films. When filming in the house we will use light from a lamp as it will create the atmosphere for low key lighting but will have aspects of light as which is visible.

Production Roles- Miss Georgiou

Production Roles

To have a professional production you need to require:  

• Sound Technician-  They're required to assemble, operate and maintain the technical equipment used to record, amplify, enhance, mix or reproduce sound. They identify the sound requirements for a given task and perform the appropriate actions to produce this sound. Sound technicians of different types are required in a range of industries including film, broadcasting, live performance, advertising and audio recordings.

• Camera Operator-  They are responsible for operating a variety of technical equipment including single and multiple portable, remote-control and electronic cameras, cranes for panning.

• Actor/s- An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic or comic production and works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity.

• Editors- The film editor works with the raw footage, selecting shots and combining them into sequences to create a finished motion picture. 

• Film Director- A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in film making. They control a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, while guiding the technical crew and actors.

• Location Manager- The Location Manager is responsible for the finding and securing locations to be used. They are also the face of the production to the community and responsible for addressing the issues that may arise due to the production's impact on the community.

• Storyboard Organizer- They are responsible to make sure the team/crew follow the storyboard step by step through the filming progress. 

• Producer- A person, company who produces motion pictures

• Screen Writer- A screenwriter or scriptwriter is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media such as films, television programs, comics or video games are based.

• Production designer- Is a term used in the broadcasting industry to describe the person who is responsible for the look of the set.

• Costume Designer- Is a term used in the broadcasting industry for the person who is responsible for the look of the actors/actresses on the set. 

• Music Supervisor-  A music supervisor is an individual who combines music and visual media.  A music supervisor is often responsible for managing a team of music directors working on any number of musical productions.

In our thriller production we won't have to allocate so many roles.These are the roles our Thriller film will require, these have been discussed within the group:

We have asked Evie and Billy to be actors in our thriller film as they both have acting experience and are willing to participate. We have decided as a group that Emma is most suited for the role as camera operator as she played this role for our preliminary task and the outcome proved successful. Also, we as a group have decided that Daisy should be film director because it would involve her working closely alongside the actors and she has a clear artistic view for our final outcome. Additional to this we have decided that I am the best person to take on the role as location manager because I am keen to secure good locations and I have a good eye for successful framing.Furthermore, there are three production roles of which all group members will be required to take on together: sound technician, editors and storyboard organiser. 

We are all sound technicians because we feel sound is an imperative element within our production therefore we all feel we should be involved.  

All group members are editors as the editing process will require all of our opinions as to which shot should follow from the next. The editing within a production is also key to whether it is successful or unsuccessful.

Lastly, we are all taking on the role as storyboard organiser because we all have differentiating visions therefore we find it important to include all of our ideas to create a successful final outcome. 

Narrative Theory- Miss Georgiou

Narrative Theory

A narrative is a constructive format it can be either speech, writing, song, film, television, video games, photography or theatre that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. 

A narrative includes a beginning, a middle and an end and for films this gives the viewer a chance to make their own interpretations as to what may happen within the story line, throughout the film the viewers can construct their own understanding and meanings from the narrative and with the right conventions can identify things from previous films they have already watched. All narratives have codes and conventions and the viewers examine the conventions of genre, character form and time. We use these conventions to help us interpret the text. Time is something that we as viewers can understand as a convention as narratives aren't a true reflection of real life. Therefore time is considered as "the time of the thing told and the time of the telling." (Christian Metz Notes Towards A Phenomenology of Narrative). The main reason the audience are able compare texts with others and understand these conventions is because they started reading narratives from a young age. 

Theory 1: Vladimir Propp

Vladimur Propp was a Russian critic who was active in the 1920's was extremely interested in the narrative of folk tales. Folk tales included the same basic struggles and appeared to have stock characters. From this he created a theory about actions and characters as narrative functions and that whatever film you watch you will always be presented with a certain type of characters and actions.

According to Propp characters have a narrative function and provide a structure for the text:

• The Hero - a character that seeks something.
• The Villain - who opposes or actively blocks the hero's quest.
• The Doner - who provides an object with magical properties.
• The Dispatcher - who sends the hero on his/her quest via a message.
• The False Hero - who disrupts' the heroes' success by making false claims.
• The Helper - who aids the hero.
• The Princess - acts as the reward for the hero and the aim of the villains' plots.
• Her Father - who acts to reward the hero for his effort. 

This theory applies to fairy tales and not all narratives.


Theory 2: Tzvetan Todorov

Trzetan Todorov simplified the idea of narrative theory whilst also allowing a more complex interpretation of film texts with his theory of Equilibrium and Disequilibrium. 

Todorovs Theory is simply this:

• The fictional environment begins with a state of equilibrium. 
• It then suffers some disequilibrium. (disruption) 
• And in the end a new equilibrium is produced. 

There are another five stages a narrative can progress through:

• A state of equilibrium.
• A disruption of that ordered by an event.
• A recognition that the disorder had occurred.
• An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption.
• A return of restoration of a new equilibrium.

In Todorovs' theory the narrative is seen as circular structure as apposed to a linear one.
The narrative is driven by attempts to restore the equilibrium, however the equilibrium obtained at the end of the narrative is not the same as the initial equilibrium. Todorov argues that a narrative involves a transformation, therefore the characters or situations are altered through the progression of the disruption.


Theory 3: Aristotle

Aristotle's Theory is that all films are based on common themes. Headings that are sometimes employed by producers and screenwriters include:

• Inciting Incident 
• Dramatic Question/s 
• Character Goal 
• Antagonist/Protagonist 
• Stakes
• Resolution
• Sympathy/Empathy 

In our group narrative we are going to be including pieces from both Aristotle and Todorovs Theory. Aristotle's Theory is suitable for our Thriller opening as we are going to be using an incident where the pill is being taken and the dramatic questions the audience will be asking throughout our Thriller opening as well as there being an Antagonist who is the brother with the schizophrenia. However, we will also be using Todorovs Theory of equilibrium and disequilibrium; this is because our film opening will start where everything is how it should be. The disequilibrium will happen after the equilibrium suffers disruption which will begin when the children have the nightmares after the pill has bee taken. Then at the end of the film (if we could show it) a new equilibrium would have been produced.

Questionnaire and Target Audience Research- Miss Frisendar

Analysis of Questionnaires and Target Audience Research

My group carried out a questionnaire with a range of questions about Thriller films. We asked 20 people to get different opinions on what makes a good Thriller, what kind of iconography has the most impact during a Thriller scene and what they would want to happen at an opening of a Thriller to make them want to carry on watching. We done this so we could get some ideas for our own Thriller and so we know what people would like. 

In our questionnaire we asked a number of quantitative questions to provide us with data. One of our questions was 'What is your preferred location for a Thriller film?' The options we gave were: Prison Cell, Forest, Garage, House, Orphanage, Rural/Urban place, Dark Alley and other. From our research we have found out that peoples preferences for locations in Thriller films are in an Orphanage or a House with a Rural Area coming in at a close third choice.  The top choices are both our choices and not their own which tells us that we are aware of what people like in a Thriller. This tells us that people prefer the locations to be more realistic so they can relate to it themselves, therefore we can include this evidence in our own Thriller opening. 

Another question we asked in our questionnaire was 'Out of these conventional forms of Iconography which do you find the most effective?' Options we included were: Lamp, Knife, Mirror, Rope, Gun, Dolls, and a Mask. Our results concluded that Masks were a top favourite with Rope being a close second choice. These results have came out of a the Quantitive questions and allows is to be more aware of what the viewers like being included in Thrillers and therefore we can include this in out Thriller to enhance their experience while watching it. 

We also included Qualitative questions in our Questionnaire to produce more data. From the Qualitative data we found out that the most popular Thriller film is The Strangers, from this we are provided with information that the viewers are fans of shock and suspense films and also like the fact that the antagonist has a hidden identity which links in with the previous question and that the preferred Iconography was a mask and also the fact that the viewers like suspense, enigma and unexpected twists included in the film. Another aspect we found out was that the most popular sub-genres are Crime, Horror and Psychological Thrillers which can give us more ideas for our Thriller opening and we have a better meaning of knowing what to include. Finally another fact we found from our Qualitative Data was that people like there to be either a murder or a chase at the beginning of a film to grab their attention and make them want to keep watching, this again provides us more information that we can include for our opening Thriller scene so we can make it full of shock, suspense and surprises to grip the viewers. Another fact we found out was that viewers also like there to be a type of sound during the film to create a climax of tension and suspense again to make them hooked this is also good for us as we now know we need to include sound to create the same effect.

Group Narrative- Miss Georgiou

Group Narrative

Myself and my group each created our own individual narratives, we then analysed what we had came up with and produced advantages and disadvantages for each. 

My idea for a narrative for our thriller is about two teenage girls who have lost a friend in a car crash and after a year anniversary of her death and mysterious paranormal activity happening to them they both realize she is haunting them both and maybe blaming them for her death, the girls also see flashbacks of how she was killed even though they weren't there to witness it. Eventually one of the girls is possessed by their late friends spirit. During these scenes there will be shadows and low key lighting to create a suspense atmosphere which is conventional to a Thriller film.

Setting:

There will be three different settings throughout the Thriller, they are an isolated school, a deserted forest and the friends house. When the girls find out they are both witnessing spooky paranormal activity it will be set in an isolated school toilets. Their friend was killed in a deserted forest lane and there was no trace of anything happening which creates mystery and shocks the audience as to why there is no trace of a murder and if there ever was an accident? The girls end up in their friends house where they experience some paranormal activity which leaves the audience tense as to what is going to happen. 

Beginning:
The Thriller will begin with a flashback of the car crash in a spooky, deserted and dark forest lane (low key lighting) which left a teenage girl dead, it will then cut to a split scene with two other teenage girls waking up in fear as they've had a nightmare which is the vision of their friend being killed. During this opening scene there will be low key lighting which will create an effect of a dim, creepy atmosphere, the non-diegetic sound of noises that come from the forest to add a dramatic effect within the audience and also diegetic sound of heavy breathing when the girls are having a nightmare and screams when they wake up in shock and fear this will create a tension within the audience and also are generic conventions towards a thriller.

Middle:
The middle of the Thriller will consist of two different settings, the school toilets and the forest. During the middle of the Thriller there will be a scene in the isolated school toilets where the two girls start talking about their paranormal experiences and tell each other about the occurring nightmare they both keep having which is a flashback of their friends murder even though they weren't there to witness the accident which has made them more scared. There will be close up shots during these scenes to see the fear and shock in the girls faces which will create suspense within the audience. They end up agreeing they should visit the forest lane where their friend got killed which creates a tension within the audience in itself as they're visiting the scene of a murder which is conventional towards a Thriller as something bad would usually happen.
The girls are in the forest trying to find the spot where their friend was killed; they hear noises (non diegetic) and they decide to see where the noise is coming from, this creates a suspension. The sound they hear leads them to the lane where their friend was killed and then their friends ghost appears and says shes been blaming them for her death and that is why shes been haunting them through their dreams and if they don't find her killer she threatens them by showing them she'll hurt their family, (there will be faded shots and split scenes and close ups to show the audience the scene from the characters point of view).

End:
The end of the Thriller the spirit of the girl possesses both of the friends which will make the audience uncomfortable, one of the girls who was possessed then dies which is conventional to a Thriller as there's always a murder. Meanwhile, the other friend was left in the forest on her own and was never seen again, this will be shown in the credits at the end.
The target audience for my Thriller will be 15 year olds and older as it will contain moderate violence when they're in the forest and won't be acceptable for younger viewers.

One advantage of my individual narrative are the range of locations I have used throughout my Thriller which provides us with a variation of suspense for the audience as they may be able to relate to them and believe paranormal activity may occur in these locations, another advantage is the fact that there are two female characters, this is conventional to a Thriller film and shows how females are portrayed as vulnerable and innocent victims. A disadvantage of my narrative is the scene of the car crash as it would be hard to create and locate a car crash happening which wouldn't create the shock and suspense we would hope to in our Thriller opening.

Emmas Individual Narrative

My idea for a narrative for our thriller follows a theme of revenge and jealousy. A family, consisting of the mother, father, and two sons aged 6 and 15, move into a new suburban house. They lead a happy and normal life until the parents begin to hear talking from the younger sons room at night, because of this they go into the younger sons room to see who he is talking to and are faced with the reality that he is asleep. This shocks them. The talking at night continues but the parents are unaware of what is actually happening behind his bedroom door. The young boy is actually exposed to the on goings of the family who lived there before that were murdered by the estranged father, in their sleep. They enter the little boys bedroom every night and at first he was petrified until they possessed him so that he was on their side because of the fact they want the family out and their house back.The young boys family notice a difference with the boy when he stops eating, interacting with his family members and is always locked up in his room, so they begin to worry.
The story line comes to the climax when the murdered family tell the young boy in his sleep that he must murder his own family so that they can get their house back. The boy then wakes up in the night with the mindset that he has to murder his family and therefore progresses to their rooms. However the older brother is awake and hears the younger boys bedroom door open, and the footsteps of him moving towards the stairs. But he ignores it. The little boy then walks to the kitchen to get a knife then makes his way back upstairs to his parents bedroom. The older son then hears his footsteps again as he walks up the stairs, and peers out his bedroom to see what his brother is doing. Then he is faced with the sight of his little brother holding a knife progressing towards his parents bedroom. His brother reacts fast and tries to stop him but in the process is killed himself, the little boy then carries on into his parents room and kills them in their sleep.
The little boy then walks back into his bedroom and gets back in bed when he is awoken by a policeman who has to break the news that his family have been murdered. The little boy remembers nothing. He is then taken to an orphanage. A police investigation is carried out which lasts 5 years until they realise it was the young boy himself. However by the time they get to the orphanage the little boy had killed himself as he had been depressed and hated being so alone. He also had to live with the fact he no longer had a family, yet he did not know he was the one who killed them.
During the beginning of our thriller film it will be set in a suburban house. We will use low key lighting when the little boy is in bed. We will also use a close up shot of his face to show his expressions which portrays to the audience that he is asleep. As well as when the little boy is in bed we will use low key lighting when he is communicating with the murdered family to evoke the sense of mystery and fright upon the audience, and to also distort their identities. When the little boy begins to change his behaviour we will use dark make up around his eyes to convey the lack of sleep he is having.
During the build up to the climax and the actual climax of the film we will use angled shots to show the state of power the characters have. When the child is being possessed we will use a low angle shot to convey that the family have more power over the little boy. Then when the little boy progresses to kill his family we will use a another low angle shot but to show that he now has a high level of power over his family who will become the victims. We will include iconography into my film as the little boy will carry a knife, the knife I would use would be reasonable big and therefore the audience will feel uncomfortable and will expect the occurrence of death. The little boy will then kill his brother and parents so the viewers would be presented with the sight of blood and in result their experience will be extremely realistic.
Towards the end of the film the setting will change to an orphanage where the little boy has been taken. We will use high angle shots to show that he no longer has any power and that he is now alone and vulnerable. In my film we wont allow the audience to witness the little boy killing himself, instead we will use a high angle zooming in shot of his body once the police reach the orphanage to surprise the audience and shock them with will increase their suspense as to what will happen now.

Emma's individual narrative is conventional to a thriller film as the victim is a young child which is typical of a thriller film. Also if the audience members have children they will be able to relate to the film more, and their thrill will therefore be enhanced. Her narrative is also set in a house which is a conventional location for a thriller film, and she has incorporated the iconography of a knife, which is a conventional weapon seen in thriller films. Within her narrative she would also use a vast amount of low-key lighting which is conventional to a thriller film as it creates an eerie, frightening atmosphere. This would therefore also enhance the viewers experience while watching the film. Throughout her narrative she should also employ a number of high angle and low angle shots to convey to the audience the state of power of the characters in the particular scene. This is conventional as these shots are incorporated into thriller films to help the audience understand the film in more detail and so they are aware of the role of the characters. At the end of my narrative it will be set in an orphanage which is another conventional location seen in thriller films. It is a location where children are staying and therefore increases the audiences suspense levels and will feel realistic to them.
Her individual narrative will appeal to our target audience of 15 and over because of the conventions she has used throughout. The use of the young boy character is easily relatable for audience members and therefore their thrill will be enhanced, which will in result make them want to watch the film. My narrative will also be appealing for this age group as rather than including a lot of blood, gore and explicit violence we will incorporate more shock, surprise and suspense. Therefore if the viewers are of the younger age of the target audience, what they witness will be suitable and will not harm them in any way.One advantage of Emma's individual narrative is that the narrative she has chosen is conventional to a thriller film and she has included generic conventions that she would employ into it. Another advantage is that most aspects of her narrative are realistic to include in our opening, for example, the setting of the house and being able to obtain the different range of characters. One disadvantage of my narrative however is that the setting she has chosen is typical to a thriller film, however we believe it would still create an impact on the audience as from our questionnaire we found that a house was the most popular location for a thriller film to take place. An advantage of Emma’s individual narrative is that the narrative she has chosen is conventional to a Thriller film as she has included generic conventions that would fit into it. However one disadvantage of her narrative is that the setting she has chosen is typical of a thriller film, however from our questionnaire we found that a house was the most popular location for a thriller film to take place so it will still make an impact on the audience.

Daisy's Individual Narrative

Narrative background

A group of 3 girls who have known each other since they were little meet after not seeing each other for 5 years after leaving school. However, they were not always friends. Kate and Louise sometimes played tricks on Beth which made her want to get revenge on them. Beth was diagnosed with schizophrenia and the voices in her head told her to torture them both then kill them and hide the evidence...

The beginning

We first see flashbacks of Kate and Louise bullying Beth when they were small. Beth was very sensitive and was badly effected by it. Makes us feel sympathetic towards her. They all left school on good terms as they apologised if they had ever upset her. We then see Beth diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 18, after she had lost contact with Kate and Louise. After, (3 years later on her 21st birthday) we see an extreme close-up of Beth's eye after waking up in the middle of the night. We then hear the voices she is hearing in her head, telling her she should never have forgiven the girls for the damage they had caused. The voices say they wouldn't be there if it wasn't for Kate and Louise. Beth decides to organise to see them both... she wants revenge. They meet in a club that night to celebrate her birthday and decide to go on to another after having a good time. But then, whilst waiting for a cab Beth offers Kate and Louise the drug Perteniam which she says would make them feel good. Beth does not take any but pretends she does disguising another tablet for one. Kate and Louise begin to hallucinate and as the audience we can witness how they feel with out-of-focus camera shots (inspiration from Saw) The cab comes and Kate and Louise stumble in, unaware that their next destination is not a club but an abandoned house. 

The middle

They arrive at the house in an eerie forest and Beth pays the concerned driver then drags her sleepy friends out. The cab pulls away and Beth makes sure it is gone before blindfolding them and tying up their arms together whilst they are asleep. She drags the attatched bodies into the house but they wake up and notice that they are restricted. They begin to scream. Beth tells them to be quiet and follow her instructions or she will kill them in the most painful way possible. Beth stabs Kate several times and makes Louise watch. Sadistic method. Beth gets pleasure from seeing Kate in physical pain and Louise mentally distressed.  Louise manages to get the knife off of Beth and stabs her then escapes from the house whilst Beth is slowly dieng next to Kate's dead body.

The end

Louise tries to find her way home but the house is abandoned and in a seclusive and rural location. No phone signal. No way of communicating to anyone for help. She gives up hope but then a cab pulls up beside her and the man acts as if he will help her and take her home. After Louise gets in the cab, the audience find out that the man who claims he will help her is actually the man who took them to the house in the first place and is in with the act with Beth! He locks her in the boot of the cab after tying her hands and feet together so she cannot escape. The cab driver then drives back to the house to find Kate and Beth's corpse on the blood stained floorboards. He panics and calls the police, forgetting that he has Louise in his car boot! The police arrive and find no evidence that he was involved in the murders of the girls... but then they find Louise. It ends on a cliff-hanger with the cab driver and Louise in court. A split-screen of a close-up of their faces. Voiceover of the court judge sentencing speech. The audience decides what happens for themselves.

Advantages of Daisy’s individual narrative are that the iconography used within the narrative are easy to obtain and also the narrative is a typical Thriller genre. However, the disadvantages from her narrative are that the characters needed will be hard to find, particular locations would be hard to find and some scenes will be hard to edit. Me and my group have taken all of this into perspective and we have taken the advantages from each of our individual narratives to create our final narrative.

We had a group discussion to come up with a final narrative for our Thriller opening, we chose different advantages from each of our narratives and put them together to create our final group narrative. From my narrative we have used the locations of the forest and house as through our Primary research we found these two locations were the most popular therefore including them in our opening would also grab the viewers attention and enhance their experience throughout. From Emma's narrative we have taken the idea of a nightmare and that the character was a young child, the use of the character is conventional to a Thriller film as a young child in danger is realistic to the audience therefore increases their experience while watching. Finally from Daisy's narrative we have chosen to take the idea of the character taking a pill which causes side effects, the use of this idea is not a stereotypical convention to a Thriller film and therefore we are experimenting with new and unique ideas.

Our Thriller film opening will start with two young children, a brother and sister in the location of their home. The brother (who has schizophrenia) gives his sister a pill to take before she goes to bed, no one knows what the pill does. This portrays the convention of a vulnerable, young girl being the innocent victim which therefore creates suspense within the audience. There while be a split screen shot of the brother and sister asleep in their separate beds, in separate rooms from a high angle view, the two shots will the zoom in to their eyes, a dissolving shot will then be used on both characters to show how the audience are being drawn into their dreams. The dissolving shot will be of their eyes and the nightmare together, this will help the audience see what both characters are experiencing and they will be viewing this from the characters point of view.

The nightmare in which both characters are having will be set in a forest where the young girl is being chased by her brother, at the start she is unaware who it is chasing her as he is wearing a mask. Low key lighting will be used here and the the use of diegetic sound, when the audience hear their footsteps as they run through the forest across the leaves and the screams of the young girl. We will also use fat-paced editing and a number of straight cuts to provide the audience with a chaotic atmosphere; as well as this we will incorporate a handheld shot to let  the audience see what is happening from the young girls point of view when she is running through the forest, therefore the audience will feel tensed and frightened as the event will feel realistic to them. The brother, who is wearing a mask manages to catch up with his sister and then audience are provided with a close up view of a knife that he is carrying. He then restrains his sister from moving and repeatedly attempts to stab her but she is constantly trying to pull away from him. In result her brother ends up stabbing her on the cheek, at this point of the nightmare we will flash back to a split screen of them sleeping showing their reaction during the event. 

When the audience are returned to the nightmare they are shown a high angle shot of the young girl lying on the floor covered in blood with her brother standing over her staring at her. We will then include a point of view shot of the girl which will be out of focus as she drops in and out of consciousness. The brother thinks she is dead and at that point removes the mask, however she manages to make out his identity and at this point they both wake up from their dream. The young girl immediately look in the mirror and sees the horrific knife wound on her cheek and therefore throws up as she is in shock. She then looks back again but this time the gash has disappeared. The nightmare impacts on both of the children as she is scared for her life and because her brother is schizophrenic he panics and becomes possessed by the nightmare he has experienced. Because of this we will add dark make-up around the boys eyes to portray how he is not himself and he has been taken over by an evil spirit and therefore the audience will suspect this which in a result will be in suspense and anticipation levels will be raised. 

An advantage of our final analysis is we have used a wide range of different camera shots and angles, and also out generic conventions and all conventional to the Thriller genre. Another advantage is the use of locations as we incorporated what people preferred the most and what brings the most tension to the audience from our questionnaire, and also the use of the female victim and the use of a pill which is unique, however a disadvantage to out Thriller is that we haven't explored new ideas to break any conventions to make out thriller opening more original.

Film Classification- Miss Frisendar

Film Classification

The BBFC stand for The British Board Film Classification.

They are a highly experienced regulator of film who serve a function in society which is to advise and protect the young viewers as to what is appropriate for their age range. The BBFC provide the public with advice, information and guidelines that empowers them to make appropriate viewing decisions for themselves and also parents to protect those in their care and the younger viewer. Furthermore they protect vulnerable viewers and society from the effects of viewing potentially harmful or unsuitable content for certain age groups as they may find certain images discomforting,whilst also respecting adult freedom of choice. 

'U' ratings should be suitable for aged four and above, they should be set within positive moral framework and there should be reassuring counterbalances towards any violence or horror.

Parental Guidance rated films may be unsuitable for some children but should not disturb children aged around eight or older. However, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger children.

           The material is suitable for 12 years and older and these categories may upset children under the age of 12 or parents may find footage unsuitable for younger viewers. The rating '12A' only occurs at a cinema where a child needs to be accompanied by an adult. No one under the age of '12' may rent or buy a DVD.


 No one under the age of 15 may see a '15' film in a cinema. '15' films contain strong language and sexual references.

No one under the age of 18 may see a '18' film in the cinema or rent or buy any '18' rated work.  '18' Rated films contains more violent scenes.

The 'R18' category is a special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit images consenting sex and involving adults. Films may only be shown to adults in specially  licensed cinemas and also only supplied in specially licensed sex shops. There are some content which is not acceptable: rape, pedophilia, strong physical or verbal abuse.

People argue whether adults should be free to choose what films they watch or not, however the BBFC believe that adults should not have a free choice for these reasons:

• If explicit images of sexual content or activity which can not be justified by context are incorporated.
• If material appears to risk harm to individuals through behaviour, or incourages the behaviour that is happening e.g sexual assault, suicide...
• If the material has broken the law during filming/ when it is distributed.

However I believe that any person aged 18 or older should have the right to watch what they wish as I believe they are mature enough to not be incouraged by any explicit/violent scenes they will experience whilst viewing the film. Consequently, if they are effected psychologically or physically in any way after watching the film it is down to them and no one else.


Back in 2002 before The Spiderman movie was released it had to be cut several times so it was suitable enough for a '12A' rating. However people still complained that it still wasn't suitable enough for that age group and should have been rated a higher certificate as it was too violent for 12A viewers. To be rated a 12A the film would have only moderate violence as long as it is sustained, taking this into consideration Spiderman doesn't do this. The audience are exposed to a 4 minute long fighting scene with violence throughout which could mean that the younger viewer could be incouraged by this and maybe even imitate some of the things that the characters do as they idolise super heroes therefore may come to a conclusion they are doing nothing wrong.

However the Spiderman film is fiction and the main protagonist is a superhero which is unrealistic, and so are the iconography and weapons which are used in this fighting scene as they do not use the stereotypical weapons (i.e knives, guns...)  so the children will be unfamiliar with what they are using and therefore won't be inspired by what is going on. Therefore the children will be able to watch this scene without copying them and end up potentially in danger.

Following from my last point both Spiderman and the antagonist use weapons in the fighting scene and there is a huge dramatic effect by using them. This could be dangerous for the children as these weapons are almost glamourised by the characters and as children idolise their favourite superheroes could easily pick up a weapon and cause harm to someone even though they think they aren't doing anything wrong as they've watched their idol do so. This could also increase their chance of being violent in the future as they've been exposed to it at such a young age.

On the other hand Spiderman could get away with being appropriate as a 12A certificate as the viewers maybe too young to even pay close attention to the fighting scenes therefore may not get any inspirations as such of what is happening and would just sit and enjoy the film and not realize how violent it actually is. Secondly, during the fighting scene the blood and injuries aren't emphasised therefore aren't scaring the children but there are some occasional gory moments which justifies the scene perfectly therefore the children aren't shocked by the fighting that is happening.

Our Thriller opening is going to be rated 15 as it will contain more of a shock and suspense within the audience rather then show violence and gore. I will be able to use strong language, I will also be able to contain violent behaviour as long as it doesn't focus too much on the detail as then it would lean towards a rated 18 certificate. I could also use strong threat as long as it isn't detailed.

Individual Narrative- Miss Georgiou

Individual Narrative

My idea for a narrative for our thriller is about two teenage girls who have lost a friend in a car crash and after a year anniversary of her death and mysterious paranormal activity happening to them they both realize she is haunting them both and maybe blaming them for her death, the girls also see flashbacks of how she was killed even though they weren't there to witness it. Eventually one of the girls is possessed by their late friends spirit. During these scenes there will be shadows and low key lighting to create a suspense atmosphere which is conventional to a Thriller film.

Setting:

There will be three different settings throughout the Thriller, they are an isolated school, a deserted forest and the friends house. When the girls find out they are both witnessing spooky paranormal activity it will be set in an isolated school toilets. Their friend was killed in a deserted forest lane and there was no trace of anything happening which creates mystery and shocks the audience as to why there is no trace of a murder and if there ever was an accident? The girls end up in their friends house where they experience some paranormal activity which leaves the audience tense as to what is going to happen. 

Beginning:
The Thriller will begin with a flashback of the car crash in a spooky, deserted and dark forest lane (low key lighting) which left a teenage girl dead, it will then cut to a split scene with two other teenage girls waking up in fear as they've had a nightmare which is the vision of their friend being killed. During this opening scene there will be low key lighting which will create an effect of a dim, creepy atmosphere, the non-diegetic sound of noises that come from the forest to add a dramatic effect within the audience and also diegetic sound of heavy breathing when the girls are having a nightmare and screams when they wake up in shock and fear this will create a tension within the audience and also are generic conventions towards a thriller.

Middle:
The middle of the Thriller will consist of two different settings, the school toilets and the forest. During the middle of the Thriller there will be a scene in the isolated school toilets where the two girls start talking about their paranormal experiences and tell each other about the occurring nightmare they both keep having which is a flashback of their friends murder even though they weren't there to witness the accident which has made them more scared. There will be close up shots during these scenes to see the fear and shock in the girls faces which will create suspense within the audience. They end up agreeing they should visit the forest lane where their friend got killed which creates a tension within the audience in itself as they're visiting the scene of a murder which is conventional towards a Thriller as something bad would usually happen.
The girls are in the forest trying to find the spot where their friend was killed; they hear noises (non diegetic) and they decide to see where the noise is coming from, this creates a suspension. The sound they hear leads them to the lane where their friend was killed and then their friends ghost appears and says shes been blaming them for her death and that is why shes been haunting them through their dreams and if they don't find her killer she threatens them by showing them she'll hurt their family, (there will be faded shots and split scenes and close ups to show the audience the scene from the characters point of view).

End:
The end of the Thriller the spirit of the girl possesses both of the friends which will make the audience uncomfortable, one of the girls who was possessed then dies which is conventional to a Thriller as there's always a murder. Meanwhile, the other friend was left in the forest on her own and was never seen again, this will be shown in the credits at the end.

The target audience for my Thriller will be 15 year olds and older as it will contain moderate violence when they're in the forest and won't be acceptable for younger viewers.

One advantage of my Thriller Narrative is ma narrative as it is conventional to a Thriller and has a few generic conventions throughout. A second advantage is that I have two female characters in my narrative which is another convention as it portrays females being innocent and vulnerable victims,  another advantage of my narrative is the setting of a Forest is conventional to a Thriller Film as it creates suspense within the audience but it may be too typical for a Thriller film and from our questionnaire the setting of a Forest was the forth favourite so we may have to take that into consideration and change it. A disadvantage is the car crash scene as it will be hard to create and won't create the shock and suspense to our Thriller Convention that we are hoping.