Genre - Psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a fictional thriller story which emphasizes the psychology of its characters and their unstable emotional states. In terms of classification, the category is a sub-genre of the broader ranging thriller category,with similarities to Gothic and detective fiction in the sense of sometimes having a "dissolving sense of reality", moral ambiguity, and complex and tortured relationships between obsessive and pathological characters. Psychological thrillers often incorporate elements of mystery, drama, and horror, particularly psychological horror.In psychological thrillers, character often battle their own minds, seeking to determine what is real, who they are, and life's purpose. Amnesia is common plot device used to explore these questions. Character may be threatened with death, be forced to deal with the deaths of others, or fake their own deaths. These sub genres often help develop the plot of a psychological thriller film, shaping the characters' personalities. For example, the lead character will usually find his or her so-called "true identity", or perhaps their inner demons, during the film, such that a major archetype within these films is often the "loss of innocence".
Audience and Institution 15 certificate - The following is a list of what is most likely to warrant a 15 certificate, although it is a very rough guide:
The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.
Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. Promotion of drugs which are easy to obtain are unlikely to be allowed.
Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.
Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) can be allowed provided the detail of such is low so that it can not create too much of an impression of the viewer. Abuse of weapons which are easily obtained will not be tolerated.
Frequent use of strong language can be permitted, although very strong language needs to be restricted and would have to be seen as reasonable in the context. Frequent usage of very strong language would be seldom allowed.
Nudity in a sexual content must be restricted however nudity in a non-sexual content does not.
Sexual activity without strong detail would most likely to be allowed. Some strong sexual references may be allowed to, but very strong ones may not, unless used within reason. Sexual acts or references with the intention of causing arousal is not likely to be permitted.
As long as the film is appropriate for 15 year olds, no certain themes are prohibited.
Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. The same applies to references. Any sexual violence should be discreet and be strongly justified.
Our film idea is a 15 certificate film as it is not appropriate for anyone younger to watch and is not a film which will be enjoyed to watch amongst families. The film contains violence which involves killing people, however extremely gory scenes will not be shown in the film only mild death scenes which wont make much of an impression on the viewer. Anyone young then 15 may find some scenes disturbing which may cause mental trauma or problems. There are no sexual scenes and none of the death scenes will be sadistic or sexualised. Strong language may be often used but wont be overly used as the main focus of the film will be on Lucinda who refuses to speak the majority of the time.
Master shot - This shot will be used so the audience will see a full view of the room that Lucinda is staying in. The shot will show Lucinda, the interviewer, the sign interpreter and the rest of the room such as the bed and the table. This will show the audience the conditions that Lucinda is staying in and also will show how small the room is.
In the picture below, a master shot is used in the TV programme 'Misfits' to show all the characters and the location they are in.
Close up - A close up shot will be used on both the interviewer and Lucinda. It will be used on the interviewer when she takes a drink of her coffee as the coffee contains something which will then kill her. A close up shot of Lucinda will be taken when we see her reaction to the interviewers death as she does a sinister smile. There may also be another close up of her face to show how ill and deathly she is looking. Close ups of Lucinda's fingers will also be used when she is tapping on the table.
A close up shot is used on the girl in the film 'The Ring' so that we can see her facial expressions and to emphasis how scary she looks.
Mid shot - A mid shot will be used on the sign interpreter. This is because she will be using her arms to sign to Lucinda what is being said. A mid shot may also be used on the other two characters to show what they are wearing, especially on Lucinda. The mid shot will also show the emotion on their face. In the picture below, a mid shot is used to show the emotion on his face and to show his outfit as this shows some of the story line which has happened.
Over the shoulder - These shots will be used between Lucinda and the interviewer when they are sat at the table. This will allow the audience to see who is talking and the facial reactions of those who are listening. It will also make the conversation flow better therefore will make it easier to understand.
This was used in a scene in the film 'Mean Girls' as shown below. We can see who is talking in the conversation and see the facial reaction of the girl who is listening.
High angle - This shot could be used when the interviewer collpases due to being spiked and is on the floor. It could represent Lucinda's point of view as she is looking down on her. This will make Lucinda seem superior and have more power whilst making the interviewer seem smaller and powerless. In the film Matilda (picture below) they use a high angle on Matilda to show her youth and make her look small and innocent.
Low angle - This shot could be used when the interviewer is on the floor due to have collpased and is looking up at Lucinda. It will seem as though the camera is looking through her point of view. It will be a shot of Lucinda and will make her seem powerful despite her youth. The shot below with the girl and the gun makes her look more dangerous due to the camera looking up towards her and her looking down onto it.
Shallow focus - Shallow focus will be used on the mug to emphasis that something has been done to it. This is because the mug has been spiked with something that will kill the interviewer. We want the audience to know this without actually seeing Lucinda do this therefore the shallow focus will bring their attention towards it. This will make the audience anticipate when she will take a drink out of the mug.
It is used in the scene below in one of the 'Batman' films as the Joker is the main focus of the scene. It draws all your attention to him as he is clear and the background is almost completely blurred out.
Sound/Music: Non-diagetic - There will be a sound dialogue of 2 people; the interviewer asking questions and Lucinda with the one line reply.Lucinda will be creating non-diagetic sound when she is tapping her fingers against the table. This sound may start of quiet and rapidly get louder and faster as the tapping increases to show Lucinda's anger as she thinks back to her sister getting kidnapped. The sign interpreter will scream at the end of the scene as she discovers Lucinda has spiked the interviewers drink and potentially killed her. We will also hear her running down the corridor screaming 'help' as she is afraid of what Lucinda may do next.
Diagetic - Music will be added when Lucinda is being interviewed to create some atmosphere. It will start quieter and build getting more intense as the moment of the death happens. If possible, we will get the music to be a synchronous sound so that the music matches the tapping of her fingers. As the tapping of her fingers increase, so will the music and when the tapping abruptly stops, so will the music. The music will sound eerie and match her psychological state so that the audience can relate to what is going on in her head and make the scene more creepy.
As the starter credits will start to appear with the title of the film, a sound bridge will be used to connect the two pieces of music together so it flows smoothly. This music will be different as it will be more upbeat as the film is getting into action. This music will still be slightly creepy but will draw the audience in more as they know that something else is going to happen.
Mise-en-scene Setting - The start of our story will take place in a psychiatrist office which in instituted in a mental unit. The room will be a pale colour and only have basic needs such as a simple single bed and a table and chairs for where the interview will take place. There will be a tape recorder situated on the table and only simple appliances such as a coffee mug, paper and pen. Around the room on the walls will be different pictures of the incident Lucinda has took part in and will be questioned about.
Interview room
Images on wall
Costume: Lucinda - Lucinda will be wearing a long gown that she will have been given whilst in the mental unit which will seem slightly larger then her body making her look frail and ill so she looks like she hasn't been eating properly. The gown will be slightly dirty too so she looks as though she hasn't washed or been looking after herself. She wont be wearing shoes and will have a band around her wrist to show that she is a patient at the mental unit. Her hair will be very long and dark covering her face making her look eerie. It will be scraggy as though she hasn't brushed it in a while.
Gown
The girl from 'The Ring' wears a similar gown and hair
Interviewer/psychologist - She will be dressed in very smart yet causal clothing to make her look professional but not too authoritative. She will have a casual blazer on, pencil skirt, blouse, small heels and a pair of glasses to make her look intelligent. Her hair will be pinned up into a messy bun so we are able to see her facial expressions clearly. Her makeup will be neutral so that she doesnt stand out too much.
Similar hair style and glasses
Outfit
Sign interpreter - She will be dressed more casually in plain colours so she doesn't attract too much attention. She will be wearing a normal shirt, cardigan, trousers and flat shoes so that she doesn't appear to have concentrated on her appearance too much. Her makeup will be causal and her hair will be down going past her shoulders.
Similar hair and outfit
Make-up:
Lucinda - The actor of Lucinda will be wearing makeup to make her look ill and sinister. The make up will be applied to make her face look realistically pale so she looks unwell. Dark make up will be applied around her eyes to make them look hallow as though she hasn't had any sleep for weeks. Contouring will be done around her face to make her cheekbones stand out more so she looks very thin and fragile. This will make Lucinda appear very ill as though she hasn't eaten regularly. Her lips will also be white to make them appear thin.
Similar makeup to make her look ill
Lighting - The lighting in our scenes will be very light with a slight blue tone to it. This is to reflect that they are in a mental unit as hospitals are seen as very white and clean. It also will make Lucinda's dark long hair stand out more and seem more sinister as it will be black hair on a white background. The blue tone to the scene will make it seem more cold and therefore more creepy.
Blue tone
In The Ring they use bright lighting to emphasis her long dark hair
Props - The props used will be to make the mental unit room seem realistic as possible. The essentials for the scene are the table, chairs, tape recorder and crime pictures on the walls as these are needed for the story to portray. Other items are to make the scene seem more casual, such as coffee mug, paper, pens and a lamp.
The beginning scene starts off with a young woman dressed in
black cloak holding something fragile running into the forest in the dusk of
the night. The woman looks drenched and in agony as she runs breathlessly in to
the moist obscure forest. A couple of seconds later an innocent squeal of cry
quivers through her arms as she looks down she sees the endearing pleading eyes
looking up to her, she looks down and says ‘I have to, I don’t have any other
option, understand me please, please. I didn't want this, I'm sorry
sweetheart.’ She finds a dry spot in the middle of the wet damp greenery and
leaves her and runs away without taking another glance.
Middle:
After years pass, the young baby manages to adapt and
survive in the forest. But as she grows up she begins to hate any emotion, she
only focuses on hate and revenge. One day passengers walk past the forest as
soon as the young girl hears the visitors footsteps she slowly follows their
footsteps out of the forest leading her into the world, but this isn't good as
she begins her revenge. She turns into an unstoppable predator tracing her
victims until they’re weak and powerless.
End:
At the end she finds her mother who left her in the forest
all by herself for 14 years, she looks up to her mother emotionless and
speechless, her mother doesn't realise who the young girl is at first but once
she realises she begins to cry in joy, but before she understands why her daughter
is looking at her in resentment the young girl attacks her mother, killing her
last victim on her list.
My film will be set in a scene hospital. The main character,
she will be standing in the corridor confused, as the camera will spin around
her as she stands still and all the background sound will go blurry. I then want
her to be sat in a room as the doctor is checking up on her asking her how the
scar happened on her forehead, she then starts crying and says ‘am I going to
be okay?’ and the doctor assures her that for now everything is fine, but she
needs to keep away from any depression and stress or else it’ll speed of the
affects. I don’t want the doctor to say too much as I want there to be a little
cliff hanger. The next scene will then show her walking out of the hospital and
getting into the taxi but then she realises she’s left her purse in the toilets
in the hospital so she rushes back in to the hospital collects her purse and as
she walks back out through the revolving doors she gets stuck and all of a
sudden her emotions come out in anger and fury as she screams in a loud tone
then she feels a hand reaching for the glass door and the door continues to
spin, she turns around in surprise as she didn't expect anyone behind her. As
she turns around the look at the person she feels embarrassed instantly as she
realises it’s a guy and his face expression is startled, she gets annoyed and
also takes her anger out of him by saying ‘what are you looking at for god’s
sake!’ And she walks out and see’s that
the taxi isn't there any more so she walks off furiously as the guy is astounded
by her and he just watches her walk away in anger which he finds amusing.
Middle:
After a couple of days later the incident, she visits her
friend called Tessa and coincidently bumps into the same guy she screamed at,
and she starts blushing, she asks him what he’s doing here and he says ‘I’m
working in this building, I’m a builder’, and she apologises for screaming at
him and he asks her if he could take her out on a date and from there on they
fall in love and they get married a couple of months later. They both feel like
they’re complete, until she experiences a little confusion, which she doesn’t show
to him as she thinks she’ll get better. But after visiting a doctor she finds
out that her dementia has gone further then he thought it would have. She feels
distraught and hopeless as the doctor tells her the stages that she will be
going through from now on. She feels like she has no option but to leave her
husband. But it’s too late as her illness gets worse quicker than she thought.
As days go by, she feels like she has no option but to let him know, and when
she tells him, he gets angry and really devastated as he knows she won’t get
better. But he tells her that no matter what he’s not going to let her go and
that he’s going to be there till the very end. But when her family finds out they
don’t appreciate him hiding her illness away from them. Everyone’s becomes violent
towards each other as they argue about her living with them.
End:
As days go by, he starts to become more paranoid about her,
so he hides everything in the house that can be danger for her, but that doesn't
stop her. While he’s at work she’s at home cooking, her brain switches
instantly so she forgets that she has a knife in her hand, but just as she’s
about to stab herself the doorbell rings and she walks up to the door with the
knife in her hands and when she opens it to see her parents, she realises when
she was about to do and her parents see her so helpless so they pack all of her
clothes and take her away. When he gets back home to not find her there he
becomes furious and calls his wife’s parents and but won’t tell him where they've
taken her. Eventually he finds out after a couple of weeks later and when he
goes walks in to her room, he finds her in a weak crumbled state in her bed
sleeping. As he reaches out to touch her hand she wakes up and looks up at him
like she doesn't know him, he tells her who he is, but he realises that she can’t
speak either, he feels emotionless. He realises that she’s bed bound, so he
picks her up and carries her out but as he walks out the house her parents
start yelling at him and they tell him to leave her where she belongs, but he
ignores them and stares at her eyes in his arms, and he realises for a split
second the shimmer, she remembers him. He smiles at her fighting the tears, but
all of her sudden she stops breathing and collapses in his arms, everyone cries
in terror. After a couple of months later he visits her at the graveyard for
their anniversary, and it finishes when he leaves the red roses on her grave
and tells her that he will always love her.
Thriller and horror filmsare types
of film known to promote intense excitement, suspense, a high level of
anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, and
nerve-wrecking tension. Thriller and suspense films are virtually synonymous
and interchangeable categorizations, with similar characteristics and features.
If the genre is to be defined strictly, a genuine thriller is a film that restlessly
pursues a single-minded goal - to provide thrills and keep the audience
cliff-hanging at the 'edge of their seats' as the plot builds towards a climax.
The tension usually arises when the main character(s) is placed in a menacing
situation or mystery, or an escape or dangerous mission from which escape seems
impossible. A thriller provides the sudden rush of emotions,
excitement, and exhilaration that drive the narrative, sometimes subtly with
peaks and lulls, sometimes at a constant, breakneck pace. It keeps the audience
on the "edge of their seats", akin to a sensation of hanging from a
cliff, as the plot builds towards a climax. Literary devices such as red
herrings, plot twists and cliff-hangers are used extensively. A thriller is
usually a villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the
protagonist must overcome. Common methods and themes in thrillers are mainly
ransoms, captivities, theists, revenge, and kidnappings.
Common elements in psychological thrillers are mind games, psychological
themes, stalking, confinement/death-traps, horror-of-personality, and
obsession Life itself is threatened, usually because the principal
character is unsuspecting or unknowingly involved in a dangerous or potentially
deadly situation. Plots of thrillers involve characters which come into
conflict with each other or with outside forces - the menace is sometimes
abstract or shadowy. Horror films ever so often
play or use the audience’s nightmares against them to affect them and believe that
it will happen to them such fears like nightmares or paranoia.
Cinematography
In the beginning of our film, we wanted Lucinda to have several
flashbacks, to add a bit more background to Lucinda. We wanted the flashbacks
to look random and disjointed, and to do this we want to use a variety of shots
of images and videos or Lucinda and her sister’s relationship from a young age in the opening scene.
To show this we thought of using long shots and mid shots to enable the
audience to see both sisters bond and gestures. These shots will be handheld to
give the audience a sense of feeling like they’re witnessing their relationship
which also adds a sense of realism to it as well as they see the shots from
Lucinda’s perspective. We thought of adding other flashbacks too, of the
killer. We want to do this to add suspicion and tension to the happy
flashbacks, and to also show that Lucinda is stuck in the past and she can’t
figure out what exactly happened to her sister, but she’s trying to concentrate
on every little detail, so is the audience. The shots of the murderer will be
in close up as Lucinda can only remember small details. These shots will flash
on and off screen as she is trying to concentrate.
We will use other shots such as over the shoulder
shots as it will help to be used to show the questions and responses in the
interview. This will allow the audience to clearly see who's asking the
questions and what the responses and replies are. By using this shot it will
also help the audience to see the emotions and tension between the characters,
which will be useful in the beginning. We wanted to make sure we use the right
shots for each individual shot, pan shot was another shot that we was
considering on using. We will pan around the room to give the audience an
insight to where Lucinda lives and the confide space in which she stays in. By
panning the room, it will make the audience familiar with the setting.
Long shots will also be used in our film, to show
where the story is set and place the characters in the environment. Long shots
of the room and long shots of Lucinda leaving the room will be used. Long shots
will show us the characters mannerisms and movements. It will enable the
audience to learn more about them. Long shots of Lucinda will be really
effective because Lucinda is going to be barefoot and wearing a long white
gown, this will automatically show the audience that she's not in a stable
state of mind.
Further shots we are going to use will be close ups. Close ups of
Lucinda and the psychiatrists face will be shown to see their reactions, responses
and facial gestures. This will allow the audience to apprehend how each
characters mood and amplify their emotional state. The close ups will also be
used to create tension. Other close ups we're planning on using are close ups of
Lucinda's tapping fingers on the table, this will also create tension. Close
up's of key items such as the drink on the table will also be shown in close up
shots. This will allow the audience to feel tense as youll be able to see every detail of the cup, even the drops or liqid and the sound of the psychiatist when she takes a sip and gulps it down her throat.
Music/sound
For the
first scene in our film, we want to reveal as much as possible by using variety
of music and sound effects. For the opening we thought of using something heavy
beat so it builds the tension up from the beggining on to the next scene. This is
similar to what we want for our opening scene. The video above is a soundtrack from the woman in black. It’s an interesting pulsing music
that, as it implies that something bad is going to happen/appear. This will
help the audience to feel paranoid as they’ll know something’s going to happen.
Similar music will be played when the titles are being shown therefore
we will use a sound bridge as the music will then be carried over from the
titles to the scene and continue to play for a short period of time. At the end
of the scene, when the Psychiatrist has been killed and the translator screams,
more music will begin to play. Although, this time the music will be more
upbeat, intense and dramatic.
Music will be added when Lucinda is being
interviewed to create some atmosphere. It will start quieter and build getting
more intense as the moment of the death happens. If possible, we will get the
music to be a synchronous sound so that the music matches the tapping of her
fingers. As the tapping of her fingers increase, so will the music and when the
tapping abruptly stops, so will the music. The music will sound
unnerving and match her psychological state so that the audience can relate to
what is going on in her head and make the scene disturbing.
Comparable to the soundtrack from before I found this
from the sinister and instantly thought that it would be perfect for us to use
a similar style for the first scene in our film. We thought it would be
effective to use on the last scene as it will make the audience think about
what’s going to happen next.
For our non-diegetic sound, Lucinda will be tapping her fingers on the
table. The rhythm will stay the same, but, as the climax begins to build, the
pace of the tapping will increase. The incidental music we will use will mimic
the actions on screen. At the beginning off the scene, the music will be quite
calm but also quite alarming and chilling. There will be a
sound dialogue of 2 people; the interviewer asking questions and Lucinda
with the one line reply. Lucinda will be creating non-diagetic sound when
she is tapping her fingers against the table. This sound may start of quiet and
rapidly get louder and nearer as the tapping increases to show Lucinda's
resentment as she thinks back to her sister getting kidnapped. The
sign interpreter will scream at the end of the scene as she discovers
Lucinda has spiked the interviewers drink and potentially killed her. We will
also hear her running down the corridor screaming 'help' as she is afraid of
what Lucinda may do next.
Audience and institution
After discussing the age limit we thought it would be suitable to have an age restriction of 15+. We came to this conclusion because our film will contain paranoia and violence. Both of these elements can unfortunately cause long term effects on children below age 15. At 15 viciousness may be too strong to take in. This age group should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. Aggressive strong or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be suitable. Easily available weapons may not be exaggerated. We thought that age 15+ would be a good target and will be suitable for any strong language, violence used.
Our film is suitable for both genders, however females might empathise more on some scenes as the story is based on two young girls, and therefore women might feel like they can relate to them in some way. We wanted an age range of roughly 15 to 50. We wanted a big range with the age gap because we knew that people aged over 15 wouldn't mind the violence and therefore find it more realistic, this range of audience will more than likely have an interest in psychological thrillers and enjoy suspense. We also thought that people might want to see the film with their relatives or children or grandparents so it will be like a family roller coaster. However some audiences might feel emotional or paranoid after the movie so I would suggest that they either don’t risk coming to see the film or bring someone along with them for support if needed during the film. I also think that an older audience will not particular enjoy our film because they may find it hard to relate to therefore they may not share a common interest with the younger viewers.
Our film will have an age restriction of 15 years old. This is because it will contain; strong violence and frequent strong language. At 15, violence may be strong. It should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. Easily accessible weapons may not be glamorised. At 15 there can be strong threat and menace. Therefore we feel this will be an appropriate age limit.
Our film is aimed at an audience of both male and females ages approximately 15-40. The audience will more than likely have an interest in psychological thrillers and enjoy suspense. The main character in our film is a young girl who has become psychotic after someone harmed her sister. This will also appeal to a younger audience as they will be able to relate to this and will add a sense of realism, making it more scary as they feel that it could happen to them. The reason the age gap goes up to 40 is because as an older audience, they may have teenage children and therefore again may feel though they can relate to the story. I wouldn't recommend our film for anyone who suffers from a sensitive nature and to those who do not enjoy this particular genre of film. I feel that an older audience will not particular enjoy our film because they may find it hard to relate to therefore they may not share a common interest with the younger viewers. I feel that people with close siblings, i.e brothers, sisters, mums, dads, children, friends... will be able to relate to our film and feel the anger and bitterness Lucinda feels as they will be able to emphasise with her for loosing her sibling as they would be able to relate to themselves and understand how hard it would be for her to loose someone so close and someone they share a strong, caring relationship with.
In our film, we want to use a variety of sounds and music. For our non diegetic sound, Lucinda will be tapping her fingers on the table. The rhythm will stay the same, but, as the climax begins to build, the pace of the tapping will increase. The incidental music we will use will mimic the actions on screen. At the beginning off the scene, the music will be quite calm but also quite alarming and chilling. The opening music will be similar to the music used in Sinister. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zf5eO3dLpA
The music is quite haunting will set the atmosphere. The music implies that something bad is going to happen will keep the audience on the edge of their seat. Similar music will be played when the titles are being shown therefore we will use a sound bridge as the music will then be carried over from the titles to the scene and continue to play for a short period of time. At the end of the scene, when the Psychiatrist has been killed and the translator screams, more music will begin to play. Although, this time the music will be more upbeat, intense and dramatic. Similar to this style http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8SZ5SA1vnI. This will create tension and leave the audience asking what' going to happen next. Ad Lucinda walks out of the door, she will turn around and look at the camera and the music will cut off and the screen will fade to blackness.
Cinematography
In our short film, Lucinda will have flashbacks, in which she has epiphany of her past and the death of her sister. The flashbacks will appear fragmented and a variety of shots will be used. When Lucinda has flashbacks of herself and her sister playing in the garden, Long shots will be used. This will enable the audience to see the girls' gestures and show how strong their relationship was and how close they were. The shots will be handheld to add a sense of realism and make the audience feel as though they are inside her head. Other flashbacks of the man killer getting into the car and putting his leather gloves on will interrupt the happy memories. The flashbacks of the man will be close ups and mid shots. Although, the mans face will never be directly shown and scenes will flash on and off the screen as it constantly switching from past and present.
Other shots we are going to use will be close ups. Close ups of Lucinda and the psychiatrists face will be shown to see their emotions, reactions and facial gestures. This will allow the audience to understand how each characters feeling and exaggerate their emotional state. The close ups will also be used to create tension. Other close ups we're planning on using are clos ups of Lucinda's tapping fingers on the table, this will also create tension. Close up's of key items such as the drink on the table will also be shown in close up shots. This will again highlight key objects which will catch the audience's eyes.
Long shots will also be used in our film, to show where the story is set and place the characters in the environment. Long shots of the room and long shots of Lucinda leaving the room will be used. Long shots will show us the characters mannerisms and movements. It will enable the audience to learn more about them. Long shots of Lucinda will be really effective because Lucinda is going to be barefoot and wearing a long white gown, this will automatically show the audience that she's not in a stable state of mind.
Over the shoulder shots will also be used to show the questions and responses in the interview. This will allow the audience to clearly see who's asking the questions and what the responses and replies are. Some more shots we are considering using are the pan shots. We will pan around the room to give the audience an incite to where Lucinda lives and the confide space in which she stays in. By panning the room, it will make the audience familiar with the setting.
We will use low angle shots of Lucinda, this will give the impression that she's powerfull and intimidating. Despite Lucinda only being young, the low angle shot will emphise her sinister nature.
Genetic Conventions of Thriller/horror
Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods, giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror. Films of this genre tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced.
A thriller provides the sudden rush of emotions, excitement, and exhilaration that drive the narrative, sometimes subtly with peaks and lulls, sometimes at a constant, breakneck pace. It keeps the audience on the "edge of their seats", akin to a sensation of hanging from a cliff, as the plot builds towards a climax. Literary devices such as red herrings, plot twists and cliff-hangers are used extensively. A thriller is usually a villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the protagonist must overcome. Common methods and themes in thrillers are mainly ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge, kidnappings. Common elements in psychological thrillers are mind games, psychological themes, stalking, confinement/death-traps, horror-of-personality, and obsession. Horror films often deal with the viewer's nightmares, hidden fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown.
Although our film genre is mainly thriller, it does have element of horror. Our sub-genre is psychological thriller.
The Silence of the Lambs -A serial killer known as Buffalo Bill is murdering women, and even worse, leaving them partially skinned. FBI guru Jack Crawford enlists trainee Clarice Starling to go to Hannibal Lecter, an infamous serial killer and cannibal himself, in an attempt to get information on Buffalo Bill's identity. Therein, Hannibal and Clarice form a strange "quid pro qou" relationship, in which he offers information on her case in exchange for personal information about herself. In time he leads her closer and closer to the way she catches the serial killer, who has, at this time, kidnapped a senator's daughter, sending the urgency of the case skyrocketing. While in custody to offer information to the senator herself, Hannibal kills two security guards and escapes ingeniously by wearing one of the dead men's faces. Clarice finally realizes that Buffalo Bill is skinning the murdered women in order to make himself a woman suit out of real women, and accidently goes to his house while attempting to get information on his identity. She gets caught in the basement with him in the dark after discovering the senator's daughter alive and shoots and kills him. After the ordeal, she is promoted to FBI agent. She then gets a call from Hannibal Lecter, who is abroad and about to make another kill: His nemesis, the doctor at the prison where he was held for eight years.
This film is similar to our film idea as both films involve the main character having some kind of psychological problem. Even though the character with the problems in this film is male, both characters break from captivity and kill lots of innocent people.
Martyrs -Lucie (Jessie Pham), who has been missing for over a year, is found hysterical by the side of the road. She leads police to the derelict slaughterhouse where evidence suggests she was held captive. Although there is no evidence of sexual abuse, Lucie bears the signs of repeated injury and neglect. Traumatized and uncommunicative, Lucie is unable to tell the authorities anything further about her time in captivity or the people who kept her there. Over time, Lucie makes friends with Anna (Erika Scott), another girl in the youth home where she lives. Anna looks after Lucie and eventually gains her trust. Lucie appears to be haunted by something or someone - a shadowy, rasping female figure (Isabelle Chasse) who apparently mutilates Lucie. After one such episode, Lucie makes Anna promise not to tell anyone about the creature haunting Lucie. Meanwhile, with the help of the doctor (Tony Robinow), the police even questions Anna, so as to know whether Lucie has communicated something to her. Anna says that Lucie cannot usually remeber anything about her captivity period. Lucie and Anna then go on to seek revenge on those who kidnapped her and kill lots of people on the way.
This film is similar to our idea as both involve two teenagers with a psychological problem. Both characters have gained these problems due to seeing/experiencing disturbing things as a child. In Martyrs, she gains her problems from being abused as a child and the character in my film gains her problems from seeing her sister get murdered. Both characters problems also lead them to do the same thing - to go and kill lots of innocent people as they both seek revenge and want justice for what has happened.
The Butterfly Effect - In the year 1998, Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher), who suffered severe sexual abuse and traumas as a boy (played by Logan Lerman) and a teenager (played by John Patrick Amedori), blacks out frequently, often at moments of high stress. While entertaining a girl in his dorm room, he finds that when he reads from his adolescent journals, he travels back in time, and he is able to "redo" parts of his past, thereby causing the blackouts he experienced as a child. There are consequences to his choices, however, that then propagate back to his present life: his alternate futures vary from college student, to prisoner, to amputee. His efforts are driven by the desire to undo the most unpleasant events of his childhood which coincide with his mysterious blackouts, including saving his childhood sweetheart Kayleigh (Amy Smart) from being molested by her father (Eric Stoltz) and tormented by her sadistic brother (William Lee Scott). The actions he takes, and those he enables others to take during his blackouts, change the timeline in the new future where he awakes. As he continues to do this he realizes that even though his intentions are good his actions have unforeseen consequences. Moreover, the assimilation of dozens of years' worth of new memories from the alternate timelines causes him brain damage and severe nosebleeds. Ultimately, he decides that his attempts to alter the past end up only harming those he cares about. But Evan realizes that the main cause of everyone's suffering in all the different timelines is himself. At the conclusion of the film, Evan purposely travels back in time one final time to the first day he met Kayleigh. By scaring her away, he makes sure that she is never a part of his life, and thus finally succeeds in saving her life. He then destroys all of his journals and memories so that he is not ever tempted again to make any more changes. The film ends eight years in the future with Evan leaving an office building in Manhattan and passing Kayleigh on a crowded sidewalk. They alternately pause and turn after spotting and passing each other. After a moment of hesitation, Evan lets her walk away without speaking to her.
This film is similar to my film idea as both characters experience flashbacks. At the start of my film, the main character has many flashbacks as she is thinking back to the past. In 'The Butterfly Effect' flashbacks are shown through out the film. We could take ideas from this film on how the flashbacks were edited to get ideas on how the flashbacks are going to be portrayed in our film. Evan Treborn also suffers from psychological stress which causes his flashbacks and the flashbacks caused in our film will also be caused due to remembrance of what Lucinda has been through.
Similar film characters
Lucie (Martyrs) - Lucie is similar to our main character Lucinda as they are both round about a similar age and both have psychological problems. Lucie gained her problems as she was kidnapped and abused as a child and Lucinda gained hers as she saw her sister get murdered. Both characters go out and kill lots of innocent people out of anger. As our character is similar to Lucie, we can watch her behavior and characteristics to make her come across creepy and dark.
Lucie
Esther (Orphan) -Esther is a woman who could be defined as a violent and deluded psychopath but is perceived to be a child. She is highly intelligent, highly manipulative, superficially charming when needed, and lacks remorse. She can easily induce fear, empathy, and even admiration (as we see during her first interaction with the Colemans) when it suits her ambitions. Esther and Lucinda are similar as they are both children with psychological problems. They both seek revenge for an incident what has happened in their lives which leads both of them to go and murder innocent people. Lucinda could have a similar behavior as Esther due to them both having a need for revenge.
Plot: In Rutland Country, the six year-old Benjamin Michael Landry is kidnapped by a psychopath in the lawn of his house. His father Craig Landry unsuccessfully runs after the truck but the abductor escapes. Sooner the police discovers that John Kozlowski had abducted and killed Benjamin. When the criminal is sentenced to 25 years in prison only, Benjamin's mother Elise Landry presses her husband to kidnap John and torture him. Craig is a doctor and knows exactly how to inflict pain to the psychopath. They succeed to kidnap John from the prison transport, but Craig has an accident and John is hurt. The couple tortures the man until they find the truth about their victim.
The genre of this film is a psychological thriller/horror movie, which is the genre we have chosen as the final idea for our film. The film is similar as one of the key themes of the film is revenge. In this movie, Craig is hunting revenge on his six year old sons' killer. This is similar to our movie, however it was the girls sister who was abducted right in front of her eyes. Both of the main characters in the film are seeking revenge and want their relatives killer dead. In this film, the man is not perceived as psychotic, he is just seen as a man who wants justice for his son. However, in our film, the abducted girls sister is in a mental institute, so she is deemed clinically insane.
I Spit On Your Grave (2010)
Plot: Writer Jennifer Hills (Butler) takes a retreat from the city to a charming cabin in the woods to start on her next book. But Jennifer's presence in the small town attracts the attention of a few morally depraved locals w
ho set out one night to teach this city girl a lesson. They break into her cabin to scare her. However, what starts out as terrifying acts of humiliation and intimidation, quickly and uncontrollably escalates into a night of physical abuse and torturous assault. But before they can kill her, Jennifer sacrifices her broken and beaten body to a raging river that washes her away. As time passes, the men slowly stop searching for her body and try to go back to life as usual. But that isn't about to happen. Against all odds, Jennifer Hills survived her ordeal. Now, with hell bent vengeance, Jennifer's sole purpose is to turn the tables on these animals and to inflict upon them every horrifying and torturous moment they carried out on her... only much, much worse.
This film also has the same genre as ours. This film is also mainly about the vengeance on someone who never got the justice they should have faced. However in this film, the girl seeks out her own revenge as she doesn't technically die, despite the efforts of the men who raped and tortured her. It is quite similar to our film as it involves abduction and attempted murder. The girl has clearly gone insane from her unfortunate fate, so she is a similar character to the girl in our movie.
The Uninvited (2009)
Plot: After the death of her ill mother in a fire, the young teenager Anna tries to commit suicide and is sent to a mental institution for treatment. Ten months later, Anna still cannot remember what had happened on the night her mother died. Her psychiatric Dr. Silberling, however, discharges her telling that she has resolved her issues. Anna finds that her mother's former nurse, Rachel Summers, is her stepmother now. Anna is haunted by ghosts and she believes that Rachel killed her mother. Alex and Anna decide to look for evidences to prove that Rachel is the murderer and Anna discovers the truth about the fire in the boat house.
This film is similar to ours as Anna is sent to a mental institution, just like our lead character, due to a tragedy that has occurred in her home life. She is also out to seek revenge on someone who she believes has killed her mother. Her character will be similar to ours due to her resentfulness and mental instability.
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