Genetic Conventions of
Thriller/horror
Thriller and horror films are 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment