Production Log #4

Main Character Influences

Character ideas and Influences

Our character will differ from the generic drug dealer. Through this we aim to show that the dangers of the criminal world can affect anyone. As you can see our character is seen wearing 'hipster' clothing as opposed to the usual baggy, concealing clothing of a drug dealer.  This will make it apparent that out character has very little idea of what he is actually doing.

We took our inspiration for our main character from Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker in 'The Amazing Spiderman'. He is portrayed as very clean cut but looks quite street smart. Due to the way our character looks on the surface our target audience can learn more about his background just through the 2 minute opening. This means that the audience find out just enough information.



Chosen Music Analysis

We plan to use this a section of this song in our opening as it is uncanny and it builds up tension. Also it will help our opening feel more like a thriller. I think that this piece of music fits very well with the scenes it will be playing over hence why we chose to use part of it in our opening.

The Daedalus Project

 

The Daedalus Project is a name stemming from the greek word 'good worker'. We chose this as the title for our film because our film is about a young man who has to get involved with drug cartels in order to survive.  The story follows a middle working class 18-year old who is forced to dive into the world of drugs in order to earn money to survive. Our main character will be different to the usual stereotypical person who is associated with drugs.

(stereotypical drug dealer)

We want to use a different type of character in our opening, someone from a different background, we have chosen to do this because it shows that the business of drug dealing can affect anyone.

Gender Representation

Gender representation:

MALES

• Men are represented as having more of an active and less emotional role to women, they usually take on positions as the main character or team leader.
• Men are portrayed as courageous and independant as well mentaly stable.
• More often than not they will be powerful in physique and usually they will be able to put up a fight.
• Ethnically there has been an increase of afro-carribean protagonists, however the main protagonist will usually be white and in his mid 30's. A prime example of this would be Pulp Fiction; where most of the main characters are in their 30's.
• A males physique aids in showing them as a hero. Often to appeal to straight women and gay men, the physique will be displayed to create sexual nature.

FEMALES

• Women are portrayed differently to men; however this often depends on their age.
• Older women will often be carers or mothers, with a seductive appeal whereas younger more attractive women will be pure and vulnerable
• Very often women will be very reliant on men in these types of films; and allow themselves to become submissive.
• Judging from personal experience, women in thrillers are always in good shape and very attractive in order to attract a male audience.
• It can be noted that most female protagonists play a masculine role.
• Female characters are usually the 'screaming victim'.
• 'The Silence of The Lambs', portrays Clarice Starling, the main character as rather ruthless and masculine.
• 

Thriller Poster Analysis

 Firstly, at the top of the poster it has some information about the producers previous movies, this would increase the amount of viewers the films gets as people who liked those movies would then come to watch this one.

In the middle of the poster there is a caption, it gives away a little information about the movie so that the person looking at the poster knows what the movie is about. It also has the date the movie is released in the cinema so that people know when it is available for viewing at a cinema.

The main focus point of the poster is the face as it takes up almost the whole page. The person is wearing a mask which is quite sinister and frightening. This links to the previous films that the producer has made. The lighting is also very low key, this adds to the sinister element of the poster.

At the very bottom of the poster there is some smaller writing, one of the captions is ''#survivethenight'', by doing this the audience can get involved with the build up to the film. This would also increase the amount of viewers the movie gets as more people would hear about the movie.  

Character Profile

Production Log #3

Target Audience Profile

Typography Analysis

This typography animation has good aspects but it also has some bad aspects. Firstly the titles are very imaginative, which is good because it makes the video interesting. If the same words came up but only faded ina nd faded out the video would be very boring and not many people would enjoy watching it. On the other hand the words and sentences appear and disappear too quickly which makes each title very hard to read. Ultimately I do think that this typography animation is very good and I would like to create something this imaginative for my opening. To do this I will have to watch some typography tutorials.

Production Logo

This is the production logo for our thriller opening. Our production logo was inspired by a footballer, this was because all of the group members like football. We also incorporated modern day slang in our production logo. This makes our production more personal to our group also.

Production Schedule

This is the production schedule for my thriller opening.

Case Study - Steven Spielberg

Production Log #2

Initial Film Opening Ideas

Other A-Level Media Projects

Editing: One of the strengths of this film opening is the music, in this film opening it is very monophonic which aids to create a sense of mystery which I think would be the main aspect of this if it were to be made into a film. The lighting used in the film opening is very dull and plain.

In my opinion this film opening gives away too much of the main story line because we already see one of the characters die and who kills him. This would make the film un-interesting as we already know the whole storyline. This is a major weakness to the film opening.

Six Feet Under Opening Analysis

The opening to Six Feet Under is constantly reflecting death. Firstly the two hands breaking apart connotes two people having to leave each other when death takes one of them. Then there is a woman on a stretcher. In the background there is a black silhouette that slowly fades in to white. This illustrates a partner letting go of their loved one. The image then changes to a medium shot of the hall way going towards a bright white light. This shows the movement that is stereotyped with death which is that you move towards a bright light. Possibly the biggest connotation to death in this opening is the image of the Raven as they are always linked to death.

The music in the opening to contrapuntal. This is because the music is very up-beat and happy whereas the opening as a whole is very negative. The music starts off monophonic and then turns very polyphonic. This relates to the speed of the opening as it starts off very slow and then becomes faster.

The lighting in the opening is a mixture of light and dark. For example the bright white while the person is being pushed on the table and when the person is washing their hands. The lighting used in the opening could have been used to connote death again or to create a contrast between life and death.

My Personal Thriller Moodboard

This is my personal Thriller mood board, I made it by collecting images that I think could be seen in a Thrilller series or film. Some of the images are taken by me and some of them I got off of the Internet.

To see my inspirational moodboard mood board Click Here.

Inspiration Peice of Music

This piece of music is very eerie and mysterious. It could be a good soundtrack to include in the opening of my thriller. Click Here to listen to the soundtrack.

Photograph Taken by Me

This dark alley next to my house could be a great place to maybe film the part of the opening of my thriller film.

Movie Opening Timeline

This is my timeline for the movie ''Shutters Island''.

Inspirational Clip For My Opening

This clip inspires me because of the use of contrapuntal music. The music in the clip is very upbeat and happy which totally contradicts the scenario in the clip. I would like to use contrapuntal music like this in my thriller opening as it adds a sinister scence to the scene.

Individual Roles

Group: Marcus, Wojciech, Freddie.

Wojciech:

- Target audience

- Pitch

-Costumes

- Character profiles

Marcus:

- Production logs

- Productuion logo

- Finding possible actors

- Music

Freddie:

- Art (Story Board etc.)

- Shooting schedule

- Finding locations

The whole group will be responsible for the filming and the editing of the film opening.

Production Log #1

Inspiration for my Thriller Opening

This image inspires me because it is a scary mansion with dark lighting surrounding it. This would be a good location for my Thriller because it is very eerie.

This image is good because it has very low key lighting. It also has fog in the background that helps to create a scary scene.

Opening Music Analysis - The Crazies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UggiLaUZejA

The music starts off very slow pace and has is quite high pitched. There is a range of different instrumetns that enter at different times. It is very textured, an instrument in the background sets the tempo. At the very start it is monophonic, as the music progresses it becomes polyphonic, until the music comes to a complete stop. Then a single piano begins to play and once again the music is monophonic. After the piano stops there is a very high pitch sound that gradually gets louder and louder. This sound creates an eerie mood. The piano then starts to play individual notes once again as the sound continues. The sound stops and the pace slightly gets faster. The music is now monophonic once again. The tempo then slows down and there is a piano playing notes with choir singing in the background. The music then gets louder and the pace begins to become faster again. The tempo gradually gets faster and louder. Then all sound is stopped for a while. The pace slows down and the piano plays single notes until the end of the soundtrack.

Conventions of a Thriller

Conventions of a Thriller:

Camera Angles: The camera angles can show how powerful a character is or how significant somebody is.

This low angle shot shows that the two men are dominant and have a large amount of power.

Lighting: The lighting in a film helps to create a scene.

 The lighting in this image makes the house look a lot more eerie and mysterious.

This shadow would be seen in a horror of thriller film. It makes the scene more scary.

Music: The music in a Thriller can build tension and also give away charateristics about a character. For example contrapuntal music can make a character look more evil.

Welcome!

Hi. I am Marcus Steedman, an A-Level media student from Harris Academy Beckenham. Part of my A-Level media course is to create a thriller themed film opening, on this blog I will be posting various pieces of work which relate to my project.