Hi, I'm Harry Edwards and this is my coursework blog in which I will post all of my research, planning, production, post-production and evaluation stages of making my Production which will be a Thriller opening sequence.

Story Boarding

Story Boarding

 

In order to be able to film my prelim I need to have a story board to show my ideas for what different scenes we are going to have.

A Story board is a combination of a diagram and text. In these Story Boards I decided on the specific scenes that we wanted to have music in. I also then briefly wrote what the dialogue was going to be. This allows me to clearly see my design/idea for what I will film. This is effective as it gives me a basis to follow.

 

 

 

 

 

Film Noir

Film Noir

 

Film Noir refers to having high key subjects so in this case in the photos underneath the subject is the people. The other key part is having low key lighting. Therefore you have a contrast between the low key lighting and the high key objects in the frame. This type of technique is mainly used in stylish Hollywood crime dramas to add effect and create tension.

 

 

 

In conclusion I feel that this is an effective effect to create dramatic tension. When we were just about to go and create this pictures using the film noir effect we decided that we wanted to cut some paper into a blind effect to see if the photos looked like there was actually a blind there.

This made our photos effective because we were able to create a blind effect for the audience to see the specific scene through.

Personally I feel that this particular blind effect made our photos look even more realistic. Therefore when you look at the photos you are automatically drawn to the lines that are there. Also the audience will be able to relate to looking out of a blind and having the blinds shadow on their face. This helps to create realism and is therefore effective for relating to the audience.

In my prelim I want to use this technique to show someone looking out of a window for example to show that realistic feature of looking out of a blind. I also want to use this effect so that I will be able to also create tension and that sense oh what is going to happen next.

Thriller Narratives

Theories

 

I am researching whether Toderov’s , Propp and levi-Strauss’s theories fit with the thriller genre. I will be talking about how each theory either fits or doesn’t fit with the specific film that I have chosen which is ‘Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes.’ I’m researching this so that I am able to apply what I learn into my own opening to my thriller movie.

TodeRov –

In Toderov’s theory he explains that each film will follow the same narrative in which there will be a initial equilibrium such as the person or apes in this case are living a normal life. They then have a disequilibrium in which the apes peaceful home in which they live in away from all of the humans is interrupted. A human finds the apes and therefore the apes now have a problem because the humans have found where they are. The next thing that should happen in Toderov’s theory is that there should be a taking action to stop that disequilibrium and repair the situation. In this movie the apes take action by going after the humans and capturing some, whilst going to civilization to attack the rest. Although this is the apes taking action they are also overcoming the disequilibrium but making a new disequilibrium. Then finally there should be a new equilibrium which ends up happier. In this case

Propp –

Propp says that we can see particular character types. For example in each film there should be a protagonist and antagonist. They should also have a princess. In this case in the film that I am looking at you can clearly see the ‘Princess’ as she is the only female in the group in the group that find the apes. In Propp’s theory in the end of the film the protagonist should get the princess and they should live a happy life. He also says that in a film you have the sidekick. This is in every movie because the protagonist always needs someone to have their back. This movie is the same as the protagonist has his trusty sidekick who helps him to the end.  Then you have the less important characters that aren’t shown as much but whether or not the audience notice they are there. These characters include ‘The Donor’ who helps guide the protagonist through their journey. This is an essential character to a story as they are the way that the protagonist is able to progress through their adventure. This character is applicable in my film that I have picked as in the movie a scientist is used to help show the protagonist what to do.

Levi Strauss –

In this film this theory can be applied because there is a fine line between love and hate. In the movie the apes love each other and love their lives that they are living. When the humans appear they hate them for intruding in their land. As the audience we are able to understand the hate because we are able to understand that it is the opposite of love. If it wasn’t different then the apes would have acted completely different to the humans the first time that they saw them. This shows the binary oppositions between love and hate. This is essential for this movie as we need to see the opposition between good and evil throughout to understand what is happening during the film. This is essential to a film so that they story is able to unfold.

Conclusion –

In conclusion I feel that Toderov’s theory is the most relatable to the film that I have chosen because I am able to clearly identify the equilibrium etc. This is due to the fact that every film follows this basis therefore it is the easiest one to pick out. I would have to follow this basic structure in my opening so that I am able to follow the structure that is set in stone. By following this structure I am able to make sure that my audience know what will happen next.

Representation

A representation is the way in which the media are able to present a character/scenario. It is the way that something is presented and conveyed. It is used to make the audience feel a certain way. A representation and stereotype is a way of easily being able to know what a certain group are like.

In this task I will be analysing how men and women are represented in the thriller genre. I will be thoroughly going in depth into the different ways that men and women, are shown and portrayed in the thriller genre.

                I need to know how certain types of people for examples genders are portrayed and represented so that I am able to show that in my opening sequence. By knowing that I am able to show the audience a specific character which they will be able to relate to as they would have seen someone much like them. This makes it easier for the audience to understand the character and will entice them as they will want to know what happens. Representation is very important when it comes to this because it will help show the audience how a specific person is. For example in thriller movies blonde females are perceived to be a dumb bimbo who is weak. This is a representation on women who are blonde in a thriller movie. Another representation that happens in Thriller movies is of men that they are always seen as strong. This is a stereotype and representation that the media has portrayed onto them.

The media use representation to influence their audience. For example they write articles about celebrities they could be slating them (most likely) and tis would influence everyone’s opinion on that particular person. Therefore the media have been able to change that person’s representation of someone or something. This is a powerful technique as the audience are always changing their perception on how they feel on someone or something due to the Medias representation.

Thriller Genre - Character Stereotypes

I did research into how men and women are portrayed in thriller movies. I looked at Norma from 'The Box' and Arthur from 'The Box.' I looked into how the two characters start off and how they grow and adapt to become the stereotypical characters that the audience expect to see. I then looked at Teddy Daniels from 'Shutter Island' I looked at how he fitted in with the representation of men and if he contradicted or reinforced the stereotype of me. Then finally I looked at a film called 'Crave.' I looked at the two main characters which were Aiden and Virginia. I looked at how Virginia fitted in with the theory that all women are just objects of sex and looked to see if she was more than just a pretty face. With Aiden I looked to see whether he fit the stereotype of men and how they should behave.
By doing this research I am able to learn and understand how different characters should behave in the Thriller genre. I found that sometimes women are shown as more than just an object of sex and can be shown to be strong and in some cases stronger than men. I found that in most films I looked at that Men fit the stereotype that they have always been give which was strong, brave etc./. This task helped me to understand and give me an idea of how and what I would like my character's to behave like and whether or not I wanted them to follow or contradict a stereotype.

 In conclusion to doing this task I have been able to clearly identify and find out that Women are most of the time shown as an object or symbol of sex. Therefore they are shown as weak and easy. Men are shown as powerful and superior to Women with Women being Inferior to Men. I think that when it comes to making my own Opening Sequence I don't want to stick to the stereotypes that have been set in stone because I feel that these stereotypes are not all that true. Therefore I want to contradict them and make my own stereotypes for my own Thriller opening sequence.