2. WHAT TYPE OF FILM IS
THIS?
This film will be a hybrid film, a psychological horror film. This will entail it consisting of the typical conventions of a thriller
combined with some elements from horror. I have chosen these two particular subgenres as my market research proved them to be
fairly popular to the teenage - adult market as my audience said that they liked watching films that either scared them or made
them think so I thought that combing the two, would be really effective and interesting. This film is a film in which you’d h ave to
watch the end to completely understand the plot and this is my hook as it will make my audience want to keep watching due to
opening being so intriguing and confusing.
3. PLOT
Through editing I’ll be using many of the conventions of a psychological thriller to tell this story. Debby wakes with a head -ache and scarred
wrists, pills spilled on the floor. A strange sign is flickering on her computer but she doesn’t know what it is or means. Du e to the high
frequency coming from the computer she suffers from severe headaches which causes her to have flashes of her past but she can ’t make out
what it means. A sense of voyeurism has been created through the people on the streets that she tries to interact with as the y just stare
motionless at her.
Through this idea there is already the sense of unease and questioning which is often created by psychological thrillers, the refore this is
bound to intrigue audiences.
4. CONCEPT
This thriller represents my view of media wh***s who will do anything to be in the spotlight, Debby represents all the women
who sell their soul to be famous. The reason why the people on the streets are emotionless is because they represent the
fickleness that comes with being famous as her 15 minutes of fame is over and she is no longer relevant to them, she can’t
connect with them because they’re not her family. She embodies the brutality and dark side of fame that most “celebrities”
often fall into:
•
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The loss of her family
Destruction of her intelligence- the pills she’s found with are mind numbing pills, to represent that her need for fame has
made her stupid and another brainwashed product of the media.
•
The need for more as nothing is ever good enough, they crave more attention until it finally destroys them.
5. CHARACTERS
The main character throughout this film would be Debby the mum as a lot of the movie revolves around her perspective of
what’s going on around her. Other characters include: Michael who is Debby’s sceptical husband, Sapphire - Debby’s daughter.
These three character make up the main characters due to the opening being based mainly in a house other characters aren’t
necessary to this particular scene. However I will need actors to play emotionless spectators on the streets.
6. SETTING
The majority of my thriller opening will take place in a house and on a
street, the location of the house and street has not yet been finalised.
7. PICTURE THIS ….
In the opening scene in the house the mise-en-scene will be made up of:
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a messy bed which the character Debby would be lying on
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Spilled pills on the floor
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Newspapers with “Who are you?” written boldly and a picture of Debby looking bewildered on the front.
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What appears to be a picture of a crossed out Debby with daughter Sapphire.
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A little girls bedroom, full of toys and a rocking horse
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Debby’s clothes will consist of a stained white t-shirt,
8. MY INSPIRATION
This film has been inspired by an episode of Black Mirror- White Bear
Here is a link to a clip from the show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDEXOQ9wpDo
9. SHOT LIST
The basics of my camera work will consist of:
•
a lot of crosscuts due to Debby getting a lot of flashbacks when either prompted by something or when she comes to
contact with an object or person.
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a lot of fast cuts to show the pace and to mirror her franticness. when she runs through the street begging for help.
•
Close ups of her face (when she’s awaken by the white noise), the computer which has a symbol flashing on it
•
Long shots which will be followed by a close up- this is to signify and resemble the sense of entrapment.
My thriller will consist of numerous different types of shots to help narrate the story as there will be a limited amount of
dialogue as I don’t ant to give too much away in this opening as I want to leave the audience wanting more.
10. EDITING
Due to my thriller being a hybrid of a horror and psychological, editing will be key to capture the
sense of unease and confusion that is usually associated with these two sub-genres. This
opening will consist of a lot of back and forth shots between the character Debby’s perspective
and an onlookers view on her to help create this sense of voyeurism and an idea of her perhaps
being an outsider, them and us.
11. THEMES
The main themes of this thriller will be:
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Confusion
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Regret
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Greed
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Selfishness
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Pain
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Love-loss
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Family