2. Narrative
Our thriller trailer is going to be first person based
narrative, from the point of view of the male
protagonist. We researched into existing thrillers and
found that a common theme and story is identity. This
then inspired us to use this stereotyped convention.
The thriller is based around a man (Protagonist) who
has lost his identity, and wakes up in hospital
unaware of previous events, the only clue is the
dream of standing over a ledge, this implies a suicidal
aspect, that provides unanswered questions for the
viewer. Unaware of who he is, he goes out seeking
answers, to end up in an isolated room, where he is
entranced by a television that provides clues that may
help him to find his identity.
3. Costume, Lighting and
Props
Costume - The scene opens in a hospital, therefore we
found it necessary for the protagonist to wear a hospital
gown. Once leaving the hospital a sense of normality is
restored through the costume as he will be dressed in
'normal' clothing.
Lighting - The light within the hospital will be almost
painfully bright to create a clinical feel. When out of the
hospital, lighting will be restored to 'normal’. Once in the
room with the television the lighting will be darkened and
the only light source will be the television, this creates a
juxtaposition between the two lightings and therefore
setting.
Props - In our piece we will only be using one main prop,
this is the television. It is the focal point of the dark room
and creates an anxious atmosphere due to it being quite
old and static. Other props in our piece include hospital
lamp to reinforce the opening setting and a projector as a
backup in case the television does not work as well as we
hope.
4. Characters and Actors
Characters - Our piece will only consist of one
male protagonist, he is a young man who has
forgotten who he is, his confusion leads him to
the television where he is exposed to horrific
clips and images. We chose to include only one
person as we thought this would give a better
sense of isolation tying in with our theme of lost
identity.
Actors - The protagonist will be male as this is a
conventional aspect of thriller that we feel is vital
for our thriller trailer. As males are often seen as
more heroic as a protagonist than female whom
are seen as more vulnerable.
5. Location and Setting
Location - The location for the hospital scene, is
actually going to take place in the nearby hospital
Addenbrookes. Rosie's mum works in a hospital
this may help us get access to the hospital. The
dream sequence is going to take place at a ledge
to ensure safety of participants. The final location
is a classroom in college for the room with the
television, as this is easy to access and easy to
alter the settings.
Setting - We are going to be using three settings
in total. This includes a hospital room, a dark
unknown room, an outdoors location and on top
of a building (which will be filmed on a small
ledge for safety)
6. Sound, Camera work and
Editing
Sound Ideas - Although we have not entirely decided on an appropriate sound
track, we have discussed ideas of having a heartbeat throughout, to show the
mood of the protagonist and we are also going to have a static noise to
enhance the idea of mystery and uncertainty. From looking at past students
work we have decided to keep dialogue to a minimum as we feel the alteration
of music and dialogue looks and sounds very unprofessional due to a lot of
background noise that is present a lot of the time.
Camera work Ideas - Although we have not finalized our ideas on camerawork,
we have decided on a few shots that we would like to include. These are a
number of close ups of the protagonists eyes whilst he is watching the
television as well feel this is an effective way to show emotion. A few point of
view shots in the eyes of the protagonist whilst he is watching the television
so the viewer knows what the protagonist is watching, and also a close up of
the protagonists face at the beginning to show him waking up and a sense of
realism as to where he is.
Editing – we are going to do most of the editing post production As we are
doing a flashback we need to make it clear that the emotions linked to the
flashback are painful frightening and harsh by having a abrupt cut to black just
before the protagonist is about to step over the edge. This will be followed by a
sudden close up of a bright hospital light shining down the camera, this is to
imply that the protagonist has been taken back to reality. The sequence of the
7. Target Audience
In order to know what conventions to use
throughout our thriller trailer we needed to
establish a target audience. We are not quite
sure what specific audience we would like to
attract, however we have thought about aiming it
at 18-35 both males and females, as males are
seen to appreciate thriller convention based films
more than females. Despite this the male
protagonist may appeal to the female audience
also. Young to middle aged people value fast
moving, tension filled thought provoking thrillers
more than other target audiences this is a key
aspect that drew us towards this age group.
