Physiological Thriller- Mise en Scene

Costumes

In Physiological Thrillers the costumes are usually just normal everyday clothing in a more modern type of film. However, in an older film there would be blood, gore and dark clothing used. Sometimes white. I think that this is to show innocence in the potential victim. Also, in films the use of children also shows this too. This is then the same with Make-Up. The more modern the film the less make up it gets because of the way technology is modernised and being updated.

• Security Guards 
• Everyday People 
• A Protagonist 
• Antagonist
• Doctors/Nurses

Typical doctors and nurses are used to portray innocence and the way that they are helping others. They are used in this genre in order for the innocence to be manipulated in many different ways such as a killer etc.







Lighting- Typically used in a Physiological Thriller

• Digital colour correction
• Dim lighting (back lighting)
• Shadows- to create suspense 
• Ultra violet- 'blue light'  
• Hard light- harshness, clearly illuminates and brings out detail. 
• Soft light- covers a wider area with more diffused light. 
• Chiaroscuro- a strong contrast with bright light and shadow with a small amount of grey scale. This is used to add enigma to a scene. 

Props

Props are needed in order to create a realistic story and narrative.  Props are used normally to indicate evil, death and pain. Such things like knifes, guns, ropes, masks etc. These things help in setting the film and in setting the themes and genres of a particular film. This also helps the atmosphere and ambience of the film. Props play a significant part in a film in helping to tell a certain story. They are also used by the actors as equipment.  They tell a story without words and express the thoughts and feelings of the characters.

Settings

• Woods 
• Houses
• Derelict Landscapes
• Abandoned Towns
• Warehouses, anything abandoned and open.
• Hospitals 
• Mental institutions 

Prop Research

Prop List

Empty Beer Boxes

Beer Cans

Empty Bottles

These three props are mainly going to be used to display the characters physical state. for example many films use things like these to portray a alcoholic. We would use the props in the location we choose to show that he is an alcoholic and his mental state isn't very good.

Ash Tray

Ash Tray is also another prop we would use to display a characters state as usually smoking is a sign of depression and the quantity of cigarettes could display this.

Drugs

Drugs will be used in our film when the character commits suicide, so the use of drugs isn't to portray him as an addict but to show he overdoses his prescription.

Keys

The use of keys is when the character opens the door but drops his keys then struggles to pick them up adding to his physical state creating sympathy from the audience.

Childs Drawing 

This will be used near the ending when he enters his daughters room and picks up a happy poster remembering what it used to be like before he kills himself. where the last shot to show he dies is when the picture falls from his hand.

Missing Poster

This is a main prop in the film to show the characters mental state as his daughter is dead but he puts missing posters up showing his mind is going from the guilt and the alcohol.

Back Pack

Typical Genre Make-up

The make-up of the psychological horror genre can be very varied from film to film. The 'normal' characters in the film, usually the ones who are being tormented, have little to no make up, just as any other character. This allows us to associate more with them as an audience in some cases as we can put ourselves in their shoes easier when they look like an everyday person.

The 'villain' of the film usually has pale facial features and black contacts can also be used in some cases to as a demonic representation. In our film we wont be using make up to this effect but we will still try to make uses of it when applicable.

Location Research

For our location we had a rough idea as to what we wanted in our film but we struggled to find something along the lines as to what the initial idea was. The house we wanted was to look a little run down and dark but there isn't an area where there is something like this so we decided to choose a a group members house which had all the essentials we need. The area which has lamp posts to place flyers and the house also has a girls bedroom.

This is the bedroom where the argument scene will take place as this is our first location choice. It has all the features we need because its a bright room which will contrast to the darker scenes of the house.

Film Questionnaire Responses

Film Questionnaire

Possible Distrubutor

Script Writing for Short Films

http://filmg.co.uk/files/downloads/Scripting-Resource-Notes.pdf

Things to Consider When Making a 15 Film

No-one under the age of 15 can watch this film, meaning no themes are restricted.

Things that may be included in a 15:

• Strong violence
• Drug taking
• Sexual activity
• Frequent strong language (e.g. f***)
• Sexual nudity
• Strong verbal references to sex
• Discriminatory language or behaviour
• Brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence

Anything that exceeds a reasonably amount of these restrictions, and may not be suitable for an audience younger than 15, will be considered as an 18, such as real sex or gore. 

Things to Consider when making a 12A Film

Making the film a 12A means anyone who is under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult to view it. These restrictions will be enforced by those working at the cinema in order to prevent anyone who does not meet the age restriction or requirements enters a viewing. 

The difference between 12 and 12A is that for someone to watch a film certified at 12, the must be at least 12 to watch the film, however, 12A allows the opportunity of a younger audience, so long as an adult accompanies them.

Things to consider when creating a 12/12A rated film:

• Strong cases of discrimination, such as racism and homophobia, will not, under any circumstances be allowed to make a certified 12/12A film.
• The darker the tone of the film, the more likely it is to turn from a 12A to a straight 12. 
• Although very young children will be discouraged from being taken to see a 12A rated film, it must be recognised that the age 12 isn't the minimum age someone watching the film may be, and this must be taken into account.
• Strong language, such as f***, can only be considered to be used in a film rater 12/12A depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency and any special contextual justification. The use of this language may result in the DVD being classified as a 15. 
• Puns on strong language are allowed to a certain extent.
• Moderate violence is acceptable. Fight scenes and weapons can be used.
• Discrete and brief sexual behaviour is allowed.
• Sexual violence can only be discretely implied.

Genre Research- Horror

What is is Horror Film? 
A Horror film is designed to frighten and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time.

Horror films are based on nightmares and imagination. The way that directors and editors use the imagination of others to help develop there own film is very impressive. The way that this happens is the audiences mind plays on itself so that it makes you think about things that aren't even in the film itself. However, this is used to an advantage to the director as there is less information needed into the film itself but still has the same effect maybe even more as each member of the audience will have a different interpretation. This technique has been used for over 100 years. From this time the viewers of a horror film use vivid imaginations to see ghosts in shadowy shapes and typically horror objects to be emotionally connected to the unknown and to fear things that are not likely to happen. Watching a horror film gives an opening into that scary world and sort of into fear itself, without actually being in danger. There’s a very real thrill and fun factor in being scared or watching disturbing, horrific images.

Typical Characters

• Female Victim 
• Non-Believer
• Hero
• Evil Character 

127 Hours

127 Hours

127 Hours is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah. Over the next five days Ralston examines his life and survives the elements to finally discover he has the courage and the wherewithal to extricate himself by any means necessary, scale a 65 foot wall and hike over eight miles before he can be rescued. Throughout his journey, Ralston recalls friends, lovers, family, and the two hikers he met before his accident. Will they be the last two people he ever had the chance to meet?

 Directed by Danny Boyle in 2010 and had been nominated for 6 Oscar Awards.

This film is a Physcological Thriller as the tension of him being stuck between the rock for essentially '127 Hours' is very gripping for the audience and is seemingly enjoyable for an audience to watch. I feel that is a very simple storyline as he is a mountain climber that hits an obstacle in his hike when he gets stuck inbetween the rock and he has to find a way to safety. The idea of our storyline is the man in a day to day job that start hallucinating seeing things that were never there. This links in with this film as he is so under pressure whilst being stuck that leaves him reminiscing about the past and flashbacks start to happen.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1542344/?ref_=ttpl_ql

Genre Research- Drama

What is a Drama?
Within the genre the main focus is to help the audience think about real life situations such as bullying, addiction, depression, class divisions and violence in a emotional way. The genre develops within the characters by showing their feelings. To do this it is usually shown through body language, flashbacks within the film etc. The main focus of a drama film is to build up the characters so the audience can engage with them more.

History of Drama 
1940
This was the early years of the genre. The main type of drama was the melodrama. As the technology limited there was mainly silent staged films.
1950
This is when the actors in films were really becoming recognised. One of the most famous actresses to this day came out of the 50's and this was Marilyn Monroe.  The films were still shot in black and white and never had much storyline.
1960
This era was when the politically driven war films were coming to surface but also sports.
1970
During the 70's many modern directors made their first films such as Francis Ford Coppola and the Godfather.
1980
This was the era where typical themes of emotions really came to the drama genre and also when Steven Spielberg directed E.T.
1990
Crime dramas were a hit in the 90's such as Fight Club and The Shawshank Redemption.
2000- current 
Technology is at a high and films are getting bigger and better and an increase in drama is becoming highly demanded.




Typical Conventions

• Develops character profiles and helps the audience build a relationship with each character
• Shows real life situations 
• Exaggerated performance
• Social Interaction 
• Dramatic Sounds          

There are also many sub genres to a drama this includes: Crime, Historical, Comedy, Melodrama, Romantic, Period. This shows how versitile how a drama genre is.

Common Characters
The Protagonist 
This is usually the main character of the film. The audience feels sympathy towards the character as they always triumph over the villan. The character is most often put into difficult situations so that their characteristics of bravery and determintation can be exposed to the audience. The protagonist character is commonly played by a male but the use of females have been increased during the past few years due to the stereotype not being as strong. For example, in Doctor Who the main character is the male doctor and has to find out what is going on in the universe which adds to the mystery of the character.

The Antagonist 

This is when the character goes to extreme lengths to get what they want this includes, breaking the law, hurting somebody and potentionally killing somebody. The audience gets the feeling as though that they only look after themselves and they also do not feel empathy for this certain character. There is most often a feud between the protagonist and the antagonist. An example of an antagonist is Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter.

Links Used:
http://www.imdb.com/genre/drama

http://rileywongfilmstudies.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/genre-conventions.html

Storyline Ideas

Idea 1:
Genre: Horror/Thriller

A group of friends at school decided to plan a surprise 18th birthday for another one of their friends. They decided that they would have a party in the woods as it was free and everybody could come. However, there was a rumor going around about this part of the woods that people kept going missing and not coming back. As they all think its all a joke they go ahead with the party. But infact during the party  they hear a scream from further on.  The group of friends try to find out where the scream has come from. However, the closer they get to the scream one friend goes missing.
Within the narrative there are flashbacks from before the party getting to know each character at school etc.  The scream ends up being a trap for the group of friends.

Idea 2:
Genre: Drama 

A girl is getting bullied in secondary school due to the amount of cliques that there is. The popular girls in the school end up taking her in and turning her against everybody in the school and eventually her real friends from her old school join, as they are a year younger. Towards the end of the storyline the girl realises that her real friends were sticking up for her all the time and they hatch a plan to destroy the ‘popular kids.’

Character Profile 2

Name
Scarlett Mathews

Age
10

Personality
Happy

Occupation
Student

Appearance

• Brown Hair
• Eye colour - Blue
• Small height
• average build

Apparel

• Girly bright clothes
• Well Dressed
• Long hair

Accent
High pitched tone
Barnsley Dialect less common than father.

Family
Mum and Dad

Race
British

Character Profile 1

Name 
 John Mathews

Personality
Depressed

Age 
 33

Occupation
Unemployed

Appearance

• Brown Hair
• Height 6ft
• Blue/brown eyes
• Average Build

Apparel

• Informal Casual clothes
• Scruffy Hair
• Facial Hair

Accent
Barnsley Dialect

Family/Friends

• No Wife - Dead
• One child - Daughter - Dead

Race
British

Current Job Status
Laid Off

Health Status
Alcoholic
Smoker

Similar films music research

Hear you me

Written by: Tom  Linton, Rick Burch, Zach Lind, Jim Adkins

Performed by Jimmy Eat World

Courtesy of dream work records

Under licence from Universal Music Enterprises

This song that is used is a song that wasn't composed and scored for the film but was chosen because it fits well with the film. Its slow tempo represents a sadder time and the come down of the film. This song is a known song so is different to  song that has been scored for the film, this is better because it gives more of a sense of realism instead of the music just being for atmosphere. But it can also give character. Although there are issues with using other bands music like licensing to be able to use there music, you would need to ask the record producer and the artist(s) if you could use the music.

Composer - David Julyan

Alternatively for memento this music which is the theme and is very atmospheric, there is a consistent use of strings throughout the score, which are generally used for tension, in this case the tension is created effectively with layering strings ranging from violins and violas to cellos and double basses. While composing the score, Julyan created different distinct sounds to differentiate between colour and black and white scenes.

Composer Howard Shore

This is another Soundtrack that was composed for the film and again sounds very dramatic, but this sounds more dramatic perhaps because there is more action and it is needed. Again there is a high use of strings for tension, but this song uses more brass instruments (some muted), Percussion and even uses a choir. The muted brass instruments links to the time period that the film was based as there may have been jazz with brass muted instruments used.

The Title Sequence of Feature Length and Short Films

Titles for the mainstream film "The Butterfly Effect"

The titles for this film are accompanied well by a music score as well as all of the main actors, producers and directors of the film. This title sequence show the names of cast and crew then show the films name last, this is what we are intending to do with ours. Having a large budget allows these films to use more visuals in the opening credits.


Titles for the short film "Whispers From Within"

These titles are shorter than the mainstream films ones and focus more on the words rather than graphics or pictures, this could be due to low budgets or other factors. These titles are effective for a low budget and we will try to use some of the methods used.

Distributor Research

Film logo development

In developing our company logo I designed something that would look professional and would look good on the title sequence of a film. Although this looked professional the font doesn't really suit the logo and it doesn't relate to our film because the text is too posh so I re- edited the logo with a new font.

This version was a lot better the text was more spaced out and the font isn't too posh. The addition of a small icon above gives the logo a little extra so it would look professional on our short film.

Treatment

Title - Unhinged

Duration - 5 minutes

Audience - 16+

Distributor - New Line Cinema

Synopsis -

A middle aged man named john turns to alcohol and drugs after the recent passing away of his 9 year old daughter. He's let himself go to the point he's living in a run down house and lives in constant paranoia and confusion putting missing posters up for his daughter and hallucinates his daughter each and every day.

Story opens with a man sat on his couch drinking in the middle of the day (cans and bottles all over the floor) he finishes a can and throws it across the room then grabs some posters by the side and throws a back pack over his shoulder and cuts to a shot of him stumbling around drunk trying to puts up missing posters for his daughter who passed away. (John has gone crazy and all his pain is affecting him with hallucinations)

John stumbles across his last poster he hears a little girls laugh then catches a glimpse of a girl run towards a house. Thinking its his daughter he finds his way to a house ( his house ) follows her upstairs to his daughters room where he opens the door to see himself arguing with his daughter where he yells 'get out' (this is the night his daughter died) This hallucination gives him a sudden realisation of what he had done making him feel that he was the cause of his daughters death. He makes his way back towards the sofa he first sat on where he then grabs some pills empties them into his mouth waits staring at the glass as they slowly make an effect on him killing himself  (ends where the film started.)

Similar film research 1

Memento

Brief storyline (IMDB)

Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Memento chronicles two separate stories of Leonard, an ex-insurance investigator who can no longer build new memories, as he attempts to find the murderer of his wife, which is the last thing he remembers. One story line moves forward in time while the other tells the story backwards revealing more each time.








Another Psychological thriller with a similar concept of some sort of amnesia/memory loss; this is a common theme within the genre. This film has a similar age rating to ours which is a 15 which means it will have similar content to our film.

Characters (Main)
Guy Pierce -               Leonard
Carrie-Anne Moss -   Natalie
Joe Pantoliano -         Teddy

Music
Main theme

The music used in this main theme sounds very atmospheric and has a slight sense of mystery involved which is most likely linked to the fact that the main character has a mysterious mind. Within this composition there is a lot of the use of strings which adheres to a tense atmosphere where you are unsure what may happen next. At 1:05 in this video there is an unusual sound that follows a heart beat rhythm, this can suggest irregularity with the character, perhaps like he has health issues.

A narrative is used for the main character to show how he speaks to himself in his head this perhaps shows his instability but also shows more of an explanation for his actions.

Iconography
The main character often uses polaroid pictures to refresh his memory this icon is used to show the time period and also the fact that he frequently forgets events.
Guns are used to represent action and violence within the film, the use of the gun by the main character shows that he is as a character portrays violence.

Mise en scene
Blood and fake scars are used to represent the scale of violence that has occurred, this way the scenes are much more dramatic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj5laLK4itI

Short Film Analysis - Guilt

I started researching into similar short films to help gain ideas for our film. I looked particularly into short films of our genre which is psychological thriller. I watched this short film called Guilt which follows one characters mental state. The guy pulls into a garage where he then appears to be drunk with blood on his wind screen this builds suspicion where we then gain an idea as to what happened when he hallucinates a biker behind him which indicates he's been drink driving and killed a motorcyclist.

This short film displays many conventions of a thriller film where it follows one man the protagonist/antagonist and presents his physical and emotional state through close ups and high angle shots. The film also creates suspense and an intense atmosphere through the dark/sinister music.

The addition of dark gloomy lighting helps initiate the un settled atmosphere this character is in and help build suspense for its audience. There is use of hand held shots to imply someone following or stalking and the use of props show the characters physical state for example alcohol bottles e.t.c. Over the shoulder shots are used to present a dark tone to suggest someone is watching him. These are techniques we wish to use in our film to create tension and confusion as our main character is under alcohol use and emotional state isn't very good causing him to hallucinate. So the effects to show hallucinations in this short film are possible techniques we could possibly use. The use of long-shot enables the character to look isolated to show his place in society.

Intended target audience research

http://prezi.com/rzalycsjrnfm/target-audience-research/#


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BBFC - Age Rating

Drug Use In A 12/12A
“There may be infrequent sight of drugs misuse in a 12A or a 12 but the portrayal should not be glamorised or provide instructional detail.”  In our film our main character is shown to get pills out of a packet then consume them with alcohol.

Drug use in a 15
“At 15 drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse (for example, through instructional detail).  The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances like aerosols or solvents is unlikely to be acceptable at 15.”  In our film we show no use of solvents etc. As well as this we also show drug use but do not give great detail on instructions of how to use them.

Suicide in a 12/12A
“Dangerous behaviour (for example hanging and suicide) may be present in 12A or 12 works but will not dwell on detail which could be copied or present those activities in a manner that children are likely to copy.” Our film focuses on the pills taken to commit suicide, which may make it a 15-rated film rather than a 12.

Suicide in a 15

“We consider the risk of potential harm to impressionable teenagers. For example, dangerous behaviour such as hanging, suicide and self-harming should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Whether the depiction of easily accessible weapons is acceptable will depend on factors such as realism, context and setting.” In our film we show suicide but not in the form of hanging or self harming, as well as this we do not dwell on any details of suicide.

 Bad Language in a 12/12A
“The BBFC's Guidelines state that strong language (e.g. 'f***') may be passed at 12 or 12A, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency and any special contextual justification. Aggressive uses of strong language may result in a film or DVD being placed at the 15 category. There is some allowance for puns on strong language at this category. There may be moderate language (e.g. uses of terms such as ‘bitch’ and ‘twat’ at 12 or 12A).” We use F*** only once in our film which could keep it in the 12 category in terms of language.

Bad Language in a 15
“There could potentially be a great deal. At 15 there is no upper limit on the number of uses of strong language (e.g. ‘f***’). Occasionally there may be uses of the strongest terms (e.g. 'c***'), depending on the manner in which they are used, who is using the language, its frequency and any special contextual justification. However, continued or aggressive use will not normally be passed 15.” Our film only has 1 use of F*** during an argument between two characters. This means our rating for language shouldn’t be above a 15.

Script Help Site

http://filmg.co.uk/files/downloads/Scripting-Resource-Notes.pdf

Similar Films 2

The Butterfly Effect

Storyline

Evan Treborn grows up in a small town with his single, working mother and his friends. He suffers from memory blackouts where he suddenly finds himself somewhere else, confused. Evan's friends and mother hardly believe him, thinking he makes it up just to get out of trouble. As Evan grows up he has fewer of these blackouts until he seems to have recovered. Since the age of seven he has written a diary of his blackout moments so he can remember what happens. One day at college he starts to read one of his old diaries, and suddenly a flashback hits him like a brick!

This is another psychological thriller film with a similar age rating to ours which is 15. This films follows a man who experiences flash backs that constantly effect him. This was a good film to research as our film is along similar line where the main character suffers hallucinations and flash backs.

This film uses many of the features we are going to try and use in our film for example the close up to show the protagonists emotions and physical state so we can give the audience a connection with the character and so they can get to know him and the use of flashbacks so they can have an insight to the characters life and how he has come to what he is now.
As well as this, this film uses location very well to help portray a character for example in one of the images to the right you can see the main character with a worried face and sat alone showing his isolation from the world. This is something we would need to think about in our film as this would enable us to produce some really nice close up angles of a character and blur the back ground to use this technique to isolate our main character to make the audience sympathize with him.