Final Opening Sequence

Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?


The amount of time we had to make our prelim task was much shorter, which is the reason for it's lack of quality. One of the most useful parts of the final task was being able to produce a first draft which was graded and let us know of any improvements which we could make. Our first draft was weak as the editing was rushed and mostly incomplete, evident in the lack of sound in some parts and sketchy cuts between shots. Being given a chance to completely re-film upped the quality of our piece and if we had this opportunity during the prelim, we could have created a better piece. One of the improvements we could have made to the prelim was to include more variety of shots, something that Oliver and I tried to prioritise when filming because it would look professional.

Another thing we kept in mind when planning our piece was costume. In our prelim task the  costume was whatever the actors had on the particular day we were filming

Question 6

Question 5

Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Studiocanal is a French film distribution company, started in 1987 responsible for distributing critically acclaimed films such as Hot Fuzz (Wright, 2007), Inside Llewyn Davis (Coen Brothers, 2013) and Submarine (Ayoade, 2010). Studiocanal has a history of releasing films from alternative or lesser known directors in the UK, which is a reason they would support our film. The British branch was formerly known as Optimum Releasing which was more of a low budget distribution company, releasing films like This is England (Meadows, 2006) which was produced by Warp and Film 4, both independent British production companies. The film made £5 million and sent Meadows' directing into the mainstream, leading to a follow-up television series for Channel 4. At the end of 2015 Studiocanal had a net worth of over £29 million. I would choose this distribution company because it has a reputation for well produced British films. 

Pathe films is also a French company which distibutes in the Uk and Europe, responsible for films such as 127 Hours (Boyle, 2010) and Selma (DuVernay, 2014). One of Pathe's biggest successes was the critically acclaimed Slumdog Millionaire (Boyle, 2009) which also kick started the career of its protagonist, played by Dev Patel. With a budget of $15 million it was a box office smash, grossing 377 million dollars. Slumdog Millionaire won 8 academy awards including Best Picture and best director for Danny Boyle. This proves that a low budget distribution company can release a smash-hit film, which is why this is a viable choice for our film, because it is low-budget and we would like to stay true to UK companies that have gained respect through the release of professional and unique films. At the end of 2015 Pathe had a net worth of just over £26 million in comparison to a larger company such as Universal who had a net worth of £38.2 million. 

If Oliver and I were to have our film distributed we would choose Studiocanal because it is a company that we have respect for due to its entertaining films which we enjoy. It is known widely in the film industry and has a reputation for distributing well made films by respected directors, whilst also giving a chance to independent companies with lesser-known directors.

Question 4

Question 2

Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In my research I have concluded that the most commonly used thriller conventions are tense and have low light scenes. Another convention is slow tempo music with low tones throughout the scenes to create a isolated atmosphere. A thriller would typically show a cliffhanger at the end of the film but me and Oliver decided to flip the convention andshow a cliffhanger at the start to create narrative enigmas and add tension from the beginning. 

The conventions of an opening sequence are to set the scene and create questions for the audience, as well as foreshadowing what is to occur in the plot. It introduces some key parts of the film such as the characters and setting, but doesn't give too much away so that viewers watch on.One way we created narrative enigmas is to conceal the face of the antagonist so that his character remains mysterious. 

We also used the convention for thrillers to be set in gritty and urban areas, and some of our shots were filmed in my garage. We chose this location because garages are small and low-lit, reinforcing the protagonist's entrapment. The redbrick walls are dark coloured, symbolising harsh conditions Scarlett has been living in. The clutter in the back of the garage was already there but it adds to the claustrophobia of the small room. 

The costume of the antagonist meets the Thriller convention of wearing smart/suit type clothing to represent authority. It is also to show that the occupation of the male character is a detective or a legal based job. The black trousers with shirt and tie shows the clear power relationship between the two characters, Scarlett wearing casual clothing and the antagonist wearing smart clothing.  


We broke the typical convention of a male protagonist and made it a female to show the vulnerability but also the strength of women, and the sometimes cruel nature of men. We thought that it is more common for a girl to be abducted, which allowed us to revert the convention and expose the victim's side of the story. 

 
 
 


 

Stockholm Syndrome - Final Draft

Research - Audience Research Questionnaire

Planning - Thriller Introduction Mindmap

Audience Research

Risk Assessment

Character Profiles

Protagonists
Name: Scarlett Joyce
Age:14-17
Played By: Katie Garratt
Bio: Teenage girl of a middle class background and a pleasant upbringing. Still in secondary school, small, feeble. In the opening she is emotionally unhinged and shocked because of the trauma she has experienced.

Name: Sally Roberts
Age: 14-17
Played By: Joelle Riley
Bio: A teenage girl from a middle classs upbringing. At the time of the introduction, little information is known about Sally as many details about her remain ambiguous.

Antagonist
Name: Unknown
Age: Early-Mid 30s
Played By: Josh O'Callaghan
Bio: Deep voice, strong. Motives behind kidnapping are unknown at the time of the introduction. Mysterious character - a lot of narrative enigmas surround this character.

Opening credits

 These are the opening credits for our thriller, which will be shown on screen throughout our piece. When it comes to incorporating these into our thriller opening sequence we have found the fonts the titles will be displayed in.

Tedstar Productions
A film by Elliot Hall
An Oliver Hill production
Katie Garratt
Harry Rigby
Joelle Riley
Casting by Tony Zagrafos
Costume by Michelle Bates
Sound by Steves Green
Written and Directed by Oliver Hill and Elliot Hall

Filming Schedule

Storyboard

This is the storyboard that me and Oli produced to plan the shots and basic routines of out piece. We used a tracing paper overlay with the captions written on which allowed you to read the caption with the full picture visible. The captions don't show up well after being photocopied but the idea of the shots can be seen in the pictures.

Props Planning

Garage Props:
The garage contains several specific props in order to create verisimilitude. We are trying to create a mysterious atmosphere and to make the shots look gritty and dirty to reinforce the reality and hardship of having to live as an abductee. 

A wooden chair has the second girl tied to it. This kind of chair is used to show that it is improvised as it seems like a very average but old fashioned chair. It also helps because the ropes can be tied through and around the chair. 

This also leads to another important prop. Some simple rope that is tied around the chair to restrict the girl when she is being tortured. Any kind of rope will do as long as there is enough to tie the girl's arms and legs. 

Scarlett's bed is meant to look improvised and uncomfortable. It consists of a few blankets on the floor which are dirty and untidy. This photo is representative of the kind of thing i would like to create. 

There is a bucket in the garage. It is not explicitly said but assumed that it is used for the girls to do their business. This reinforces the grittiness and realistic tribulence of the girls experience in the garage. 

The garage will be filled with tools which are grimy and used. This implies that the captor is torturing them and also proves that he is sadistic because he is torturing her in a surgical and precise manner. 

 Interrogation Room Props:
The most important prop in the interrogation scene is the table and chairs which the detective and Scarlett use. They need to look simple and similar to that of a police interrogation room in order to reinforce the verisimilitude of the set. This photo is an example of a simple table and two chairs which would be viable as a prop option. 

 The lamp is also an important prop because it creates a specific type of lighting that me and Oliver wanted for the scene. 

These are two examples of lamps which would fit into our piece. They are black and simply designed which would blend well with the subtle tones we will include to reflect numbness and isolation.

Stockholm Syndrome Script

Script

Detective: Scarlett, I’m sorry we have to talk under such circumstances, but we need all the answers we can get if it means finding the man who took you.

Scarlett: *Breathing heavily*

Detective: Can you describe the place that you and your friend were taken?

Flashback

Detective: Scarlett? Scarlett? Scarlett? (Increasing in volume)
                   Your friend, she didn’t make it… Her injuries were too serious

Flashback

Detective: *Clicks finger*
                   How did you come to have these photos in your pocket?
                   *Puts photos on table*

Scarlett: *Briefly looks at photos then slides them off the table* Where did you get these?

Detective: We found them in the back pocket of the clothes you were wearing.

Scarlett: I didn’t take them

Detective: I know, he did. We need your help to find him. What happened when you were first taken?

Scarlett: *Silent*

Detective: You’re going to be instrumental in finding the man who took you, Scarlett, we need
your—

Scarlett: *Interjecting* I was walking alone, coming back from my friend’s house, and then I saw him

Detective: What did he look like?

Scarlett: He was dressed in all black, with a mask, a balaclava

Detective: *Taking notes*

Scarlett: And then he grabbed me… I tried to fight him but *cries*
                He put a rag over my mouth *continues to cry*

Detective: *with hand on Scarlett’s shoulder* it’s okay

Scarlett: *panicking* no… please *backs away* help!

Detective: Shhhhh

Scarlett wakes up

Kidnapper: Shhhhh

Scarlett: *screams*

Costume Planning

For our thriller opening sequence, Elliot and myself have decided to have a mixed variety of different costumes for each individual character to suit their individual roles in the scene. The two main characters in the opening scene are two completely different people so they will not be dressed in a similar way and will have costumes that are representative of their characters.

 

Protagonist: Scarlett Joyce

Scarlett Joyce will appear in two shots in the opening scene of our thriller movie, she will be in the shot where she is tied to a chair in the unknown location where she is held captive by the kidnapper and in the shot where she is in the interogation room being asked questions by the detective. She will be wearing a grey sweatshirt and grey jogging bottoms with white socks and plimsolls when she is in the interogation room. This is because she will be wearing the clothes that she has been given by the police since the clothes she was found in were dirty and ripped. When she is in the unknown location, she will be wearing ripped jeans, a t-shirt, and  which are stained with blood, dirt and sweat.

Secondary Character: Sally Roberts

Sally Roberts will only be in the shot that is located in the unknown location where the kidnapper is keeping her, she will be dressed in a similar way to Scarlett, she will also be wearing dirty jeans, and a t-shirt that is covered in stains. They will both be dressed in dirty clothes to show how long they have been kept by the kidnapper and to express how awful the living conditions are in the place they are being kept.
 

 

Tertiary Character: The Detective

The Detective will be dressed in a formal way for the shot where he is questioning Scarlett. He will be dressed in a black pea coat, black trousers and black shoes, he will also be wearing a white shirt with a tie. He will be dressed like this so that his costume suits the role of a detective and he doesn't look out of place in the scene.

Antagonist: The Kidnapper

The Kidnapper will be wearing all black in the opening scene, this costume will be made up of Black Dr Marten boots, black denim jeans, a black hoodie and a black balaclava to cover his face. This costume will be used to add mystery to the kidnappers identity because the entire plot of the movie would be less interesting if the antagonist's identity was revealed from the beginning.