THRILLER PLAINNING: LOCATIONS

LOCATIONS

I chose to film my thriller in an area that would represent many of the connotations that i wanted to link to my film. 

I wanted to film somewhere that was very bleak and i could use alongside a cold colour pallet to increase the sense of bleakness and the idea of entrapment even though this is a fairly wide open space.

This wasteland area was perfect for that in the sense that it allowed huge asses of open spaces for shot that can establish the location but also has a smaller confined space that allows shots to be created that can feel claustrophobic,

Isolation was a key idea i wanted to bring forward when i was filming and i feel like this location is perfect for that in the sense that i can use location establishing shots that make sure the person who is watching can see that there is just vast amounts of open space surrounding the area that the characters are situated in. 

I also wanted to use an area that was inside someones house to make it seem like one of my characters does have a normal every day life. Using the inside of someones house would work perfectly as we could use this and then film the character leaving just before he gets kidnapped.

EDITED: THRILLER PLANNING: PITCH AND TREATMENT

PITCH AND TREATMENT

P1- The film starts with a black screen with the name of the film company being the focal point. We then see a shot of a man walking down a corridor to a place where we see all of his possessions line out. He collects these and we then see him walk out of the door after picking up a ring. He is then kidnapped with a bag placed over his head. He is sat down and comes back into consciousness and has a confrontation with another man, his kidnapper. This results in a physical confrontation in which Harley attacks his kidnapper, he then gets up abruptly, grabbing the bag and consequently he is then chased. There is then a dip to black and there is static shown.

P2- Taking influences from films like Essex boys, Layer Cake and Legend, this thriller seeks to establish the character of Harley, an over-confident, rags to riches young man who has become far too involved in the British criminal underworld. This is done by using strong elements of British Gangster like costumes, gritty locations and character types. The film opening only uses some dialogue with the main idea being using visuals to establish the story.

THRILLER PLANNING: CHARACTERS, PROPS & COSTUMES

THRILLER PLANNING: OPENING MOOD BOARD

WHAT DO DIRECTORS SEEK TO ESTABLISH IN THE OPENINGS OF THIRILLERS?

WHAT DO DIRECTORS SEEK TO ESTABLISH IN THE OPENING OF THRILLERS?

The opening of any film can be a hugely important and this is no different when it comes to the thriller genre. The opening of a film always strives to establish multiple features like genre, plot, location, character, theme, tone and mood. There are multiple different ways to approach the opening sequence of a film and many of the openings we have looked at have shown us strong examples of this, with many directors focussing on certain aspects of each feature and going about establishing each in different ways.

CHARACTER:

Many of the films we have studied have showed huge emphasis on the idea of portraying a character before the film has begun, a better example of this is the opening scenes of ‘Se7en.’ Director, David Fincher has carefully chosen shots that give huge hints towards Morgan Freeman’s character, Detective Somerset, it portrayed as a character who appreciates order. Figure 1 shows a shot of the possessions Somerset collects before he leaves his home which are quite clearly ordered and placed in a specific manner. Personally, I think this is a trivial hint to the personality of the detective and shows you that he likes to have things a certain way.

This is done in a similar way in ‘Layer Cake.’ The opening of the film has a voiceover that portrays strong character and authority which immediately tells the viewer everything the director wants them to know at that point in the film. This is a more obvious introduction to a character than showing shots of personal possessions. This linked with multiple shots that reveal the characters tendencies are similarly a huge insight into not only characters and their personality but also begins to reveal the plot of the film without telling you too much, keeping you interested and on edge, holding your attention and, generically making you want to continue watching.

LOCATION:

Location is a pivotal point in the making of a film and the establishment of tone and character. Many of the films we have studied have shown us strong examples of the way in which choosing the correct location is hugely important. Essex boys shows us multiple effective ways of establishing location and linking that location with the genre of the film. It is an incredibly bleak film which is reinforced by the imagery and shots used in the opening of the film. Many of the shots used, use vanishing points that signify an almost predictable ending for many of the characters. For example, FIGURE 1 shows part of the opening where Sean Bean’s character is interacting with another but, if you look at the surrounding locations, many of the intended connotations of the film become apparent. The area itself is very bleak, cold and empty which links with the idea of what Essex Boys is about. Similarly, the use of vanishing points symbolises that there is an almost literal ending for that character. 
This would be a useful thing to do in the opening of our thriller as many parts of the tone in the opening of this film would link and fit in well with our opening.

FIGURE 1

THEMES AND PLOT

In the opening of a film, themes and plot should be evident. In terms of plot, the opening of a film shouldn’t reveal too much. If an opening reals off every event in the film the opening becomes far too long, complicated and pointless as an opening.

Taking this into account in my own thriller opening, we have 2 minutes to reveal the plot in a way that isn’t overly indiscrete, leaving much of it to the imagination but also revealing vital information and key points in the story line.

An example that reveals the plot of the film well is Double Indemnity. This starts with a voice over that drops small hints that tell us why the characters are in the situation that they’re in. This allows the person watching to gain a rounder view of the characters and their situations without revealing the entirety of the plot and reeling off every event that is to occur in the film.

Themes are an important part of the opening of a film, if the themes aren’t clarified and are left to the imagination, there is less of a chance that the viewer will latch onto the story line and stay stimulated. It’s hugely important not to give too much away in the opening of a film as this completely defeats the object of it being an opening but, at the same time, enough needs to be given away to make the person watching want to carry on and continue watching past the opening.

Personally, I think a good example of establishing themes is Essex Boys. Much of the footage we see in the opening of Essex Boys establishes the theme and plot quickly and effectively without giving much away. Immediately from the beginning of the film it can be seen that many of the themes are dark and of an unpleasant nature. Many of the shots in the opening convey quite bleak imagery that helps to set the scene and connote themes of danger and darkness but quite contrastingly, companionship.

GENRE

The opening of a film can be a pivotal point in establishing the genre of the film, with many films missing the point of establishing the genre leaving them connoting images that are the pole opposite of the original idea of the film. For example, if the opening of a British Gangster film has an opening that consists of imagery that shows people acting in a happy totally inconspicuous manner, this wouldn't like to the genre of British Gangster, completely eliminating the fact that the film supposedly belongs to that genre. In a way, highlighting the genre of a film can be just as unimportant as it is important as there are multiple other features that need to be established before this and it can be incredibly easy to show the genre.

For example, the genre can be established in many ways including the typefaces used for titles that are seen in the opening. This can be seen in films like Seven where the typeface used in the opening of the film helps to immediately connote themes, subsequently connoting genre.

TONE AND MOOD

Setting the tone and mood of a film can be easily achieved to benefit the opening and make it more effective. The tone and mood can be seen in a physical sense but also in a metaphorical, more subtle way. Using The Disappearance Of Alice Creed as an example; the tone and mood are not only set by the characters and their attitudes combined with their facial expressions but the lighting, shot types and use of locations. At the beginning of the opening we see multiple bleak shots that show the surrounding locations that helps to set the mood of the film as it already makes it seem dark and the bleakness leaves it to the person watching’s imagination as to what is to come in the next few scenes. When we get to meet the characters in the opening, the mood is set very clearly and many other standard conventions of a film opening. The look of the characters helps to establish the tone and mood of the film as they are both seen to have plain, emotionless faces which can create ideas that go much deeper into the character’s personalities and also show the way the film is going to  go, for example, both men are seen to have blank, emotionless faces which could be used as a hint for the events that are going to occur in the rest of the film, again setting the tone and mood in a way that is simple and effective.