Thriller Task Treatment

After viewing and studying a wide range of thriller films and taking into consideration our audience research; the sub-genre for our thriller is British Gangster- spurred by films such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in view of dark, threatening costumes, our bleak industrial setting and props. Our setting was chosen due to the typical conventions of destruction, immortality and hopelessnes alongside its close proximity to our school. One film outside the sub-genre of our choice to affect our film is Once Upon A Time In America; including the plot-line of searching out and eliminating the vunrable young woman.

Shooting Schedule

Thriller Audience Expectations

These are the various results for my audience research. Aged between 16-18, this is our target audience due to the aspect that our thriller will be shown in front of fellow pupils and I would rather make a film aimed at my own preferences; with the themes of excitment, thrill and tension very common with the age group considering puberty, the age group is also the most recorded in going to the cinema and watching films. With these results in mind; my expectations of mainstream films have been reached, all those partaking in the research agreed that the lighting, SFX and settings are much more superior than those of independant films. However, figures relative to plot for independant films have achieved higher scores- relating to the many issues reflected such as violence, sexuality and drugs independent screenings like Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs.

The results for the settings involved shed a generous light on areas as woodland and desolate buildings, mainly because of the themes of isolation, desperation and decay that are connotated with the sets, a must for all thriller films- this result is sucessfull in shaping our thriller film as settings similar to what was shown will be used for my groups thriller task.





The setting, known as 'The Civ' seems a great setting due to the positive light shed on similar locations in my thriller research.



Films shown on screenings were an assortment of mainstream and independant crime films: prompted by their extraordinary high scores on databases such as rottentomatoes and IMDB. Scenes in films like Pulp Fiction and Resevior Dogs scored highly- with many viewers commenting that this was due to the gritty and violent scenes shown. This also is a sucess in shaping my thriller opening, as elements from both scenes shown are incorperated into my thriller opening; in which a girl is hunted down and ultimately killed by two men in an unsavoury, burnt down squash court very similar to the warehouse in which the infamous torture scene in Resevior Dogs takes place.

The majority preferred the dim, ambient lighting of indie films such as Pulp Fiction rather than the blockbuster effects shown in Mainstream film The Dark Knight- shaping our thriller opening with our lack of any superficial lighting at all. This can also be said for our array of camera angles and shots; with ours focusing on bringing more light on our characters rather than epic, complicated shots which would emphasise our setting which would be unfesable with the equipment and no budget at our use- our choice of a british gangster sub-genre also promotes the simple yet effective costumes, settings and equipment at our exposal; this also ties in with our target audience expectations, people our own age who will connect with our costumes, choice of characters and understand how we have shaped our film due to our lack of any sort of funds, using our own clothes and equipment which even themselves may own, making it seem much more familier to not only the audience but to the actors and actresses themselves, generating a more sucessfull film.

Thriller Film Audience Questionaire

Thriller Audience Research Questionnaires

1) What are your expectations/ratings of an independent, low-budget film? (Famous Examples being Pulp Fiction, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Se7en, Monty Python and The Holy Grail, Lock Stock)

Plot

1 2 3 4 5 (1 = Worst 5 = Best)

Settings

1 2 3 4 5

Lighting

1 2 3 4 5

Camera Shots/Angles

1 2 3 4 5

Special Effects/CGI

1 2 3 4 5

Editing

1 2 3 4 5


2) What are your expectations/ratings of a mainstream, high-budget film? (Avatar, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Die Hard, James Bond)

Plot

1 2 3 4 5 (1 = Worst 5 = Best)

Settings

1 2 3 4 5

Lighting

1 2 3 4 5

Camera Shots/Angles

1 2 3 4 5

Special Effects/CGI

1 2 3 4 5

Editing

1 2 3 4 5


3) How effective are these key settings of thriller in building up expectations and stimulating you as you would expect?

Woodland


1 2 3 4 5








Desolate Buildings


1 2 3 4 5




Dark Alleyway


1 2 3 4 5

4) How effective are these key scenes of independent and mainstream thriller films in building up expectations and stimulating you as you would expect?


Pulp Fiction (Independent Film)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6csp2fZt2E

1 2 3 4 5


Se7en (Independent Film)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJhTi-f7DEI

1 2 3 4 5


Reservoir Dogs (Independent Film)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLTqecGbdCc

1 2 3 4 5


The Godfather (Mainstream Film)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_RcT9qCCFo

1 2 3 4 5


The Godfather 2 (Mainstream Film)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkUnDisz8z0

1 2 3 4 5


The Dark Knight (Mainstream Film)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQHfoz9Be7U

1 2 3 4 5



Overall, do you prefer an independent or mainstream film?

………………………………………………………………………

Thank-you for your help.

Thriller Storyboards

Shot List

Shot One- A girl Running through ally - Mid tracking shot.Not much light, eerie feel to the shot.

**Credits One** Diagetic sound of Girl Running

Shot Two- girl going through the hole in the fence. - Close up from Front. Various Extreme close ups of Arms and hands, Legs and Feet and Face.

**Credits two** Diagetic sound of Fence.

Shot Six- Girl Running to the civ. - Tracking Mid shot from behind with some More ECU.

Shot Seven- Girl cowering in the corner of the sqaush court - panning shot from front.Close ups of her hands and legs.

**Credit Three** Diagetic sound of crying and Footsteps.

Shot eight- Feet appearing at the doorway, cigarette dropping to the floor and foot stamping it out. ECU on cigarette.

Shot nine- first person view of girl looking up at men, the lighting hides their faces .

Shot Ten- first person view of girl running away, grabbed by man one and hit with the weapon by man two.

Shot Eleven- Blood hits wall.Shot Twelve- Shot from Floor in opposite corner of room, girl slides down the wall and close up of feet as they exit the room.

Moving Image Production Has Always Been Lead By The Audience’s Demand For New Sensation

Ever since an 1878 experiment in the United States used an astonishing 24 cameras to produce the motion of a galloping horse, humanity has been captivated time and time again by the powerful art form of film and cinema; its hard to picture this massive achievement as a stride forwards in technology and art when considering the “awe-inspiring” effects and sensation films like Star Wars, Avatar and Lord of the Rings have produced.

But are these budget-smashing films worth the hype? Has humanity pushed forward technology and effects so far that these images of far distant universes and horrifyingly real, brutal battles have become our frank and merciless expectations? Have we become so ignorant that an immersive, original plotline must be backed up by six or, in some cases, seven digit budgets? If so, what hope is there for cinema?

Only a brief glance at the highest grossing films of all time lists confirms my fears; Titanic: $1,848,813,795, Avatar: $1,637,262,209, both these grosses together could surely do great help in the world if it was given to charity rather than spent watching these to films; my viewing of Titanic was satisfactory at best whilst films like The Godfather, with a budget lesser than $194,500,000 and blood that looks more like blackcurrant squash is one of my favourite films. Ranked second place in IMDb.com’s ‘Top 250’, The Godfather is still regarded as one of the best moving pictures to be produced 37 years on whilst Titanic isn’t featured. The fact that within twenty years a film budget can be raised by almost 200 million is shocking – surely pushed by the audiences demand for new sensation.

Another factor is, of course, the “extraordinary” film pushing the boundaries for all future films, Avatar. Being put on hold for over twenty years is was at first planned to be released in 1999, due to technical aspirations; was it worth the wait? Website Rotten Tomatoes described it as “more impressive on a technical level than as a piece of storytelling” Whilst Kenneth Turan of the L.A Times stated that the film had "flat dialogue" and "obvious characterization". To me it is extraordinary that a film with these labels has become, since I started this discussion, the highest grossing film of all time, it seems very clear that this was achieved down to technical sensation and marketing- with costing rumored to be over £500,000,000.

A major contrast with this is the reception of the release of famous film The Shawshank Redemption, with a budget of just $25,000,000 and gaining a measly $3,341,469 in profit. Though famously disregarded when released in cinemas, it is one of the most highly rented movies still today and regarded as one of the best films ever made, top of IDMB’s database with a rating of 9.1 with just under half a million votes compared to Avatar’s 8.5 with a mere 195,613 votes. It emphasizes the public’s apathy towards films without technical advancements, despite The Shawshank Redemption’s seven academy award nominations.

I believe that with our striving towards technical advancements has pushed us as an audience to disregard anything other than the best cinema has to offer, independent films such as London to Brighton that tackles important issues such as pedophilia, drugs and violence are not reaching our mainstream audience which I believe is disdainful. High grossing films such as Star Wars, Titanic and Lord of The Rings may teach the importance of love, friendship and morality but these topics have reached audiences time and time again whilst much more local, dangerous and, more important messages are failing. It is my view this needs to change if our ethics, alongside our viewing pleasure, are to be modernized; art, media and film is rapidly becoming one of our populations outlets for our views and ethic and if we do not bring it up to date and eliminate any ignorance to view these then what hope is there for the viewing public?