Genre: Psychological Thrillers

(Click on image to expand)

Props: Mask

We are using a mask for the man who appears in our thriller. This is so that his identity is not revealed, as this is important for the rest of the plot so that it can unfold over time. Also, this allows for the audience to make their own decisions about the stranger - Who is he? What is he doing? Is he the kidnapper? ...Or not?

Choosing the mask is extremely important as we want to set the right tone for the character. Choosing a colourful would have a different effect to a plain white mask, or comical characterised face.

In The Strangers, the villains wear characterised faces with black eyes which are very eerie and because they are wearing  everyday outfits they seem like regular people but this is so creepy and mysterious because they are so murderous and evil. Furthermore, the fact that we never find out who these people are adds to the chilling atmosphere of the film, leaving the audience with uncertainty as they will never find out the true identities of the killers.

I think we would like to go for a more minimalistic approach, with white masks and dark clothing as black represents something negative and dark, whereas white connotes purity and innocence. The two colours justaposed together can send mixed messages, which relates directly to what we are trying to portray from this character. He is there two confuse the audience and raise questions, creating uncertainty and enigma which therefore makes them want to watch more/

Flow Chart for our Film Opening

Film Opening Flow Chart

Contextual Research and Analysis: Without A Trace

Without A Trace is an American TV drama focusing on a fictitious full time FBI missing persons unit. The programme follows the same theme of kidnap and missing people as our film does. Though we are not making a TV drama, and though we are focusing on the side of the victim and the kidnapper and not the law, we can nevertheless take technical inspiration from it.

• As we are shooting the opening of a film, we can afford to be more creative with our camera work, unlike Without A Trace, as it is a TV programme. However, the promo above which advertises the programme seems to be more creative in its effects and its use of music and titles that the programme itself would be. We can therefore take some inspiration from it.
• The different shots in the promo are merged and connected with one another using a fade effect. It was probably used most effectively ten seconds into the clip, where another scene is faded over the young boy, with the titles stating "one boy's secrets". The boy being half hidden under another shot further adds to his secretive nature and to the theme of missing persons. We could attempt to do this when editing our sequence to further emphasise the theme of our opening.
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  18 seconds into the promo, we see a picture of the child who is missing. We could possibly add a photo of the child who has been taken away in our opening so as to further engage the audience with the film, as they become emotionally connected.
  
  
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  The music in the promo is very dramatic, and is edited well in accordance to the changing shots. Though we will not use such dramatic music, this promo shows us how good editing can help contribute to the entire mood of the clip.
  
  

Other Popular Media: Men/Masks

A mask takes the ability of knowing who or what something away. It is impossible to tell if the attacker is someone known, or a complete stranger. It sets up for a mystery that drags the viewer deeper into the horror film to see if they are able to find out who, or what, is behind the mask. A mask hides identity, connoting mystery and ambiguity, leaving the identity of the killer up to the imaginations of the audience.

A mask can allow a character to become superhuman, and impervious to pain. A perfect example of this is how the hockey mask was part of what caused Jason Voorhees to come back to life in the cemetery scene in Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI.

Also, Tomas in The Orphanage seems so mysterious and as he is a child wearing a mask it seems really freaky as we cannot tell if he is a murderer. At first, he appears to be the villain or have something to do with the disappearing boy, but we realise later that he was not involved in the abduction and is actually a ghost.

Withholding information would work to our advantage because it keeps the audience guessing – even if they see the masked man and the other character doesn’t there is a mystery involved. The fear of the unknown is key to building the narrative of the opening sequence, but also for the movie as a whole. The mysterious man creates enigma, leaving the audience wanting to know more.

Teacher Feedback on Proposal

Feedback from Miss Blackborow on 27/01/10

Good Points:

• Audience know more than Zoe - they have power and are implicated. Sets up questions - who is the man? How will the man become part of twist?
• Visual referencing is great. Content - audience appeal e.g. phones, technology, red signifiers
• Familiarity and imagery
• House practical, thought about viability. Good angles etc.

What to think about:

• Use more media terms/language , e.g connotations, signifiers
• Use themes more, like contemporary films
• Name examples of consumerism, think of other films, TV shows
• Reference other films more explicitly, especially those similar to ours, e.g. the opening of Scream (we have already included this towards the beginning of our blog, but not on the handout.)
• Maybe the group is doing too much? Too much may be going on so the sequence may need to end sooner than anticipated.

PLAN B) We could end when Zoe hears the screams coming from upstairs. Maybe she screams? If we have too much, we can end sooner so we are able to focus more on detail - characters, build up, angles etc.

Group Proposal Presentation Handout