Target Audiecene and Rating

Our target audience is aimed at males aged 18-28, this is as males tend to be more interested in psychological thrillers. However as one of the lead characters is female, it could be appeal to females as well. As our film contains mature themes, we have decided to rate our film as a 18, as the content would not be appropriate for younger viewers.

Deranged Presentation

                                                                              Title

We decided to use an metallic font for the film title as it connotes the colour of the blade of a knife which is the choice of weapon for our antagonist in our film. The sharp edges on the letters in the title have also been used to connote the point of a knife. We wanted the title to look like it had been engraved so that it can relate to the antagonist in the film as it connotes someone who is crazy. We chose to include a black background behind the title as the film cover is going to be black. We used this as the black colour connotes darkness and gives the audience a chilling effect.

               Narrative

Beginning
The beginning of our film if it were going to be made into a full film would firstly consist of  new reports and shots of news articles focused around a psychopath who has killed 11 out of 12 students in a classroom at his school. Then the focus is around psychopath who is now in a mental institution as he was to young to go to prison.Then the attention went to the victim who manged to escape the class during the killings and she will be the main character of the film as she is the lone the psychopath wants to find her and kill her.
Middle

The middle of the film will start will when the psycho breaks out of the mental institution in search of the one girl that got away from the school killings. The detective who is looking into the case of the breakout puts all the evidence together after looking back to the school killings that the psycho committed where there was one girl that got away and figures out who the last target is. The detective then tries to contact the girl before the psycho found her and before it was too late.

End
The detective goes to Graces house and tells her she is in danger, they plan to lure him in. Grace locks herself in the bathroom so that she is safe. She pretends to be unaware of the psychopaths presents and she sing as if she is getting ready for bed , meanwhile the detective is hidden in her bedroom waiting to catch the psychopath. Parker knows that the detective is there and he kills the detective without Grace knowing. Its then been a while since she heard anything and so she looks outside the door to find the killer standing there. There is then a fight scene between them when eventually she kills him with his knife.

                                                                      Mise-en-scene

Settings
The settings that we are going to use will be ones that are generic convention on psychological thrillers, we are doing this so that the audience can recognize the film genre we were thinking about using the school fence at some stage in order to promote the idea that the psychopath is trapped in a mental institution and that this is where he escaped from. We are going to use the drama room as one of our settings as it will create a dark and chilling atmosphere when the psychopath approaches his victim from behind. This is most likely be placed at the end of the trailer to keep the audience guessing about what happens to the victim. we are also planning to use an small alley which will be featured as a murder scene, if possible we want people to act dead. We are going to use a home setting for the closing scenes of our film as houses are considered to be a safe place and this is will compromised by the fight scene between the psychopath and the victim, making it more frightening.
Characters 

We haven’t come up with the names for the characters in our film yet, but we know what sort of roles are going to be portrayed. The characters that we have chose to include in our film are a Psycho, Detective, the main girl that the psycho is after and extra’s for the victims that will be shown throughout the trailer. The roles of these characters will be outlined in the narrative on the following slide.

Props
Our main props include a mask for the killer to his identity, this is a generic convention of physiological thrillers. We are going to use a plain white mark that is not showing emotion, this connote that Parker does not have any emotion or feelings, before going for this idea we thought he could wear a themed mask, but this was to stereotypical for our film and it did not represent Parker in anyway and so it would be irrelevant.
Our next main prop is Parkers clothing, which originally was going to be overalls as we wanted him to be covered up to hide his identity as we wanted our target audience to use their imagination on what he looks likes . we also wanted him to be in scruffy clothing as he is meant to have broken out of a mental asylum. we decided to have him wear the clothes of a victim a this idea seemed less cliché, the cloths would have become scruffy from the attack.
Another prop that will play a big park in our film is a knife. This will be Parkers choice of weapon ad will be an iconic image throughout distribution. We wanted to chose a simple weapon to make it realistic as a teenage boy could easily get hold of one
Our last significant prop is the detectives notice board. On the board will be notes and pictures that will lead the detective to finding out t is Grace Parker is looking for. We thought this would be a good prop as in the trailer we can show multiple shots in the trailer and give clues about the narrative  without giving it away. It also is a good proper to get the audience drawn in to wanting to find out answers.

                                                                    Unique selling point

The unique selling point of our film is that the antagonist is a male teenager. This is a counter type to the psychological thriller genre as they are usually men. Our antagonist is going to played by Matthew as his fit the antagonists profile. Another point that will attract our audience is that the antagonists victim already have a past/history together, this will be promoted interest. This will help the audience create a more personal relationship with the main girl as they will look into her past.

                                                                      Editing

Lighting and Cuts
we were discussing lowering the saturation when we are filming the psychopath when he is trapped in the mental institution. this could help us create a darker picture,creating a chilling effect for the audience. We will also use fast past cuts in our trailer as this is a generic convention of physiological thriller.
Transitions
We will use standard transitions such as plain cuts, black fades and wipe fade. These are stereotypical conventions of physiological thrillers. We will use these as we do not want the attention taken away from the context of the film. We will use wipe fades particularly when we show the multiple news articles as it will look as if the page is being turned. We will also mainly use black fade transitions at significant points in the film that we want the audience to take in. we will also consider using black fades if we decide to use cross cutting. for example when the detective is on the phone to the girl who the psycho is after, we must use cross cutting at this point which will go to a close up of the psycho knife scrapping across a wall.

Conventions of a Psycohological Thriller Traliers

Titles and Colour

Common colours used in psychological thrillers consist on blue,purple, black, white, transparent and red. The blue and purple connotes mystery while the black and white connotes darkness and purity and if they are put together it could connotes the taking over of/ clash of good and evil, transparent connotes the supernatural and red connotes danger and gore. Another common feature on titles is an outer glow, this could suggest multiple personality's or the supernatural.

Editing

Transitions are commonly used in thriller trailers are black fades, white fades and cross dissolves, this is as the producers do not want to take the attention away from the context/narrative. Special effects are used occasionally to show action and excitement, when they are used they are sutle as a producer does not want the genre to be mistaken for a action adventure. special effects such as CGI will be used in paranormal psychological thrillers to make the film realistic.

Camerawork

High and low angle shots are commonly used to show, this is as they show who holds the power. The footage in trailers will be short face pace clips are they do not want to give the plot away and as this way they can put in the most exciting footage in to draw an audience in. Clips of narrative will also be switched, for example clips from the end will be placed at the begging, this is to help tell the story and so they the audience cannot follow the story and guess what happens.

Mise-en-scene

Low key lighting is a generic convention for psychological thrillers  as it connotes the darkness in the film. The antagonist will generally where dark clothing as this makes them look smart and professional where as the protagonist will wear ordinary clothing to as they are usually ordinary people.

Poster analysis

 

Black Swan

 

Text                                                                               

The main text that stands out is the film title. The title is black and is thin, this makes it easy for the viewer to read as it is simple. It also looks elegant which connotes the elegance in the context of the film. white, suggests elegance and purity where as black suggests the opposite, this suggests that something pure has a darkness coming over them. The rest of the text, such as the awards it has won, is in grey, I believe this is not to distract the attention away from the name of the film as there would be no connotation to that text being black.                                                                               

 

Colour

The colours in this poster consists of white, grey, black, there also red tones in the image and pink tones used for the text below the title. I think they have used a small handful of colours as they represent the film, the red, black and grey, connotes the evil in the film while the white contrasts this is connotes purity. There is a lot of black also around the person in the images eyes and lips, I think this is to show the audience, this person is/will become evil as the rest of her is pure white.

 

Image

There is one image in this posters which is of the female lead. The image is not scary, however it is eeerie, I think this is due to the elegance of the characters, as she does not look like she could harm someone but the red eyes and the dark heavy makeup contrasts these ideas. The image is in the centre of the poster. There is also a soft focus around the image that stops at the main feature features to put emphasis to this and to bring it to the attention of the viewer. The main character is also looking directly at the viewer, giving the poster a eerie vibe.

 

Layout

The image on the poster covers the majority of this poster and the text is placed on the bottom third of the poster, I think they have done this so that the views pays close attention to the image rather than text. The main pieces of text that stands out it the title which is places in the centre of the poster but low down, so that it doesn't bring attention away from the image. There is also information on where the film has been shown at festivals placed either side of the image, I think this text stands out the as well due to its font size. I think they have placed this to show that the film has been seen and is successful worldwide. The three main actors are also seen in a clear serif font, the text isn't as big as the title but is large enough to be seen, they have placed this text just above the title, I think this is as they want to viewer to notice it as it tells them that the film should be successful considering the other films they have been in.

 

The Rite

 

Text
The title of the film, the tag line and the release date is the main text at the bottom that stands out, there is other text such as their website and who the producer and distributor is, however this text is not that important information and so they have put it in a smaller font size. The title text has a small 'the' as it is not significant to the film however  the text 'rite' is the largest text on the poster, which is a conventions of psychological thriller posters. in the title we are shown that religion, specifically Christianity is important and plays a big part in this film, this is done by the 't' being made not from letters but a crucifix. The text is in a metallic colour connoting the importance of metal or something metallic in the film.

Colour
The main colours used in this text are black, grey, and red tones. The black suggests darkness and black being used is a generic convention of psychological thrillers. The main grey colour is on the image of the main character, his skins is grey toned and even though it is a light colour, which usually suggests purity, it is dull, making the man look cold, he is also surrounded by darkness which emphasises the point that he is 'evil'. The red tones in this image suggests blood is present in the film, as it about religion it could suggest sacrifice.

Image
There are two images which have been layered over one another. The image on the bottom layer is of Anthony Hopkins(the main character) and layered on top of it is a large crucifix which his face is coming through behind it to show that there is a connection between this man and Christianity. The outside of the crucifix consists of fleshy tones and red tones connoting that humans may be hurt in this film. Furthermore the sides of the crucifix looks like a blade suggesting that Christianity causes conflict and pain in this film.

Layout
The tagline is just above the title of the film and so it looks like it reads 'You can only defeat it when you believe. The Rite.' I think they could have done this to show that there is something called 'the rite' in this film that needs to be defeated. I also think they have placed the text 'Academy award winner Antony Hopkins at the top as they want the viewer to see this information as he is a successful actor and therefore the film should be. Moreover I think they have placed him as the main image, firstly as he is the main actor but also as viewers looking at the poster may have seen his other work  and therefore would be interested in watching this film.

Repentance

Text
Colour
Image
Layout

 

Text
Colour
Image
Layout

 

 

 

Mood Board For Psycologial Thriller

Mood Board

The films I have included in my mood board are

• The Shining
• The Purge
• The Ring 
• The Last House On The Left
• Cabin In The Woods
• The Blair Witch Project
• Paranormal Activity
• Sinister
• Friday 13th
• Vacancy
• Child's Play
• The Woman In Black

Antagonist

 Here are some real life media examples of generic conventions of psychological thrillers. I have included an iconic image from the film the shining of the antagonist, who is a male, this is one generic convention. Furthermore the antagonist will usually have some disability where that is mental or physical or they will have a morphed/mutated face, this is as it is more frightening to see.The second convention I have is masks, this feature is seen in many psychological thrillers as it hides the antagonists identity. 

Setting

Another generic convention I have identified is the location. They are usually in a isolated location or an historic old building with some history, usually a haunted house. I think this is so that the protagonist cannot be heard

Characters

 Another generic convention is that children are usually seen in psychological thriller films. I believe this is as they are usually vulnerable and innocent and so it is more frightening seeing a child being portrayed as something evil. Similar to this is the use of dolls, again they are objects belonging to children and so they are seen as being nonthreatening, also they are objects that do not have any life in them. Furthermore most people have one of these in there house and so they could relate to the object as it could happen to them and will be frightened of this object. The last generic convention I have included on my mood board is of an female victim, they are seen as being vulnerable and they need to be protected.

 Mise-en-scene

Low key lighting and a foggy setting is also a generic convention of psychological thrillers this is as it makes the footage unclear to see and therefore unexpected things can come onto the screen. I have included a photo from the ring of the antagonist as the dark hair is another generic convention. 

Possession is a common feature also in psychological thrillers as it is an event that could happen and has not been proved whether it happens or not.

Camerawork

Where camera work is concerned I think that hand held camera are a generic convention as it connotes non stability and makes the audience film uneasy.

Reasearching Physological Thriller Traliers

 

Now You See Me
Genre
The genre of this film is a thriller/ Action adventure

Narrative
What comes across from the trailer is that thsi is about a group of people who are performing a magican show, however this is actually a plan to rob a bank.

Unique Selling Point
The USP  is that it is anaction adventure but with magic and tehrefore will attrack a wider range of audiennces

Target Audience
I think the target audience is young adult males ageg 15-25 as it looks quiet fast pace.

Music
There are no lyrics in the music. The music is like drum and base, is upbeat, this could be to hype up the viewer and to attrakc and younger audience and to show the film is exciting and young.

Shot types/camera angles
There are long panning shots showing location so that the audience can tell if they could potentially want to watch the film. There are also lots of  high and low angle to show power.

Pace
fast pace

Dialogue
presenting a show

Voice over
Morgan Freeman gives an insight to the story of the film

Special Effects
explosions, computerised holograms

Credits and Inter titles
silver/ mirror on blue and black




Safe Haven
Genre
The Genre is a Romantic Thriller

Narrative
The story is about a woman who is running away from someone. she meets another man who lost his wife. There is a romantic interest between them. she feels safe with him but this gets disrupted by her ex

Unique Selling Point
The USP of the film is that it is a hybrid genre, it is a romantic thriller

Target Audience
I think the target audience is woman age 15-25 as woman in there twenty's will be the same age as the main character

Music
The Music is romantic sad music.It starts of quiet and slow but slowly builds up when the focus is on her being followed.

Shot Types/Camera Angles
There are a lot of mid shot of the characters, this establishes character relationships. Also there are long shots of the settings. Furthermore the shot at the beginning of the main character getting out the bus tell us she is in a new place.

Pace
There are some fast past short clips but also longer clips showing setting and character interaction and they are also telling us the narrative.

Dialogue
'I've had things happen to me in the past,things that scare me', 'he's here' 'it's everything i was scared of', these three piece of dialogue tell us that character is afaird of a man who will soon find her.When she say 'i'm happy hear with you' it shows the romantic side of the film and that she feels safe with him.

Voice over
The main female characters starts talking on one shot then it carries on to another where she is not talking but teh sentance is being carried on. Also at the end the main man says 'you're safe with me' plus a long shot of the two characters cuddling.

Special Effects
There is slow motion when she is running, this could connotes that she can not get away from her ex fast enough.

Credits and Inter titles
The text is black,bold and easy to read. There is also text saying what other books the writer of this book has written as the viewer might be interested in some of the other books and therefore might like this story. The text is also synchronous with the music.

The Strangers
Genre
Psychological Thriller

Narrative
This film is about a couple who are potentially getting married are staying at a house in isolated area. There house gets broken into by three masked people and they are trying to kill the couple.

Unique Selling Point
The unique selling point is that while it is a Thriller is an meant to scare you there is also a romantic story in it which could attract a wider audience

Target Audience
I think the target audience would be men and women aged 16-25 as at this age you could be in a relationship or it could be for young females to see together.

Music
The first twenty seconds of the trailer shows the romantic side of the film, and so there is slow, elegant and almost a sad piano song playing. After that when they show that intruders want to enter the house the low pitch music slowly rises louder then comes to a holt when you see the masked person, it then all of a sudden becomes loud. there is also music that is meant to be playing in the house which ends up playing the same part of the song as if it is a scratched record.

Shot Types/ Camera Angles
At the beginning there is a lot of long shots to show the setting, these are then followed by close ups of details of the house e.g the petals on the bed, this shows there is romance. there is also mid shots at the beginning which establish the characters relationship. There is long shots also as the trailer goes on of the places where loud sounds are coming from. there is also close ups which show us they are worried and are trying to protect themselves, i.e the lady locking the door. Furthermore there are also long shots which show the victim and the masked people in the same shot to show the characters fear.

Pace
The trailer starts off slow paced as it shows the relation ship between the characters and lets the viewer know the setting. However when the masked peoples presence is known the pace picks up with lots of shot clips with a couple slower clips in between to break them us at to tell the views a bit more of the narrative, as from lots of short clips we wouldn't have much of an idea of the story line.

Dialogue
The dialogue at the beginning reinforces the idea of love 'you are my girl' and 'I love you Jimmy'. The female says 'what is that?' this shows the views that there is uncertainty which a thriller should contain. The dialogue that tells us they are in an isolated location is when jimmy says 'I haven't heard a dog bark or a car pass'. At the end of the trailer the female lead says 'why are you doing this to us' showing us that they have had contact with the masked people, this makes the viewer wonder what they are doing to them and why.

Credits and Inter titles
'Inspired by true events' the text appears then slowly disappears. 'we always tell ourselves there's nothing to fear' ' But sometimes were wrong' 'this summer' 'what are you afraid of'' 'the strangers' 'liv tyler' 'scott speedman' 'coming soon' 'www.thestrangers.net'

Black Swan Trailer Shot List

Black Swan
0:01- age rating
0:05- fade to black
0:07- fox search light picture presents logo
0:08- crosscreek picture
0:10- long shot of girl doing ballet with a spot light on her
0:12- close up on girls feet dancing
0:14 - mid shot of girl dancing
0:17- fade to black
0:20- opening night Venice film festival 2010
0:21- official selection Toronto film festival 2010
0:22- high angle on ballet dancers practising together
0:24- close up on ballet teacher
0:25- close up on main character
0:25- shot reverse shot between mother and daughter(main character)
0:28- mid shot of girl practising dancing
0:29- long shot of girl practising
0:30- a film by darren aronofsky
0:33- low angle of crowed looking at the teacher and dancer
0:34 - close up on dance teacher  looking at main character
0:35- close up on main character smiling
0:36 -face to black .
0:36- director of the wrestler and Requiem for a dream
0:39 - close up of   a new character introducing herself to main character
0:40 - mid shot of main characters walking from behind
0:42 - close up of teacher and main character together closely watching new character dance
0:43 - mid shot of Lily dancing
0:44 close of of teacher and main character
0:46 - close up on Lily
0:47 - close up on main character
0:48 - long shot of main character daning
0:49- close up on main characters face as she dances
0:50- long shot of main characters in the dressing room
0:51 - close up on main characters skin with a rash
0:53 - close up and main character where you see her mother in the back ground asking about the rash
0:54 -close up on mothers face
0:56- close up on teacher touching main character saying with the diagic sound ' feel my touch'
0:57- close up on both of there faces closely together as he say 'respond to it'
1:00- close up on main character
1:02 - close up on Lily saying 'you really need to relax'
1:03 - close up the girls rash getting worse
1:04 -shot reverse shot on mother, main character and the mother cutting the main characters nails
1:08 - mid shot of Lily and a male dancing flirting
1:09- mid shot of main character
1:10- mid shot of Lily
1:10- mid shot of a vase being smashed against glass, you can see the main character walking to it
1:12- mid shot of main character standing in front of mirror, where here reflection turns around but she doesn't actually move
1:14 - close up on main character looking up the. the lights have turned off
1:15 - fade to black
1:16 - close up on a jewelry box
1:18 - close up on a foot doing ballet
1:19 - mid shot of main character walking down an alley and someone who looks like her walks past her
1:21- close up on main character saying 'how do you know where i live?' then a close up on Lily saying ' i have my ways'
1:21- close up on Lily's hand moving towards the main character crouch
1:23 close up on main character with her eyes shut
1:24- close up on Lily looks wide eyed at main character
1:25- close up on main character saying 'she's after me'
1:25 close up of main character turning around and is startled that someone is behind her
1:26 - mid shot of main character running towards Lily
1:27 - close up of main character and Lily kissing
1:27- mid shot of main character underwater.
1:28 - long shot of bathroom where you see the main character in the bath. followed by a close up on main characters face shocked
1:29 - long shot of the stage with a ballet dancer walking across
1:30- close up on a black figure with feathers
1:31 - close up on main character shocked and starts running away
1:32- mid shot of dancers practising ballet
1:33- quick close up on someone who looks like the main character, at this time the lighting is red. followed by a close up of main character, the lighting is now green
1:34 - main character dancing
1:34- mid shot of a painting
1:35 - mid shot of main character screaming
1:36 - same mid shot of painting but the portrait is screaming and the main character tears it down
1:36 - mid shot of main character dancing throughpeople
1:36 - mid shot of main character running down a corridor
1:36 - long shot of main character touching herself
1:37- close up of main character peering through a black door
1:37- long shot on ballet dancing dancing on stage
1:38- close up of main character looking up shocked
1:38- mid shot of main character pushing someone into a mirror and smashing it
1:39- mid shot from behind of main character dancing in front of an audience
1:39- close up of mother and main character fighting
1:39- mid shot of main character dressed in white ballet clothes
1:40- main character dressed as black swan
1:41- fade to black
1:43- Academy award nominee Natalie Portman
1:46- Vincent Cassel
1:48- Mila Kunis
1:52- close up on main characters skin where she is pulling out a feather
1:54- fade to black
1:55- extreme close up on main character who was red eyes and is looking at the feather
1:56- fade to black
1:58 -black swan
2:00- credits
2:04- coming soon blackswan2010.com
2:06 -fade to black