17/12/2014

Today I have prepared for the christmas break and listed all that needs to be completed. As well as this I have looked into other research oppurtunities.

Movie Research 'Funny Games' Commentary

Feedback of Counterblow Draft

Mrs Dughan-

Great start Ciaran, but too long - the brief says a max of two minutes.

I don’t like the mask - I think you have enough footage without it

Try intercutting the car shots (which are great) with the bed shots (also great - lovely variety and framing)

Key shot is too long and should be intercut with the bed shots

Think about including other shots in the bedroom and perhaps a few more car shots without the mask.
Tom Gent- 
"Yeah you need to contrast the music some more, and yeah I think taking the mask out would be better."
Emily-
"The font was nice but when it said executive producer you cannot read it. The film felt really slow. Film was confusing but good."

Prop Choice

The main prop for the film is the mask worn by the mystery character, this is because the prop is original, mysterious and memorable. Other props we used we're the keys, the phone and the alarm clock we're used to create verisimilitude.

Music Choice

The reason I chose this music is because it was simple, effective and gradually builds.

Costume Choices

Elena Bed Outfit-
This outfit is very simplistic only featuring a white top and black leggings, the reason for this is to create verisimilitude in the audience.

Masked Person-
Obviously the key to this was the white mask itself creating fear and making the audience feel uncomfortable. As well as the mask the masked person wore mainly plain clothing to emphasize the white mask when in darkness and make sure that is the only thing that could be seen.

The Masked Person was played by Brittany Reddish as well to reduce the chance of being let down.

Actor/Actress Choice

My choice for lead actress is Brittany Reddish, someone I knew I could count on and could give me a lot of her time. That's not the only reason Brittany also played Sandy in a performance of Grease last year, this is great evidence to show she has acting experience.

Story Boards for Counterblow

The Plot line has since been changed, as the fire itself was unsafe and I simply ran out of time. The plot became a lot simpler, my lead actress would be lying in a bed having a bad dream. The camera would include several inserts to create atmosphere e.g. an alarm clock shot. I would then edit in images of a masked person which would be what the heroine would be dreaming of.

Draft 1 Counterblow

Counterblow Draft 1

Brain Storming Session

Internet Audience Research

Modern thrillers usually contain adult themes like murder, drugs, gambling, etc. Thrillers now a days are aimed at 18-30 year olds, thrillers aim to entertain us but do it by creating an almighty suspense and leaving us on the edge of our seats throughout. The reason a lot of thrillers in the modern era are 18 rated is because audiences want to be disgusted and distressed as well as thrilled. Examples of 18 rated thrillers are:

• The Usual Suspects
• Pulp Fiction
• The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
• Se7en

There are exceptions for thrillers in the modern era for example the latest installment of the Bond series, Skyfall is a rated 12 film because of it's moderate violence and occasional foul language. Another example if a rated 12 thriller is the Bourne franchise because of it's violence. Looking at the evidence it becomes apparent that spy thrillers are rated 12 and everything else described as a thriller will be a 15 rating or higher. 

Classic thrillers are a completely different story the era was much more mellow as the world 50 years ago was much more PG for example Rear Window an iconic thriller from the 1960's directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The reason for Rear Window being a PG film is because of the mild violence in the film through out. Other thrillers fit into the PG rating list another example is 39 steps another classic thriller. As above there are exceptions funnily enough the exception is directed by a man who made his name in thrillers and has already been mentioned, Alfred Hitchcock in 1960 directed a film which still today scares viewers and keeps them on the edge of there seats. The film I am referring to is of course Psycho rated 15 because of the violence shown.

Skyfall Rated 12 Example

Psycho Rated 15 Example

Pulp Fiction Rated 18 Example

Bibliography - http://www.bbfc.co.uk/

Thriller Questionnaire

The questionnaire was created in a certain way and asks questions which will help me decide which idea I'm going to use. The picture below is the original questionnaire and below that is the results I got.

Using the responses I would decide what character and the type of film I'll base my ideas on.

Why are thrillers still so popular?

Thrillers started with the godfather of the thriller Alfred Hitchcock, his films we're insanely popular in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. this is because they had the power to grip the viewer to the point that they become enthralled in the character and there story. Sadly as the movie industry developed Hitchcock's films we're left behind. That leaves the question as to why Thriller is still so big? The thriller genre upped it's game using the new technology to keep audiences on the back of there seats with more action, for example The Bourne saga and the recent James Bond film Skyfall. More action isn't the only way the thriller genre has stayed fresh, psychological thrillers have become a huge part of cinema scaring, distressing and at times disgusting the audiences who shoe up to watch films such as 'fight club', 'blood diamond' and the 'girl with the dragon tatoo'.

Production company research

Agile Profile-
Agile is a Shoreditch based production company with experience across commercials, music videos, live music and feature films. We pride ourselves on our creativity and our determination to deliver outstanding work to any brief. Our roster of directors covers a wide range of styles and we are committed to working with and developing young directing talent.
One of Agile's most recent projects is a thriller called Beast, the film is based in Jersey which is being terrorized by a serial killer. The lead character Moll is struggling with her simple life and begins to have erotic dreams about the murders, this is what scares her the most.
Agile targets films with a good story and a talented, young director, for my film to possibly be picked up by Agile the story itself would have to grab them and my director style would have to be fresh and interesting for them to see a future.

http://www.agilefilms.com/