Location Reports

Broomfield Park

Address:
Broomfield Lodge
Broomfield Avenue
London
N13 4JQ‎

Sound problems could be traffic as we our filming late at night and it could be very busy.

We have chosen this park because it has the best settings for our film. The playground is not a far distance from were we are mainly shooting as well. We are not shooting in the playground, because of child protection laws, but we are going to have a few snapshots to set the scene for our thriller movie.

The reason we picked Broomfield Park as our location for our thriller film is because it has enough open space which is very convenient for our thriller opening, as our thriller opening requires enough space because we have to film people running.It also has a pathway next to the bench which is good as it will help create tension for the audience when the actors are walking through the park. It helps the audience also focus on them walking. It also has trees in the background which are very eerie when it is dark. There is a playground in this park also which is why we chose it as it has swings and a merry-go-round for our camera shots.

Questionnaire Analysis

Do you know the difference between thriller and horror movies?
50% of our target age group said that they were able to recognise the difference between thriller and horror movies. However, 40%, which is a high percentage, are not able to recognise the difference. So to make our opening good, we'll make it clear that it's an thriller opening by using codes and conventions, i.e. non-diegetic, creepy music but nothing like violence or heads being thrown around the screen because that's more of a horror convention.

Do you enjoy ambiguity or giveaway plot lines?
80% of our target audience claimed to preferring ambiguity plot lines. This makes it easier for us as it's a thriller opening and it will be more interesting when it keeps the audience at the edge of their seats.

Shooting Script

Broomfield Park 11:00pm
[Andreas, Imani, Aidan and Michael]

ANDREAS, AIDAN AND IMANI ARE WALKING THROUGH BROOMFIELD PARK


[Andreas, Imani, Aidan and Michael]

ANDREAS, AIDAN AND IMANI ARE WALKING THROUGH BROOMFIELD PARK
Imani:
Aidan have you got modern warfare 2 yet?
Aidan:
Yeah, I got it the day it came out
Andreas:
Yeah, it's the best game I've played for a while
Imani:
What rank are you
Andreas:
Hold up, what's going on with the blood everywhere, and what is that
ALL THREE BOYS THEN LOOK AT THE GROUND
Aidan:
[Laughs] Look at that homeless man, I can smell him from here
Andreas:
Junaed, I dare you to take his alcohol
Imani:
I don't think that's a good idea
Aidan:
Just do it, what's the problem
Andreas:
Quick!
IMANI SLOWLY WALKS OVER TO THE HOMELESS MAN. AFTER A SLIGHT PAUSE HE TAKES THE ALCOHOL. AIDAN TAKES THE ALCOHOL FROM
IMANI
Andreas:
[Laughs] Now get his hat as well
Aidan:
[Laughs]
Imani:
What, why?
Andreas:
Just do it!
IMANI WALKS OVER TO THE MEN, SLOWLY TAKES HIS HAT, BUT THE HOMELESS MAN WAKES UP. ANDREAS AND AIDAN THEN RUN OFF
IMANI STANDS SHOCKED FOR A FEW SECONDS, THEN RUNS OFF. HE THEN TRIPS OVER THE HAND. THE HOMELESS MAN THEN WALKS OVER TO IMANI
Michael [homeless man]:
You've had your fun, now I'm going to have mine
End of film opening

Casting

• Michael Mann will act as the homeless man
• Junaed Badat will act as the frightened boy
• Andreas Kavallares will act as the leader of the group
• Aidan Scoutter will act as the ditsy boy

MICHAEL MANN - THE HOMELESS MAN
Our group decided to choose Michael Mann as the homeless man because he's good at doing intimidating voices which will be important in creating tension for the audience.
Our group decided that the costume of the homeless man will consist of a black scruffy coat (to show that he is poor) and a red shirt underneath to connote danger -seeing as he will be acting as a potential killer in the thriller opening.


JUNAED BADAT - THE FRIGHTENED BOY
We chose Junaed Badat to act as the frightened boy because he is good at making facial expressions and this will be vital in order to show a clear range of emotions. These emotions will be highlighted through close ups or extreme close ups to show their significance. It will also give the audience more knowledge about the personality of the characters; for example: a character that often has a worried facial expression denotes that they are a character that is quite tense and on edge all the time.



ANDREAS KAVALLARES - THE LEADER OF THE GROUP
We chose Andreas Kavallares to act as the leader of the group because he has the natural quality of being quite a bold and assertive person. In order to emphasise that he has higher status we all think it's best to use a lot of confident body language such as: walking tall with his head and shoulders back - to show confidence or cockiness , using his hands a lot while talking to show his authority (emphasizing his points while speaking by firmly shaking his finger or palm in beat to his words) and walking with wide, long steps to show a powerful stride.


AIDAN SCOUTTER - THE DITSY BOY
We chose Aidan Scoutter to act as the ditsy boy because like Michael Mann, he is good at using his body language and facial expressions - which will be useful in order to convey the simple-minded, over exaggerated ditsy character that we would like to portray.

All of the casting characters have been chosen based on their ability to show good body language,facial expressions as well as other aspects like how well they use their tone of voice; we wanted the cast to be chosen this way so that the acting skills are good enough to make the thriller opening realistic.

Production schedule

Film Treatment of Silent Night - Thriller Film Opening

One evening three daring teenage boys walk through a deserted park late at night.
As they are talking and walking they come across a range of unusual objects. One is a hand which is covered in blood and many cardboard boxes with traces of blood on them. The boys are all slightly frightened but they continue to walk, not wanting to be seen as wimps.
As they continue to walk they come across a homeless man lying on the bench. He is dressed in a black scruffy coat and a red t-shirt and is using cardboard boxed to keep himself warm.
The fact that there is alcohol on the bench is clearly looking for trouble; the boys notice this and all three have different reactions. One of the boys is extremely terrified and wants to go home, the other boy wants to steal the man's alcohol, the third slightly ditsy boy just goes along with the idea. The first boy is dared to take the alcohol.
The first boy, despite being unsure about whether he should take the alcohol or not, decides to go along with it anyway as a result of being pressurized.
After succeeding in his dare, the boy is then dared to take the man's hat as well; this time, however, he is unfortunate as he wakes the homeless man. The other two boys run off, leaving their friend behind looking shocked. He drops the hat and begins to run away but fails as he trips down over the hand. The homeless man is now fully awake and is standing over the boy. Our film opening then ends with a grin on the homeless man's face and him signalling to be quiet by putting his finger over his lips.

Research On Codes & Conventions

The General codes and conventions often used in the thriller genre:
• Quick cuts and camera angle changes
• Music that gives tension
• Lighting is dark and shadows are used a lot
• Mirrors and stairs
• Isolated suburban settings, cities or quiet country villages (rural areas)
• Flashbacks
• Jumpy moments
• The plots are scary
• There is usually a damsel in distress – a character at great risk
• Near-death scenes
• Large threatening weapons or props e.g. knives
• Themes are usually based around the fears of society, e.g. being isolated, entrapped, murdered, terrorism and pain

Key films of the thriller genre: Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, Funny Games, Taxi Driver, The Game, The Shining, The Manchurian Candidate, The Sixth Sense, Fatal Attraction, Seven


EXAMPLES OF CODES & CONVENTIONS USED IN THESE MOVIES
The films above use a range of codes and conventions mentioned above. One example we can look at is Psycho. The opening of psycho uses a lot of symbolic codes – for example the on screen credits; the typography is broken up and this could connote the idea of mental illness (being a psychopath), the text is broken which suggests it is trying to portray the broken mind of a psycho and the unnatural mental state they have. This uses a convention of thriller movies because it represents a certain theme, in this case, a mental illness – the separation of the letters could also connote being isolated from society and being alienated. Another convention of thrillers that is used in psycho is the music that gives tension throughout the film; an example of this could be the music (technical & symbolic code) heard at the start of the film which is sharp and racy – it proves to effective in setting the mood for the film as it puts the audience at the edge of their seats.
In the sixth sense there is a sense of desolateness in the film. The troubled little boy often wanders around at night by himself in the dark and this creates suspense because the audience is already encouraged to think that something or someone will pop up unexpectedly; a character being deserted often leads to jumpy
moments when something or someone appears and it is a effective and convention used in thrillers to shock the audience.




EVALUATION
Based on previous thriller’s I’ve researched, I can use the knowledge about codes and conventions of thriller movies and the movies I’ve watched to develop ideas for the thriller movie opening I will be doing in the future.
Here are some of my ideas:

Evaluation

Evaluation
Our group did a thriller clip that lasted a few minutes. Our intention was to include a number of camera shots and codes (symbolic/technical) we had previously learn about and link it to our storyline.
We used panning on the characters when something bad was about to happen; we did this because we wanted to build the suspense as the audience shares the view of the character.

We used a variation of still images which showed how a character had died - this created the slightly dramatic effect that we wanted because it was quite abrupt so it shocked the audience.
Other groups assessed our work and agreed that
we needed to improve on the following things:

• Steadiness of the camera
• A clearer storyline (e.g. HOW did the characters die and WHY?)
• Louder conversations to avoid muffled sounds as the audience may miss important information.

Things we did well:

• It was funny to watch
• There was a Good use of camera shots and angles e.g. a lot of close-ups and over the shoulder.

H/W - FILM NOTES & Evaluation (for Fri 9th Oct 09

FILM 1 : Star Trek (2009)
Genre: Sci-fi
Intended Audience: 12a ( kids aged 12 and anyone older, probably aimed at males in particular, all classes and ethnicities)

Technical & Symbolic Codes used & how they are used: technical -beeping noises of machines at start of film and the panning of the spaceship sets the scene, muffled walkie talkie sounds, symbolic & technical: sharp,mysterious music; symbolic: lighting shines on character as he hears important news, this could highlight the moment in the film as well as the non-diegnetic music, costumes: space suits - lets audience know current setting, flashing lights: could be used to symbolize a crisis

Conventions: dim lighting to create tension, space ships,mysterious music, fire effects, aliens (or deformed looking creatures), setting is usually in outer space, machines in the space ship,flashing lights (which also come in horrors/thrillers)

Institution: Spyglass Entertainment & Bad Robot Productions. Distributed by PARAMOUNT PICTURES



FILM 2 : When Harry Met Sally (1989) Genre: ROMANCE

Intended Audience: 15 (mainly teenagers as well as those over 15)

Technical & Symbolic Codes used & how they are used: technical & symbolic: jazzy music, piano at start -> jolly happy music to get audience into mood of film maybe?, costume: old woman at beginning is wearing white blouse and pink skirt, pink could symbolise her love for her husband; the girl at the beginning is wearing a yellow shirt with a black cardigan and yellow symbolised happiness but the black cardigan which is covering her could denote that there is an obstacle that is stopping her from being completely happy, technical: fast panning around the couple kissing, could be used to suggest how they are so in love they are oblivious to everyone and everything around them OR it could show that because the panning is fast, that the love is not really LOVE as the moment is being hurried...audience is able to share this passionate moment, symbolic: girl shows hurt facial expression when she sees couple kissing - denotes feelings of jealousy or heartbreak.

Conventions: usually upbeat and cheerful sounding music , "i love you", kissing, a boy and a girl/man and a woman who share an interest in each other, heartbreaking moments, themes of jealousy,conflict,denial

Institution: Castle Rock Entertainment, Nelson Entertainment. Distributed by Columbia Pictures

FILM 3: I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry (2007) Genre: Comedy
Intended Audience: 12a ( kids aged 12 and anyone older, aimed at all genders, all classes and ethnicities)

Technical & Symbolic Codes used & how they are used: symbolic and technical: music at start is happy and upbeat and slightly random - makes you wander how it is relates to the film plot, technical:ringing fire alarm - diegetic sound. the red alarm is zoomed in on as well, this warns us there is going to be a fire as well as the characters; the colour red is symbolic for: danger also

Conventions:bright colours, musical alliteration, silly music in the background, a happy ending, gags (visual comic effect like falling over), jokes and people mocking each other, usually a serious character and a very comical/silly character that clash,emphasis of stereotypes

Institution: Happy Madison Productions, Shady Acres Entertainment. Distributed by Universal Pictures.

FILM 4 : BOUNTY (2009) Genre: Western

Intended Audience: 12a ( men and young men 12 and over, any class or ethnicity)

Technical & Symbolic Codes used & how they are used: Technical and symbolic - Musicat start suspicious, mysterious - creates tension, curiosity. Technical - diegetic sound such as horses galloping, Desert-like setting, there is a mid shot of the sun shining in the sky - could be symbolic code for : dream,hope; sunlight gleaming through cracks in a dim room - could be symbolic code for obstacles in way of dream. Symbolic: Man wearing black suit and hat - symbolises his dark personality - could be an evil character, 'wanted' poster zoomed in on - marks the moment for the audience.

Conventions: Costume: Cow boy hats and pants, guns, rope,violence,Desert-like settings, bartender, WANTED signs on posters

Institution: Stage Ham Films. Distributed by Barnholtz Entertainment

FILM 5 : Orphan (2009) Genre: Horror

Intended Audience: 15 ( teenagers and older, no particular race, gender,class)

Technical & Symbolic Codes used & how they are used: symbolic & technical: Sinister,
sharp music in background whilst woman is screaming from labour pains, blood dripping on the hospital floor, doctor room is black only lighting is on bed and woman who is screaming - darkness - symbolises her fear as she is hearing unbelievable news; technical codes: chainsaw

Conventions: Blood,gory images, deformed people/creatures, screaming, banging and other unpleasant sounds, dark gloomy environments; traumatizing events

Institution: Dark Castle Entertainment,Appian Way Productions. Distributed by Warner Bros.

02/10/09

FRIDAY 2ND OCTOBER - PERIODS 1-4 (MR RILEY)

In todays lesson we watched a clip of Pyscho a famous thriller film and analysed it in class.
We went over what codes & conventions means and highlighted different examples of it in the film and then after this we did mini essays of our analysis. In our mini essays we included information such as the music used and what it symbolised, the clothes the characters were wearing etc.
Then we peer assessed our work and were given a comment by whoever marked it on how we could improve it.