Final Idea

After a long discussion with our group, we have put all of our ideas together and drafted out the basis of our final idea:

It starts off with a shot looking at the sky which then pans down to a killer either swinging on a swing or sitting on a bench in a park (with a church in view?). Killer is looking down at a happy picture which happened in the past of he/she having fun and mucking around with friends.


Graphic match to when it actually happened and you see them having fun. Shot goes back to killer on the bench or swing then over-shoulder shot to show picture still moving but then drops and cracks. As the frame drops maybe the motion will be slow.


Close-up of cracked picture then mid-shot of killer on bench or swing we see a dead girl standing behind he/she. Killer gets up and turns to look behind him/her. See expression on both faces, different shots. Killer goes to run away.


Point-of-view shot to see girl has reappeared in front of killer. Close up of her eery smile. Same shot of killers horrified eyes. POV again of girl in front leaping at camera/killer.


Pitch black screen and all you can hear is the scream of the killer and then more screams and up comes the title of the movie 'R3v3ng3'.






We have been discussing different shots and locations for this. We have yet to decide what they are going to be. We have got one of our main characters (dead girl) already casted, however still deciding on other characters. Also we are thinking of using a birds eye view to look down at the killer and the dead girl just before we see the eyes and mouth.
Our idea will become more detailed and planned once we start practising our camera techniques and capability and computer editing.

Alfred Hitchcock

I thought it would be a good idea to research one of the best thriller producers and filmmakers of all time. I found the following information on Wikipedia.

Alfred Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980), was a British filmmaker and producer who was renowned for his techniques in suspense and psychological thrillers. Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career spanning six decades. He remains one of the best-known and most popular filmmakers of all time.

The experiences that Hitchcock has had are often shown throughout his work. On numerous occasions, Hitchcock said he was once sent by his father to the local police station with a note asking the officer to lock him away for ten minutes as punishment for behaving badly. This idea of being harshly treated or wrongfully accused is frequently reflected in Hitchcock's films.
Hitchcock's mother would often make him address her while standing at the foot of her bed, especially if he behaved badly, forcing him to stand there for hours. These experiences would later be used for the portrayal of the character of Norman Bates in his movie Psycho.

"Once the screenplay is finished, I'd just as soon not make the film at all...I have a strongly visual mind. I visualize a picture right down to the final cuts. I write all this out in the greatest detail in the script, and then I don't look at the script while I'm shooting. I know it off by heart, just as an orchestra conductor needs not look at the score...When you finish the script, the film is perfect. But in shooting it you lose perhaps 40 per cent of your original conception."



The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.
— Alfred Hitchcock

Shadow of a Doubt (1943) - Alfred Hitchcock

Whilst watching the opening sequences of 'Shadow of a Doubt' in class, we analysed every aspect of it.
The sequence opens with old-fashioned dancing representing the past. The scene then dissolves to a polluted, industrial setting. There is a long-shot to show the setting, then zooms to the window suggesting that this is where the main character is.
When the setting changes to the room through the window, the main character (Charlie) is lying on the bed (could be either the protagonist or the antagonist at this stage). There is lots of money scattered around carelessly, with luxury items on show. Apart from the hand moving, character seems lifeless. He barely registers when the woman enters the room; he shows no reactions and emotions are highly controlled. Next, when the woman pulls down the blinds; a shadow is drawn over his face and he seemingly comes 'alive' again - representing his dark personality.
The next scene shows him going to meet two other men who have been either looking for this man, or following him. The music is very tense, creating a very unsettling atmosphere.

The later scene is set in a rich, peaceful and energetic town. Hitchcock uses the same technique of zooming into the window, then into that perceived room where the niece of Charlie is. She is laying in the exact same position as him suggesting she is the 'mirror image' of him.
This film includes the film of mirroring.

Issues raised by the brief.

Whilst looking at our ideas and comparing them to the brief we have been given, we have realised that actually we might have to cut down our ideas. After considering and working out how much we have decided to include, we have noted that the 2 minute duration might be a lot less than the possible duration when we film our thriller. For this reason, we have concluded that our final idea needs to be shorter than our other possible ideas for this to work.

Target Audience

After much consideration, we have decided that our target audience would be between 16-25. This is because some scenes would seem quite scary or haunting to an audience any younger than the age of 16. Also, the fact that the cast would mainly consist of young people/teenagers, any older than the age of 25 and it could possibly lose the relativity of the thriller. We want to create something that people can relate to some of the characters, so this age group as our target audience would be quite ideal if we could reach out to them.

Research into target audience.

To get an idea of what people expected from thrillers within the target audience, we created a questionnaire. From this we want to get to know the views of our audience so that we do not fail to satisfy.



1. Gender

2. Age

3. Most enjoyable part of watching a thriller?
Gore, Suspense, Thrill or the Unknown (Twists).

4. What type of thriller are you more likely to see?
Action, Crime, Horror or Medical

5. Does a thriller have to have big stars to have an effective viewing?
Yes, No

6. Does a thriller have to have a complicated, inter-woven plot for it to be successful?
Yes, No



After collaborating our results together from this questionnaire, we found that the sub-genre horror is more popular with the questioned people. Also, from these chosen participants, the unexpected twists of a thriller were a more highly appreciated factor than gore, thrill and suspense (although suspense did come a close second).
A thriller would be more effective not to have well-known stars performing in it, as unknown actors make the action seem so much more real as they will not be associated with any other film which would have been released.
One last point which we found was that 75% agreed that a plot does have to have a complicated, inter-woven plot for it to be successful. The audience can submerge themselves into the storyline so much more when there are plots to be figured out.

Thriller Idea 2

After some serious thinking I have come up with another idea that our group could use for our thriller project. Below are the basic notes that the idea is based around:
 Pans from the grey, cloudy sky to the girl slowly swinging on lonely swings in the rain.
 Close-up of a photo frame she is holding in her hands (a gothic frame with the picture, black & white maybe -her and her mum/sister happy with the sun in the background) .
 As the camera zooms into the picture, church bells ring in the background.
 As the church bells ring, the scene goes back to when the photo was taken – so it looks like the girl on the swing is actually watching all of this happening, like a memory, but the church bells signify time passing and the past.
 Camera goes back to the time the picture was taken & as it was taken. Family are all together having fun.
 They start playing badminton together laughing as someone falls over (camera looks down on them, significant as this is later the victim).
 They depart and the victim is left to walk home on their own down an empty country lane.
 Camera then does a long shot to look at the victim – emphasizing that someone is watching/following.
 Mid-shot of shadow of person following.
 Mid-shot of victim as they turn around to see who is behind them, then close-up of their facial expressions of shock and fear.
 Close-up of their feet as they try to run away (and stalkers feet following), diegetic sound of footprints running behind and then a scream from the victim. No graphic view of what happens to the victim – increases suspense and fear in the viewer.
 Church bells ring again and the scene goes back to the girl on the swing, crying now in memory of the event (church bells act as a sound bridge on numerous occasions).
 She is wearing red and black, symbolises anger (red) and mourning and grief (black).
 Gets off of the swing with tears in her eyes.
 Camera follows her from behind as she passes a tree with a wanted poster on – suspect for murder of the person. Camera pans round once girl has walked away and focuses on the wanted poster.
 Straight cut to the eyes of the suspect on the poster.
 Fades into the determined eyes of the girl as she picks up a mysterious bag from the side and goes off for revenge.
 Title of the film fades onto the screen (‘R3V3NG3’) in place of where the girls’ and suspects eyes were.

Now I have thought of this idea, I will now discuss this with the rest of my group and any other ideas they may have thought of too.

Analysis of Panic Room.

The thriller film, Panic Room was directed by David Fincher in 2002; which includes stars such as Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker and Jared Leto.
I have analysed this 5 minute finale sequence which I found on youtube.
It opens with tense, non-diegetic sound which builds up on the suspense in the atmosphere as the end is near. One criminal smashes the glass to escape out of the house, and the shattering of glass everywhere could represent the fact that his dreams of getting the billions of dollars they were after could also soon be shattered too. The camera then moves to an overview of another criminal, (a high-angle shot looking down on him) which could emphasize the fact that he has become significantly weaker as he is seriously injured and covered in blood. However, the fact that he is still moving and dragging himself along looking up at the victims up the stairs could show that he is not yet finished with them.
The stormy weather outside where the first criminal is could symbolize that the criminals are not going to get the easy escape they anticipated for and that it is not going to be a 'happy-ending' for them as they wished.
As the second criminal finally pulls himself up the stairs towards his victims, the camera moves into a slightly more low-angle shot, meaning he has slightly more power over his victims at this moment.But as he lunges at Jodie Foster, the camera becomes on a more equal level; however, it becomes a low-angle shot when focusing on the ex-husband as he tries to shoot down the attacker - though he is seriously injured too. This again changes as he is pushed from the chair he was resting on and the camera fully looks down on him - showing his now extreme weakness and injuries.
Later on as the S.W.A.T corner the first criminal (Forest Whitaker), they are seemingly looking down on him from the balcony with the camera; emphasizing the fact that even though he may have more power over his victims, but the S.W.A.T team have more authority and power over him.
The film ends in the same way the film started, with the mother and daughter house-hunting - showing a fresh new start from the horrific events, time has passed and they have literally moved on.

Initial Ideas.

Recently in our group we have put together a few basic ideas on
what our media thriller project could be based around. The first
idea is that :-
The first scene will open with a girl rocking back and forth (holding
her knees), crying in a darkly lit room whilst looking into a cracked
mirror with a small stream of light shining on one side of her face
creating shadows which hide the other half. Or, the mirror could
crack at this moment, separating her reflection into two parts as
she cries.
The next shot will be graphic match to a past happier time when
she is having fun. The camera pans and tracks, following her and
her friends having a good time...
(This idea is not yet fully completed).



The next idea starts with a person lying disorientated and unconscious
on the floor. Whilst people rush to try and help them, they do not
notice another person hiding in the shadows around the corner.
The camera then flashes overhead to look down on the victim lying
on the floor, sweeping from their feet-to-head (high-angle shot).
Camera fades into the person in the shadows, as if they are standing
above the victim and looking down on them (low-angle shot looking up
to person).
Then it zooms to the strangers’ mouth as they smile/laugh cruelly;
whilst all other features are hidden by the shadows (chiaroscuro).
The camera then spins around the victim – as if it symbolises their
world turning up-side down.
This could then lead to a graphic match to earlier on in the story
where the victim wakes up to a fresh new day, happy and safe, unaware
of what lies around the corner (and quite literally too)…

These are just basic ideas, which can be edited and built upon later on in the planning stage if need be. Now we have these ideas, we can start planning on where our location for filming may take place.

Analysis of opening titles in 'Seven'.

The opening titles of 'Seven' give a disjointed insight into the antagonist of the film.
The antagonist's face is not shown, emphasizing on the mystery of it all; but there are
scratched images showing what he is doing and especially his hands. There are a few
disturbing clips showing the antagonist using a razor blade to cut the tips of his fingers
off to rid him of his fingerprints maybe. The antagonist is also seen marking out people's
eyes on pictures and scribbling out some of their faces. Pages are ripped out and pictures
are put together, which seem like a sinister scrapbook. The background music is jumpy
and at some points it sounds like there is someone screaming; which increase the
tension and suspension building in the atmosphere. This is a good example of a thriller
film.

Thriller Conventions

In class today we have discussed in more detail about what a thriller film could include:-
A crime at the core of the narrative (often murder, but not necessarily).
A complex narrative structure, with false paths, clues and resolutions.
A narrative pattern of establishing enigmas which the viewer expects to be resolved.
A protagonist who is systematically dis-empowered and drawn into a complex web of intrigue by the antagonist.
Extraordinary events happening in ordinary situations.
There are themes of identity, mirroring and/or voyeurism.
The protagonist has a 'flaw' which is exploited by the antagonist.
Titles often reflect an aspect of the pro/antagonist's psychological state.
There is often a scene near the end of the film in which the protagonist is in peril.
Mise en scene is used in such a way that echoes/mirrors the protagonist's plight.

This discussion helped as it gives us more insight in what a thriller is based around, and gives us clearer ideas of what to include in our own mini thriller production.


My own ideas on the film language of Thrillers:-

• Theme - the plot should consist of many unexpected twists and false trails to keep the audience guessing until the very end. The sub-genre of a psychological thriller shows that a thriller does not need to have gory aspects for it to be a successful thriller production.
• Camerawork - should consist of many different shots to show that as the plot thickens, then the more twists and false trails will be found. The use of high and low-angle shots could create more of an impact and shock if they were used creatively to lay the foundations for a false trail. The more we believe this, then the more successful and shocking it will be.
• Editing - jump cuts and straight cuts should be mainly used to add emphasis to the action/shocking scenes. It would build up the pace of the thriller making it more intense to watch.
• Lighting - back or under-lighting to be used on the suspected criminal or antagonist and maybe high-lighting to show who is the predicted protagonist of the production.
• Sound/Music - when something bad is going to happen in a seemingly happy/good situation, then contrapuntal music should be used.

Step Two - Research

I thought a good start to this project would be to find out at first what a thriller films' characteristics are or what it consists of.

On one website it suggests that thrillers are usually fast-paced, with the hero/protagonist being an under-dog, having to stop a more well-equipped villan before they carry out their plans. In film-noir thrillers, the hero usually dies at the expense of saving everyone else. However, it also suggests that thrillers could follow innocent citizens lives as they get drawn into danger accidentally.

There are also many sub-genres that are included under thrillers :-
For example - medical, spy, action, and supernatural, ect..

Finding these research results really helps us towards finding a basis for our own thriller video, as now we know what is expected from the genre. It also gives a couple of pointers as to what we can include and gives us some ideas as to what to do.

Step One - Group and Assignment

The assignment we have been given in our media class is to create a short (no more than a couple of minutes long), opening to our own thriller film. This thriller clip should be aimed at a 15 or 18 certificate audience. There should be no dialogue - only sound or music should be used.


The first step made to begin the media coursework is choosing the people to work with in our group.

My group includes :-

Rebecca Sabberton ( http://www.rebeccasabbertonrobertclack.blogspot.com )

Grace Cridland ( http://www.gracecridlandrobertclack.blogspot.com )

Tara Hussein
( http://www.tarahusseinrobertclack.blogspot.com )

There will be more updates as the project progresses and more decisions and plannings have been made.