Different genres

casting notes

Casting Notes


Rick as 'Rich the gangster'
We decided to choose Rick as the gangster due to the characteristics he has which matches our ideal image of a 'gangster' such as his deep voice; this is very useful as he sounds scary which is stereotypical of a gangster. Furthermore Rick also has the enthusiasm needed to contribute to his part. Rick is also an experienced actor as he took drama in GCSE and was rewarded a grade B which also adds to the reason of why we have chosen this talented actor, he will have a beneficial input.



Raymond as 'Ty the gangster'

We chose Raymond to play as the other gangster Ty because he is tall which will symbolise a sense of authority and also contrasts with Emily(Lisa) height as she is short so will feel intimidated by him. Furthermore, another reason why we chose Raymond to play the gangster role as we wanted to meet the stereotypical aspects of a gangster that society presumes

 

Emily as 'Lisa'
We chose Emily to be our main character Lisa because she is innocent looking and you wouldn't expect her to be involved in something like this. It makes the character unpredictable because we decided not to use the stereotypical icy blonde female. She is also a very experienced actress as she studied GCSE Drama and achieved a B and she is currently studying A Level Drama. She is very reliable and very willing to play the role. 

Deconstructing the 'Se7en' title sequence

I have deconstructed a film called 'SE7EN' and it's a thriller. I decided to deconstruct this film because whilst in the process of editing the short scene opening my group and I will do, we need to have a better understanding of the title sequences with the film opening and how they work well together with the creepiness the film opening is trying to portray, in terms of thriller.

Although 'SE7EN' is quite different because usually in film opening when the characters names appear on the scene you normally see their faces as well or a bit of them, whereas in 'SE7EN' you don't. This caused tension inside me as I was so anxious to find out who these people are and their purpose in the film which makes me want to watch the rest of it (check example below).

 

Location reports/Risk assessment

Location Reports


(Everything was filmed at St Anne's Catholic High school for girls.)

1. Drama Room - where the 'house party' is going on and where Lisa will get kidnapped by the gangsters. We chose to use the drama room because it has large black curtains which creates a really dark atmosphere and setting which most parties have, this will cause tension and make the scene seem more realistic. We will use the stage lights to create a 'party' scene as it will create a joyful and playful atmosphere therefore making the actors adapt into their roles, by doing this it will reflect on their performance and make it better and realistic.

Risk assessment:

One of the risks that could potentially occur whilst filming in this room is during the party scene, if people become over excited and are jumping everywhere they may fall into the props that are placed on the back and corners of the room. To prevent this, we are going to specifically inform people on where to stand so this risk doesn’t occur.

  2. Music room - this is where the phone call between the gangster, Steve and Lisa happens as well as Lisa being taken for hostage and tied up to a chair. We chose this room because it is effective very for creating a secluded, small and confined atmosphere; therefore this will create tension and the actors’ performances will be better. Another reason for choosing this room in it's quiet and only has one window which causes tension, also because the room looks like it is hardly used as there is a dusty piano and old chairs, this will create creepiness therefore making the scene more realistic.

 

Risk assessment: As the music room is a small room; it could lead to it becoming secluded and our cast bumping into the piano. We shall prevent this through removing the piano from the room and ensuring there are no other objects in the room other than the single chair that Lisa will be tied upon.

 

 

2. Car Park - This is where Lisa gets dragged out of the party, into the car park and thrown into the back of the car. The reason we chose this car park because it is a large, secluded area where anything can happen without being noticed. Also it is unlikely for scary events to happen there therefore causing shock. The pathway to the car park will add tension as Lisa is being dragged towards the car along grass and leafs which will make it seem more realistic. 

Risk assessment: A risk that can occur in the car park could be another vehicle driving whilst our vehicle is moving/being filmed. This can be prevented through ensuring that no other vehicle is in use whilst our vehicle is moving/being filmed.
(In the end the carpark wasn't used, instead this whole scene was cut out as we couldn't get hold of a car, instead we came up with a better alternative and by cutting this scene out it will make the audience wonder how 'Lisa' got from the party to a creepy dark place- this is what we want to create, confusion/internal questioning)

 

Shooting script

Vengeance

Written by Nicole, Rosette, Nuala and Tracy.

1. LONG SHOT/INT over party scene can see everyone partying.

Directors name appear on the bottom right hand corner

Producers name appear on the bottom right hand corner.

Then cut.

2. LONG SHOT/INT of a girl being handled aggressively by two boys in the party.

Nobody see’s and there’s no speech happening.

Non-diegetic dramatic musing playing over.

Then cut.

3. EXTREME LONG SHOT/EXT the girl and two boys is outside in front of a car, the girl is still being man handled one of the boys have their hand over her mouth so muffled cries can be heard from the girl.

4. EXT. Slowly turns into a MID SHOT and the girl is viscously thrown into the boot of the car. Girl screams.

EXTREME CLOSE UP SHOT of girls face, emotions of scarce are conveyed to the audience, and then the boot is shut and a loud banging noise is made to represent this action.

CAR DOOR SLAMMED, ENGINE REVVING. The car is driven quickly.

5. INT; PANNING SHOT from the girls feet(which are tied up) up to the girls face then EXTREME CLOSE UP SHOT can see fear and anxiety in the girls eyes.

6. INT; CLOSE UP SHOT on a hand with black gloves on holding a phone placed on Ty's ear.

Rich: I've got your girl. You thought i was joking.. I already told you dont mess with me.

7. INT: CLOSE UP SHOT on Lisa's face and a black glove holding a phone near her mouth(which is on loudspeaker)

Lisa: Steve, what's going on, why am I here?

Steven: Look, don't worry I'll make sure you're safe, ok... I love you.

Rich snatches phone from her ear.

8. INT: CLOSE UP SHOT on Ricks mouth area whilst still holding the phone with the black glove on.

Rich: You know what to do.

9. INT: EXTREME CLOSE UP SHOT on the telephones screen and black gloves touching the end call button
NON DIGETIC SOUND of the phone cutting off(beep sound)

Preliminary Task

Preliminary task with Chantelle, Rosette Emma and  myself.

Feed Back from audience:
Deniece: ''The camera shots were really good and the person videoing done it close enough for me to hear every word the people in the clip were saying''
Esther: '' The lighting wasn't too good but the shots were very well displayed''

Self assesment:
I think I have improved from the preliminary task due to the reason on me developing a more steady hand to film and better understand of the different kinds of shots e.g. extreme close up shot, close up shot, panning shot etc. I have also learned to slow down when changing from shot to shot to get a better view of everything e.g. characters speaking, mise en scene and maybe pausing the camera when changing shots would have been helpful as it was a hassle switching to the person speaking going in a back and forth sequence. Overall, I think this could be better in terms and the shots and lighting... in the future whilst filming my short scene I will make sure I get better lighting and pause more frequently.

Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between your group?
I worked with Chantelle, Rosette and Emma. We were able to manage the task between us as we decided the people who took drama previously in GCSE should actually be in the clip therefore leaving the others to film. Suggestions were being given by everyone in my group including myself, about what types of camera shots should be used and how we should portray the camera shots whilst filming, also the way in which we should speak in the clip so that the camera can have enough time to go from face to face as we were unaware of the technique of pauses the camera when the next person is speaking.

Story board

Camera shots

 

point of view shot

extreme long shot

 long shot

extreme close up shot

 close up shot

Mid shot

Survey Results

 

Analysis of Questionnaire:

Question 1 –

Our film opening target audience is for 16-18 year olds so we made sure that we asked the right age of people for our questionnaire.

Question 2 –

We asked this question so we know what the gender of people are, our film opening is for both genders so we done 9 males and 11 females. We had more females due to going to an all-girls school.

Question 3 –

Even though this was not the most popular of answers, we chose to do a crime thriller. This is because as a group we thought this would fit our target audience the most. But we did take into account what was voted as the most popular so we added some psychological features in to the opening.

Question 4 –

People voted for create tension as the reason to why they prefer these thrillers. We ensured that we made our opening have a lot of tension to keep the target audience on the edge of their seats.

Question 5 –

Music was what many of the people we asked said frighten them the most in a thriller. In our opening we have used a lot of music/sounds to create an eerie feel.

Question 6 –

Many people said a dramatic event attracts their attention most in a thriller. We took this into consideration and in our thriller we have a very penetrating opening with a very intense scene taking place.

Question 7 –

A clear number of people suggested that a thriller should commence with a chase scene. Our thriller doesn’t actually start with a chase scene but there is a strong car scene involved in the opening. We open our thriller with a party scene as we thought this would appeal majorly to our target audience of 16-18 year olds.

Question 8 –

A large majority of people who answered the questionnaire said that only a little bit of the plot should be revealed in the opening. We thought about this and decided to only reveal a little bit in the actual opening so we aren’t giving away too much too soon.

film treatment

'Vengeance' is a crime-thriller which follows Steven who is caught up in the world of crime, drugs and guns.
Lisa, Stevens girlfiend gets kidnapped at a house party. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves and partying oblivious to the fact that she has been dragged out of the party and thrown into the back of a car.
She later wakes up in a dark room tied to a chair; screaming, crying and yelling for help; questioning why she is there. One of the kidnappers calls her boyfriend who receives an anonymous phone call from the gang members (who he owes £10,000 too). Rich, one of the gangsters is demanding money from Steve and threatens to kill his girlfriend if he doesn’t receive his money within two weeks. He places the phone to Lisa’s ear who then starts crying even and beging him to save her. Steve tells her that he loves her and will save her before the time is up.

The kidnapper grabs the phone from Lisa and lets him know that he has 2 weeks to pay them back or he will never see his girlfriend again, and he hangs up without giving either of them any time to respond. Throughout the film, the gang make Lisa commit many crimes such as drug dealing and keeping weapons and it is up to her boyfriend to save her from these dangerous tasks.

Steven uses his connections to work with people in the gang who he gets to spy on them and send messages back and forth to his girlfriend. Together they create a plan to set up the gang and runaway with the money.

Audience feedback
Kerry said: "storyline is good, but seems a bit cliche. I think the main plot of lisa being kidnapped and steven being threttened by the gangsters will be an interesting plot to keep the audience entertained. You should explain and introduce the characters a bit more clear in the film treatment, otherwise good"

Karis Jade Wright - "It's a good plot, I would personally go watch it if it was out in the cinemas, the only thing is to make your film treatment a bit more descriptive"

Deniece Ogunbayo- "I like the whole plot of it, like its a good storyline 10/10"

Valentina Uttete- "It's good, really interesting. It gives away the whole story, if that's what a film treatment is supposed to do then yeah it's extremely brilliant"

Anais Suika- " Jesus Christ, it's proper interesting. I like it"

Thriller movie survey.

1. How old are you? (circle the appropraite response)
16
17
18

2. Are you a male or female? (circle the appropraite response)
Male
Female

3. Which is your favourite type of thriller movies? (circle which you prefer)
Crime
Spy
Psychological
Political
Romantic
Horror
Conspiracy

4. Why is it your favourite type of thriller? (circle which you prefer)
Because it is exciting
Scary
Intriguing
Plays with your mind
Creates tension
Leaves you on the edge of your seat

5. What frightens you the most in a thriller? (circle which you prefer)
Music
Lightening
Flash back scenes
Sound
Camera angles
Pace

6. How does the opening of a thriller movie attract your attention? (circle which you prefer)
Drawn in by the music
Tension created through/by character
A dramatic event at the begining

7. How do you think a thriller movie should commence? (circle which you prefer)
Chase scene
Everyday life
Flash backs
Flash forwards
Present time

8. In the opening of the thriller how much of the plot should be revealed?(circle which you prefer)A little
A lot
A little bit
Nothing at all

 

Vertigo

Thriller openings. on Prezi

The Thriller genre

Welcome to my blog.

My name is Nicole Owusu, I attend St Annes Catholic High school for girls. I will be studying A-level media, thriller movies. Click on my other posts to view what I have done so far.