Codes and conventions: This is key to enable a thriller in being a successful film.

First of all I’ll explain what codes and conventions are then what my group and I will use within our film.

Code & Conventions:

<·       Codes are system of signs that create meaning and can be divided into two categories-technical and symbolic:

<·      Technical codes- the camera works in a film.

<·       Symbolic codes- shows what is beneath the surface of what we see (a characters actions show us how a character is feeling).

<·       Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something.

We intend include in our thriller these elements:

Low key lightning

Special effect lighting

Flashbacks

Various camera angles e.g. close-ups, long shots, establishing shots , point of view shots and mid shots

Deceptive minds games

Tense music

Shadow figures

Black clothing to imply death & grief

Obsessed is the film we have based/outlined our opening sequence film too so heres some background info on it.

Obsessed is a 2009 American thriller film directed by Steve Shill. Idris Elba(Derek), Beyoncé Knowles (Sharon) and Ali Larter (Lisa). Obsessed tells the story of Lisa, an office temp, who falls in love with her boss, Derek Charles, and attempts to seduce him. Derek's wife, Sharon, learns of Lisa's obsessive behaviour, and suspects an affair.

I enjoyed the film due to its fast pace edits that built up tension when something was going to happen which made me feel on edge which I personally think is great when creating a thriller since you need that element of surprise that gets the audience. Also the obsessive behaviour and the way the character Lisa was able to get so much access so easily whilst the common person wouldn’t be about to put so much effort in to this makes me think how our characters would have to show that desperate/crazed emotion when acting. For me the best part was the ending when the two women got a chance to fight it out it was like the hero and the villain.

The film Fatal Attraction (1987) was the original film that obsessed was the remake of.

An American thriller blended with horror, starring Michael Douglas, Glenn Close and Anne Archer. The film is based around a married man who has an affair every weekend by a woman who refuses to let it end resulting in emotional blackmail, which causes her to become an obsessed stalker.

I haven’t yet seen the film but I do intend too and if it’s anything like Michael Douglas’s films that I’ve watched such as Basic Instinct then I'm sure it will be thrilling.

Narrative theory:

Narrative- the way in which a story is told in both fictional and non-fictional text.

I think that the theory which best suits our would be Tzvetan Tudorov because we want the opening scene to start in a state of equilibrium and for the entire protagonist to be happy then for it to start falling apart around them. Although aspects of Vladimir Propp theory could be seen in our film like his character roles e.g. the villain, the princess and the hero.

Narrative Techniques that I plan to add to the Thriller would be:

·      Plots and twists

·      Flashbacks

·       Misdirection

·       Mysterious Characters

·       Rotating shots

Timeline:

Due to the limited time we have of 2mins we can’t use a lot of techniques but we shall try to do our best with the time we have.

Our group have been told that we will be receiving our equipment on the 9^th March so we shall be recording as soon as. For now we will be planning what needs to be done and how it should be done. We have already chosen our location of using a cemetery in Woodgreen but later discussed it and changed the location a shrine that we will create on a lap post being symbolic of the place character A was murdered. We also plan on using the common room and the house of a member in our group. We hope that filming won’t take more than 3 weeks so we can use the rest of our time on editing.