Opening Credits

Produced by Super-nova Studios

Editing - C-JAM Studios

Directed by Alex Long

Written by James Doughty

Sound - Marlon Huseyin-Sharp

Cinematography - Chris Woods

Starring -
James Doughty
Chris Woods
Alex Long

Analysis of Foreign Thriller Film

Editing Timetable

After recieving feedback from Amar and Tanya about our rough cut, I think that within the next week we should look at improving certain aspects of our original thriller idea.

First of all, we need to go out again and film some more shots (shots of empty corridors etc), to go with the opening credits. Also, we need to film Alex's voiceover for the opening part of our scene where the audio is bombarded with questions being asked by the victims psychiatrist.

After these have been done, we need to start quickly inset these into our original rough cut, and then think about the credits and underlying music.

While Marlon works on the music, the rest of us should work on inserting the credits and take our time with it, because otherwise we risk it looking too 'tacky' and amateur.

Once everything is done and rendered, it's time to upload to our blog, and then finish the blog itself by adding and updating existing posts.

Feedback from Amar & Tanya

Things to improve:

• Need to add more music underneath the opening sequence to build up the ending music
• Establishing shots/introduction to psychiatrist as this scene is only one shot and is 1 minute long, so we need to keep the audience interested.
• More questions from psychiatrist
• Ending is trailer-like

Positive feedback:

• Good camera shots and cuts (camera remains focused on the victim during the psychiatrist scene)
• Good acting (psychiatrist scene)
• Good sound, works well with the cuts (ending)
• Ending is trailer-like (makes you want to keep watching)

What kind of cinema would your film be released in?

I think that the kind of cinema this film would be released in would be a picturehouse, because it's technically an indie film done on a low budget.

However, if the budget were to be increased, there was more advertisement and good chance of high profit, then the film would be relased in a multiplex cinema, with the main intention of making money.

Feedback from the Class!

1. Variety of relevant blog posts.

They said that there was a good variety of posts, all relevant blog posts and easy to understand. However, they were also too brief, need more personal opinions. There were also no posts on thriller analysis.

2. Appropriate visual aids.

There was a good use of photos with the thriller theme. But, we could improve on how many visual aids we used. Also, more captions for our photos and more videos too.

3. Appropriate use of technical vocabulary

Good understanding of thriller as a genre, however a lack of technical language. Some technical vocab but could use more e.g. Juxtaposition

4. Quality of posts.

Detailed and clear in areas. Posts too brief, longer paragraphs with more detailed needed. Justify reasons for using things such as pictures/missing a few posts. Detailed analysis of films

5. Development of film

A little vague on posts explaining why they have used particular image. Ideas need to be clearer and more detailed.

Script

[This is the script for the conversation between the psychiatrist and the victim]


Psychiatrist: So [Pause] tell me what's been going on, you told me in your last session that you've been experiencing...


Victim: [Interrupting] I am not paranoid.


[Pause]


Psychiatrist: As I was saying, you said that you've seen someone following you


Victim: I'm not paranoid, someone has been following me and it's been getting worse.


Psychiatrist: Worse? Tell me what's making it worse.


Victim: It's been happening more often, for longer periods of time. And the places, the fucking places. Sometimes I see him right near my house.


Psychiatrist: Him?


Victim: Yeah, he's quite tall. Big built, you know? Like a man. How many women do you know that fit that description?


[Pause]


Victim: The last time. That was the worst.


Psychiatrist: Why?


Victim: OK, so... Yeah, I was on my way out of college. And, I could have sworn there was some guy following me. Like, everywhere.


Psychiatrist: Did you see his face?


Victim: No.


[Pause]


Victim: I was outside, and I could have sworn this guy was behind me. So, y'know, I turned around. Couldn't see anyone or anything. So I turned back around, and there it was.


(Cuts to the psychiatrists office)


Psychiatrist: What?


[END]

Shot List

1. Opening shot of the psychiatrist (Over the shoulder shot)
2. Shot of victims feet as he walks down the corridor
3. POV of victim walking down the corridor
4. Shot of stalker following victim
5. Victim POV shot looking around to find no one there
6. Shot of victim continuing to walk down the corridor and the stalker in the distance walking past
8. Shot of psychiatrist looking at the victim in the therapy session

Thriller Names

- Strike
- Thunder
- Twice
- Shock
- Rush
- Fate
- Paranoia 


We have decided to call our thriller 'Paranoia'

Location Ideas

Test Shots

This is a shot we could possibly use for the victim being followed through the woods.

This is a shot of some paint on a tree that could be used to represent blood.

This is a shot where the victim could be followed.

This is a shot of where the killer could hide.

This is a shot under the bridge, we took this because we thought it looked spooky.

This is another shot of under the bridge, possible where the villain could organise his crimes.

This is shot from high up looking down into the woods.

This id s point of view shot.

This is a shot of the victims feet.

Supernova Studios Logo One

This is our first logo idea.

It is effective because it implies that Paramount is on top of the world - the logo is on top of mount everest. Paramount also means that it is the most important, or of high importance.

The International

The opening scene to 'The International' uses a mixture of music and mise-en-scene to make you feel very uneasy and vulnerable. One reason is because you are very disconnected with what's going on, you feel as if you're in danger. You never actually see the bad guys face and the fact that it's out in the open makes you an easy target.

In this sequence we have an opening for a thriller called 'Fool's move' in which it shows a chess game being played. A chess game can reflect the complexities of a thriller narrative in the way that in chess you are going out to lure, trap and defeat your opponent. its also requires a lot of planning and intelligence to find out your opponents weakness so your able to trap him and defeat him which is similar in the way that in a thriller the antagonist goes out to kill or capture the protagonist and exploits their weakness.     

Memento Film Review

'Memento' (Nolan, 2000)

Christopher Jonathan James Nolan, born 30^th July 1970 is a British-American film writer, director and producer. He is the second of three children and is noted for working on films with his younger brother Jonathan Nolan – for example, ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008). His genre of film is always thriller, often a psychological thriller (The Prestige, 2006), usually accompanied by a non-linear storyline. Films written, directed or produced by Nolan include: ‘Following’ (1998), ‘Memento’ (2000), ‘The Prestige’ (2006) & ‘Inception’ (2010). He is also known for his Batman series, having written and directed two films based on the original Batman series (Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008)). He is currently working on the third and final film to the trilogy (The Dark Knight Rises), and is said to be thinking about doing a new Superman film.

Memento is a film about a man called Leonard Shelby, who after an attack on his wife in their home was hit over the head, causing brain damage which stopped his ability to make new memories. Shelby has only one goal throughout the entire film, and that is to find and kill a man called ‘John G’ who he believes killed his wife. However, as the film continues, it becomes clear that his attempts to remember what he has and hasn’t done are proving useless as the people around him are seen manipulating him. A ‘friend’ of his, Teddy/John Gammell, who is seen getting shot and killed in one of the first scenes of the film, is helping him with his mission to find the man who apparently attacked and killed his wife. Eventually, you learn that his wife survived the attack, and the story of a con artist known as Sammy Jankis turns out to be about his self. Sammy Jankis was a con artist who Shelby encountered whilst working for an insurance company. He was faking having short term memory loss, and claimed to only have memory of the last two minutes. The story is that to see if Sammy was faking his condition, his wife tricked him into making her overdose on insulin. The film eventually ends with the actual beginning to the film, the scene just before the film starts. Leonard tracks down a man called Jimmy G and strangles him in an old abandoned house. Teddy, who has turns up there to meet up with Jimmy, discovers what has happened and it is revealed that he has been manipulating Leonard. It turns out that Teddy and Leonard had already tracked down and killed the real John G more than a year before. Leonard then burns the photo he took of Jimmy, and forgets what happen, only to continue his search for John G indefinitely.

The film uses two separate story structures through the use of black and white, and colour. The colour scenes are non-linear, and are going backwards, whereas the black and white scenes of Leonard in the hotel room aren’t. The opening sequence shows this when a Polaroid photo Leonard took of Teddy’s dead body is seen un-developing on the colour filter. The genre of the film is very clearly introduced in the opening scene as being a psychological thriller. The soundtrack is quite eerie, which contrasts well with the murder scene that is being played backwards. The scene makes you ask questions. Why has he murdered this man? Why is he taking a photo? Why is this scene going backwards, it’s driving me crazy?! All questions that eventually get answered at the end of the film of course, but you’re left wondering throughout the entire film. Nolan himself has said that he wanted to put the audience in the shoes of the protagonist, Leonard Shelby. He doesn’t know who to trust, what to do or even what he’s already done. All he can do it give his self messages and little details in the hope of remembering. Mementos…

A key scene in this film is of course the opening sequence, where we see Teddy get is murdered by Leonard. However, another key scene, perhaps one of the most important in the entire film is the scene in which Sammy Jankis gives his wife the overdose of insulin. This scene is repeated throughout the film, usually whenever you see the tattoo entitled ‘remember Sammy Jankis’. The events of the scene change as the film goes on, and eventually at the end you see that it is in fact Leonard and not Sammy who gives his own wife an overdose of insulin. This scene is key with delivering the main point of the film, the confusion between what is real, and what’s not. What’s true, and what’s a lie. It gets to the point in the film when anything is possible, anyone and maybe even everyone could be the antagonist. You just don’t know.

Nolan has delivered some incredible films in his career of 21 years. The Prestige probably being number one on my list. However, it is quickly followed by this intense psychological thriller, which was originally based on a short story his younger brother Jonathan wrote called ‘Memento Moi’. Memento is a film you can watch again and again, and still be baffled by the intense narrative and non-linear storyline. I would easily recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a powerful thriller. I can only think of one reason that you should not like this film, and that is because you don’t have the intelligence to understand it.

James Doughty.