Genre Research - Characters - William Haines

Genre Research - Characters

Genre: Psychological Thriller
Main-Genre: Thriller
Sub genre: Psychological

Character Conventions:

Crazy
Sociopath
Psychotic
Troubled
Bad History
Outcasts

The main characters in Psychological Thrillers tend to have a troubled past/history. Usually a depressing backstory or circumstances which lead to the problems that the character faces in the film. The characters usually have problems within their character traits.

The film "Inception" released in 2010 and directed by Christopher Nolan could be considered a Psychological Thriller. In it, the character Dom Cobb is a skilled thief who has a long backstory/history. Because of his history, he is tasked with something that others might consider outrageous. The character is not a psychopath, nor are any notable characters crazy.

The film "Insomnia" is a different case, released in 2002 and  also directed by Christopher Nolan, the film revolves around a mysterious homicide case. The killer is on the run and the detectives are searching for him. Throughout the film, the killer acts in violent ways and committing a few horrible crimes. For example, shooting a police officer with a firearm, hitting him in the leg. However, what is important to note is that the various characters try framing crimes and actions on each other. For example, the detective tries to frame someone by planting a weapon in his home. Various things happen throughout and the story becomes somewhat confusing. It seems like most of the characters throughout the film have troubled backstories.

Genre Research - Locations - William Haines

Genre Research - Locations

Genre: Psychological Thriller
Main-Genre: Thriller
Sub genre: Psychological

The typical locations that you would see in a Psychological Thriller:

City
Asylum
Town
Village
Prison

Out of all of these, the majority takes place in the City. This is because most of the problems that Psychological Films choose to tackle take place in an urban environment. An example of a film which does NOT take place in one of these 5 popular locations is the film called "The Wicker Man". 'The Wicker Man' is an Occult Horror/Psychological Thriller, taking place in a remote location in a fairly remote village.

We are aware that the locations present in our film are quite different from the majority of Psychological Thrillers. The only thing that is the same as most is that it takes place in a city.

Below is an extreme example of an Asylum.



Genre Research - Themes - William Haines

Genre Research - Themes

Genre: Psychological Thriller
Main-Genre: Thriller
Sub genre: Psychological
 
In terms of classification, the category is a sub genre of the broader ranging 'Thriller' category. The phrase 'dissolving sense of reality' is suitable to use when describing what most psychological films are like. Some Psychological Thrillers tackle real life issues. "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest" is not a Psychological Thriller, it is a comedy, it does tackle real life issues but in comparison to a true Psychological Thriller the situation is different. The films takes a less serious approach, while the average Thriller tackles things like "Death" or "Loss of loved ones" in a more gritty approach.

The typical themes are:

Death
Reality
Perception
Mind
Identity
Depression
Rage
Society

As well as many others.

One such example of 'Identity' being tackled in films is in the film Shutter Island directed by Scorsese and released in 2010. The film is about Teddy Daniel who has a troubled mind thanks to his past actions, the murder of his wife because she had drowned his children. He also has to deal with his actions within the second world war as he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Especially because he had witnessed a lot of death in Nazi concentration camps and had even executed the camp guards. He suffers to the point where he creates a new identity as a last defence mechanism, he slowly becomes back to his real self and then at the end his made up character becomes completely destroyed.
Psychological and Horror have similarities. The differences are, a Horror film is meant to scare the viewer while a Psychological film is meant to make the viewer feel uncomfortable or bring up social issues. 

The film "The Cell" released in 2000 in America (Director  Tarsem Singh), is a science fiction horror film with a strong Psychological Thriller plot. The film is based around the concept of 'Virtual Reality'. Throughout the film, the characters sense of reality is strewed and bent. 

Unnamed Productions Final Logo

Unnamed Productions Logo Design Process

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment

Cables:

Cables can be an issue as if someone was to slip on a cable and fall down, injury will be caused no matter to what degree it turns out to be when they hit the ground or hit anything else other than the ground. To avoid this and reduce the chances of it happening cables need to be carefully placed and considered when filming anything with the cameras or doing work on the computers.

ICT Equipment:

Electrocution:
This can take place where there is any live electricity

Fire:

Since we will be filming in someone's house there is a number of hazarders/ flammable materials which could possibly with the right conditions set on fire. This can cause serious injuries and even death so if a fire does occur then individuals must take the proper fire safety precautions to ensure everyone's safety.

The camera/tripod could be dropped:

The camera should be removed from any hazardous areas (near roads or on footpaths) and then checked for any damages. The incident should be reported to the teacher whether or not there are any damages.

Transporting the camera and tripod:

The camera and tripod should be packed away safely into their respective bags. They should be strapped onto the people carrying them and not carried facing the road, blocking the path of people or in a position which could result in a drop. If there any damages while transporting this should be reported to the teacher. The equipment shouldn't be left unattended at any time.

Filming near/on roads & footpaths:

Ensure that any pedestrians are out of the way of the shot and ensure that there is the least amount of traffic possible to reduce any safety hazards. Ensure that we aren't blocking the footpath up when filming so that there are no distruptions or obstructions to people trying to get by.

People could fall:

If someone falls they should be checked to see if they are ok and if they need any medical assitance. If they are carrying any equipment this should also be checked for damages, however this is secondary to the students health. In a particular shot there are multiple chairs strewn across the ground which are a particularly high health hazard so the actors should take the upmost care when walking through the obstructions. Once the shots are done in this room the chairs should be picked up and moved back to their original positions. Any incidents should be reported to the teacher.

Unrestricted Narration

Restricted Narration

Red- Short Film Analysis

Short film analysis 

Red is a short psychological thriller by Robert Fatt in 2014. It tells the storyline of five people who wake up in one room with no memory of what happened however, one of the person is wearing red while the rest are in white. The story follows them attempting to discover why they're here. 

The film begins with one of the people waking up and looking at his surroundings. There is a point of view shot where he sees the words "You have until 10 to figure it out or you'll die!" written on the wall. There is non diagetic music in the background which has a consistent low pitch and emphasises the elusiveness of the situation. The people then all wake up and attempt escaping but to no avail and are lead into confusion. One of the males in white finds a note in his back pocket stating "red always lies" prompting the rest of them to reach for their back pockets. The male in red opposes the idea of trusting what a note says and refuses to show the others what his note actually says. The man in red seems to know more than the rest, explaining how this situation has happened before, 

As more of the notes are revealed, it seems that some one is attempting to manipulate them much to the panic of the group. The film does this by individually showing the note at a time and gaining the reactions from the rest before showing the next one. The group then begins to panic and a close up of the clock is shown as it turns 10. The group apart from one male all drop to the floor instantly which is shown with a longshot. The man standing up then goes and swaps the male's red shirt with the other male's white shirt. Various shots then depict him planing the whole process again as he puts the notes back into pocket, resets the clock and then lies on the floor once again. The group then all wake up yet again using various medium shots to display the character's confused expressions, conveying that their memory has been wiped yet again. The film ends with the new male in red looking at the perpetrator.

Overall I think this film does a very good job in displaying it's psychological aspects and it's interesting concept is emphasised throughout the film. The consistent music in the background also creates a sense of mystery which further entices the audience. One negative however would be the ending as there was no solidified end and it felt that it was unfinished, 

Genre research- Character

Characters in psychological thrillers

Throughout the genre, there are numerous character types that are present during the films. These include:

Character with lost memory
This is one of the most popular character types in the genre and it usually involves a character who's lost a large portion of his memory but not all of it. This leads them to attempting to discover their past. The best example of this is Leonard (Guy Pearce) in the movie Memento (2000) where the only thing he still remembers is the murder of his wife and he attempts to find whoever did it.





Unstable character 
This character is usually portrayed with having a mental battle with himself and in some cases, personality disorders.  A good example of this is in Psycho (1960) where Norman Bates develops dissociative identity disorder, with one personality being that of his mothers (who he murdered) and the other being that of a normal day to day adult.






Other types of characters include:
- Criminals
- Assassins
- Characters with dark pasts
- Police

Possible distributor

Possible distributor 

I decided to conduct some research in order to find a possible distributor for our A2 Media film. Since our film is a psychological thriller, a company who has had previous experience with the genre would be ideal but aspects such as budget and location also need to be taken into account.

Warner Bros.

The first possible distributor I looked into was Warner Bros. which is a subsidiary of the conglomerate Time Warner founded on April 4th 1923. I found that they distributed highly popular films such as Suicide Squad (2016), The LEGO Batman movie (2017) and Batman Vs Superman Dawn Of Justice (2016). When it comes to genre, Warner Bros. isn't specifically tied to one as it has distributed a variety of films ranging from comedy, horror, action and drama. In terms of psychological films, it has distributed the film Unforgettable (2017) directed by Denise Di Novi. It tells the story of an unstable woman setting out to make life a living hell for her ex husband's new fiancee using psychological torture.





StudioCanal

The next possible distributor I looked into was StudioCanal which is a French film distribution company founded in 1987. StudioCanal focuses on less popular films and instead focuses on independent film such as Tyrannosaur (2011) which is a British drama that tells the story of a man called Joseph,  who is filled with rage and anger, finding redemption in the form of a charity worker. This shows the clear difference between the two companies and how StudioCanal tends to focus on more niche storylines. As for psychological thrillers, it had distributed the film The Burma Conspiracy (2011) directed by Jerome Salle. It tells the story of a newly appointed CEO who decides to sell his father's company after his death which eventually leads to him being accused of numerous crimes. He is then forced to go back into his past to retrace his steps and prove his innocence.

Genre research- Settings and locations

Houses

Depending on the storyline, the settings in psychological thriller vary but one of the most popular setting is a house. This is due to the common idea that people feel the most safe at their homes so an event such as murder would be more impact due to the juxtaposition between the event and the environment as usually danger occurs on the outside, not inside. This comes as a shock to the audience and gives them the impression that nowhere is safe. 

Cities

Another popular setting in this genre are large cities. A good example of this is Memento where the main character is seen moving from city to city in an attempt to discover his wife's murderer. This is used because of the huge populations and the idea of people ignoring subtle things on a daily basis which can also be used by the characters as way to hide or "blend in". 

Offices/Workplaces

This setting revolves around the idea where a character despises his job and always repeats the same process: Wake up, go to work, go home, sleep, repeat. It also revolves around the idea of  "work making you go crazy" which is a common theme used. This gives the audience an insight of the character's life and allows them to sympathise with them.

Physiological thriller conventions (Cinematography)

Physiological thriller conventions (Cinematography) 

Cinematography is actually the art of photography and camerawork in film-making. Its how shots are taken and in what way.

In thrillers they are  used to help the viewer/audience to focus and put highlight certain parts of the film. This is done by using different shots and camera angles to create a sense of this, rather than just highlighting it.

Low-angle shots are used to show that the character shown is of a certain high power and has some sense of authority or superiority.








High angle shots are used to show when characters are in a weak defenceless state, and they are not in a position in superiority.









Close-ups and extreme close-ups on characters or items are used to highlight certain things and highlight emotions of characters so the audience can connect and fully understand how the character must feel or be thinking.





Medium shots are a all-purpose shot. Medium shots are used for dialogue sequences, and they allow the viewer to pick up on the character's movements and gestures. But they are also used for actions scenes and ohter scenes of that sort too convey whats happening on the screen to the audience effectively. 

Long shots are very similar to medium shots but they are taken from as much as a quarter of a mile away, and are generally used to establish an exterior, like the outside of a building, or a landscape, and is often used to show scenes of action like in a war film or disaster movie. 





Deep focus shots are where the image in the foreground is focused on top of the blurred background for the audience this draws their attentions to specific details, which are important.




Establishing shots are shots where long or extreme-long shots are taken at the beginning of a scene indicating where, and sometimes when, the scene takes place.

Physiological thriller conventions music

Music/Sounds In Physiological Thrillers

Sounds and music are essential in films and tv shows as it represents the mood and sets the tone of the moment. Music is especially important as it can add suspense and put emphasis on certain things highlighting it to the audience, allowing the audience to understand whats happening or what is about to happen. We often associate certain music and sounds with certain feelings or tones which can allow the audience to see the full nature and meaning of the film. For example it wouldn't exactly work in a film or convey to the audience its meaning, if its a horror film and it had a happy pop music song over the top of someone walking down a scary/dark looking corridor or forest; all the music in this case would do, is it would draw the scary factor away from the film and ruin the atmosphere. Adding slow dark and more horror related music would allow the tone of this moment and all true feeling of the moment to be given successfully to the viewer. The music used in a psychological thriller film is especially important as it allows for tension and for the audience to feel unsettled, where the viewer is sitting on the edge of their seat in anticipation. This is done by building it up; an example of this would be music building  up more and more from starting off slow, and when something finally happens, the music reaches its highest point to imply the climax. Another example would be eerie music in the background of scenes. This is how physiological thriller films successfully convey the tone and feeling to the audience.

Shotlist