Costume and Ideas

Outfits & Characters

When planning the outfits for the trailer and ancillary tasks I had to make sure that the outfits were not obscure and appealed to the target audience. We chose to do neutral colours that would appeal to both genders. In this first image both characters are wearing blue, again this is a neutral colour that appeal to both genders and look good in the location that we were filming in.

 

 

These next two outfits were used within the trailer too. The males outfit stereotypically highlights that he is negative and he is going to cause trouble by what he is wearing. Therefore, potentially  attracting our target audience who fall under the Stanley Hall Storm and Stress model (1904) of youth aged between 12 and 25 are involved with crime, have mood disruptions and like to associate themselves with drink and drugs. The females outfit is showing a quirky top and a cardigan which is a popular outfit in todays day and age which again will appeal to both genders.

This was filmed in the darkroom so it is quite unclear at what she is wearing however she is wearing glasses and an outfit similar to the female star vehicle above.

This was another different outfit that we incorporated as in a trailer typically you see many different outfit to many different scenes as they help show different days and different people too. This is quite a feminine outfit which again will appeal to a female target audience as well as a male target audience. We thought stripes was a really good design and continued to incorporate this within the trailer as it is quite a popular design. The next outfit was when she was in a mental institution and we needed white and black. The white and black in this outfit doesn't really go but we haven't used this piece of film as it was not required.

The next two images are involved in the ancillary tasks. The first image was used in the film poster and she is wearing a black corset and hot pants. This would appeal to a female audience but a male audience more so and Laura Mulvey's theory can be applied here with the thought that woman are seen as 'objects of sexual desire'  and this is classed as the 'male gaze'. This image would attract a male target audience because of the minimal clothing that she is wearing. However this is quite feminine and would appeal to a female target audience just as much because of the style and design of the image. The next image was used for my film magazine and these outfits are very neutral and work very well together. The male figure is wearing checkers/squares which is a popular choice for a male audience and seems to look very effective. The female character is wearing an American flag top with skinny jeans which again is a very popular look with women today. These outfits are very casual and conventional in trailers.

Cast List

When we were out filming we had a few people helping with the filming and casting. The people that were involved were:

Myself (Amber Buckingham - Filming director and producer)
Annaleigh Benn (Co-Producer and Victim in trailer)
Chris Doyle (Villain in trailer)
James Bundy (Photographer and producer)
Kerri Prince (Model)
Laura Greenaway (Model & actress)

Myself and James were the main filming crew and spend the majority of the time filming for the trailer. Whereas Annaleigh and Chris spent their time being filmed as they were the best choice for actors/actresses.

Locations list

This is a brief list of the locations that will be used in the scenes. There will be very limited places but that is intentional. House2 will be the most used house in the scene as it belongs to the antagonist and  this is where the two main characters spend most of their time. Here are the locations:

• Bar/Pub for opening scene.
• House1 where protagonist lives.
• House2 where antagonist lives.

          












           -Basement/Garage for hostage scene.
           -Kitchen of House2 to film catch scene.
           -A single bedroom of House2 to film scene of revelation.

• Woods (Lanhydrock or Respryn) to film chase scene.
• Field connecting to woods, for chase scene to begin.

Script

I have spent many hours thinking of different script ideas however I think I have come up with the best idea so far. Having thought of many different beginnings and endings, the script below shows the dialogue I have planned out for the characters. Some of the scenes have been combined to create large scenes to shorten the script.

Scene 1

[Two friends are getting ready to go out for the night. They arrive at a bar and have a few drinks. Her friend goes off and leaves her at the bar alone. She sits at the bar  turning her ring on her finger when it slips off and fall on the floor, where a man picks it up and gives it to her while down on 1 knee. She smiles at him and people begin to cheer as she puts it back on her finger. They both laugh as they get given a bottle of Champaign on the house.]

Dialogue:

Friend: Are you ready?
Alicia: Almost
Friend: Hurry up!

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Friend: Ill be back later
Alicia: Okay

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Alicia: Ahh…
(Jewellery drops to the floor)
Jackson: …Here…
Alicia: Thanks

[Cheering begins and they both laugh.]

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 Jackson: Hi, I’m Jackson
Alicia: I’m Alicia but people call me Lis.

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Scene 2-

[Jackson and Alicia meet  again and become friendly and she becomes fond of him as he is quite unusual. Her friend approaches her and tells her that something is seriously wrong with him and she should be careful around him.]

Dialogue:

Friend: I really don’t like him
Alicia: You don’t have to like him
Friend: There is something about him Lis, please just don’t see him anymore!
Alicia: You don’t know anything, you don’t understand…just leave it!
Friend: Okay…Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

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Scene 3-

[After falling out with her best friend, Alicia become quite depressed but as Jackson become more obsessed with her she doesn’t have time to think about that anymore as they spend all their time together. She finds out that nobody has seen her friend since for a few days and that worries Alicia. Jackson is become more and more obsessed with Alicia and takes her to his house out in the woods where she is forced to stay. She realises that Jackson is beginning to act suspicious and she wants to know why. She begins to snoop around the house when Jackson goes out to get supplies. She finds nothing. When he is asleep she notices a chain around his neck which has a key attached, she knows its important and tries to get it. Her heart is racing as she reaches over, just as he awakes.]

Dialogue:

Friend2: Hi Lis have you seen friend ?
Alicia: No I haven’t  why?
Friend2: Nobodies seen her for a few days, its probably nothing…
Alicia: I hope she’s ok!
Jackson: She will be fine…she’s a big her, she can handle herself…
Alicia: okay well ring me if you hear anything.

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Jackson: What are you doing?
Alicia: Uhh…Nothing…

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Scene 4-

[After realising Jackson is up to something she goes in search for a box that the key must be for. While he’s busy she searches and finds the box. She steals the key and opens the box to find everything she didn’t want to find. She makes an excuse to Jackson and leaves the house. She speaks to her other friend about all the things she found.]

Dialogue:

Alicia: He has her !
Friend2: Who?
Alicia: Jackson, he has her! And he’s killed all these other people that no one are looking for! I have to find her!
Friend2: No ! you cant go…call the police
Alicia: No…he trusts me…ill find her.
Friend2: Please don’t do this!
Alicia: I have to…don’t call the police…

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Scene 5:

[Alicia returns back to the house and he grabs her by the hand. She is petrified of him but tries to put on a brave face. He finds out what she has done and chases her through the house where he catches her and ties her up in the basement.  This is where he emotionally blackmails her and reveals that her friend is still alive.]

Dialogue:

Jackson: Where have you been?
Alicia: Just went to the shop
Jackson: Where are your bags?
Alicia:…In the car?

[There is a long silence and he knows at this point.  She’s near the kitchen  and there is a knife on the chopping board…she stares at it and looks at him.]

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Jackson: Don’t…

[Alicia runs for the knife but is unsuccessful…he grabs her and ties her up in the basement.]

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Scene 6-

[Jackson ties Alicia up in the garage/basement and emotionally blackmails her into staying with him. He uses her best friend as a weapon and shows a live video of her tied up somewhere else alone in a slightly lit room. She cant let her best friend die because of her and she goes along with Jackson’s plan . When Alicia finds out where her best friend is she tries to escape and succeeds. The doors are locked so she breaks a window and runs into the house where she grabs anything to use as a weapon. With this she needs to get out of the house. Jackson chases her through the house where they confront each other and she tries to hit him. She hits him and he falls back. She runs out of the house and runs towards the woods. This is where he catches up with her and grabs her and she has to fight for survival. This is where the trailer ends and the outcome is unknown if she survives the escape.]

Jackson: I didn’t want it to come to this.

Alicia: Please, please just let us go…

Jackson: You know I cant do that.

As i was working on my own previously this is the old script. The one below is the new script for out trailer 'The Dark Room'. It is quite a short script as quite of lot of horror trailers have minimal dialogue involved in them, they mostly have eerie sounds and dark music to go with the pace of the trailer.

The trailer begins with the paramount pictures logo as the diegetic sound plays in the background (music).

New Script

[Alice is in bed when she is woken up by her phone ringing. She answers the phone, however she is hesitant because of the fact she does not recognise the number that is calling her.]

Alice: Hello....Hello is anyone there?

[The next shot seen in the trailer is Alice on the phone talking to this strange character who keeps on ringing her, she seems worried and the camera angles reflect this by going round Alice in a circular tracking shot as she listens to this unfamiliar voice. This dialogue runs through a few scenes and the next scene it runs through is when Alice is in the dark room developing her film when the killer is present with her and throws a bag over her head and tries to kidnap her.]

Killer: There are two frames in a second Alice...Everything adds up, hours, minutes, seconds.....Are you scared Alice? ..... Thats because you weren't looking at the right moment.

[The next shot is of Alice doing a photo shoot for work as she is a photographer and thats her passion. She is setting up the studio and in the scene the audience can see her setting up the camera and taking images of the model in her studio. This is the calm before the storm to put it straight. The killers voice can still be heard as he still hasn't finished his phone call. This goes through this quick scene and through the next scene where we can see the killer admiring a knife on the table of the dark room. After the killers dialogue is over from then on it is just eerie music that the audience can relate to as the pace begins to quicken.]

[Scene 8-10- is a close up tracking shot of the chase scene between Alice and the killer (who remains nameless throughout the trailer), they are running through the woods as this is a typical horror convention in films such as these. As the diegetic sound begins to increase in pace a collage of images of dead bodies (which are 1 or less frames per second) so the audience can only see flashing images of bodies. Once the images have stopped and the music has suddenly gone quite, there is a mysterious aspect of the trailer at this point and it ends on a cliff hanger before this happens. As the audience will ask...What happened or what happens next?]

Shot list

Camera Shots

• An extreme long shot. This is also known as an establishing shot.

• A long shot. A long shot may show the viewers the building where the action will take place.

• A full shot contains a complete view of the characters.

• A mid shot contains the characters or a character from the waist up. This can also be known as a social shot.

• A close-up only contains one character's face. This allows the audiences to understand the actor's/actress’ emotions and also allows them to feel empathy for the character.

• An extreme close-up contains one part of a character's face or other object. This technique is quite common in horror films. This type of shot creates an intense mood and provides interaction between the audience and the viewer.

Camera angles

• A bird's eye angle is an angle that looks directly down upon a scene.

• A high angle is a camera angle that looks down upon a subject.

• An eye-level angle puts the audience on an equal footing with the character/s.

• A low angle is a camera angle that looks up at a character.

• A Dutch angle is used to demonstrate the confusion of a character. The example above should disorientate you.

Camera movement

• A crane shot is often used by composers of films to signify the end of a film or scene.

• A tracking shot and a dolly shot have a similar effect. A tracking shot moves on tracks and a dolly shot is mounted on a trolley to achieve the same effect. By using a tracking shot or a dolly shot the composer of a film gives the viewer a detailed tour of a situation. It can also be used to follow a character.

• Panning is used to give the viewer a panoramic view of a set or setting. This can be used to establish a scene.

• Others-An Evangelion shot. This camera movement begins as an extreme close-up and zooms out abruptly, creating a blurring effect to emphasise the speed and size of the object.

Here I have found a range of different camera shots that I have used in my trailer to indicate a state of events. Different camera shots and angles are very inportant in order to create suspense, emotions between the characters and audience and just in general to make the film very interesting. A very good psychological thriller I previously analysed, 'Red Eye' uses so many different camera shot becuase the producer of the film used the phrase 'the power of a look'. By using so many different camera shots and angles, seeing the emotions of the characters helped the audience to relate to the characters. 'Red Eye' is an emotionally traumatic film for a particular character and with these different camera techniques the audiences can sympathise with the victim or feel pleased for them, just from a particular camera shot or angle. I am going to use this in my own trailer as I believe that a successful trailer must have a large number of different and unique angles. This not only adds to the quality of the film and film making, but the audience can see the difference in the trailer and pick up on these little details which are only minimal but cause a big effect.

Storyboard

Here is the storyboard for the very beginning of the trailer. It starts with the certificate of approval from the government. After that it is followed by the distribution company which I have chosen as Paramount Pictures. This is because their company has distributed similar successful genres and would be one of the better suited companies. Here is the first storyboard for the trailer.

I have created another storyboard and sketched a 10 key frame storyboard and a 3D storyboard using the iPads to outline the narrative of our trailer. For the first frame for our trailer we chose to use 'Paramount Pictures' as out conglomerate to distribute it. The second frame is a 5 second upwards shot of the sun setting and this part of the trailer has been made to give the effect that the sun is setting very quickly. It has been used to look as if time has been sped up which give a nice simplistic, positive effect to the beginning of the trailer. The next frame we have chosen is to use the company logo that is distributing the trailer and we have named that ??? Enterprise. This will zoom into the screen in a 3D effect to make it look more professional. After this the next frame is of a female photographer talking pictures in the woods, this is a 5-10 second scene to allow the audience to have an understanding of one of the main character. There will be many different shots of her including, long shots, medium shot and close ups. The fifth frame is a series of flashing scenes of pictures from her camera, then there is a brief clip of a news report explaining about a key of murders and there is a killer at large. The ending of this frame is flashes of dead bodies, using tilt down shots and close ups. The lighting is dark which connotes a possibility of something negative to come.

The next key frame is an establishing shot the woman’s house to show the audience that she lives in an isolated part of the woods which sets the scene into an intense atmosphere as the common conventions of horror movies suggest that an isolated house in the woods where a single woman lives connotes the possibility of something bad happening. This scene is fairly dark and hazy in lighting. The next frame is the woman inside the house and she is in the dark room developing her photographs. This is where she realises that someone has been stalking her and she begins to panic. We have chosen to use close up shots of her to show the emotions on her face and allow the audience to see how she is feeling and sympathise with her. The lighting is very dark as it is only lit by a red light which creates a grainy look to the scene which again could connote that something is about to happen. The next frame is of the villain in the background, he is in the darkroom where the victim is. The lighting is the same as the previous frame however we have used a medium and close up shot of the villain. There is a basement scene of a woman tied up in his basement which suggests to the audience that the man is very dangerous and makes the audience feel apprehension by watching this. There is a close up of the woman who is tied up, the lighting again is very dark and the camera is tilting down on here to connote that she is powerless. The last frame is of a tracking shot of a chase scene in the woods of the two characters. The scene ends with a cliff hanger to entice the audience and make them want to watch the film because of the trailer, there is a struggle scene and this will be the cliff hanger that the audience will want to see the outcome of.

 

Lighting research

Research into lighting - Psychological thrillers.

Film stock has a much greater dynamic range for light than did early video tape. Lighting in a film is used to create a specific atmosphere. For example, when researching psychological thrillers, the most common lighting used is dull, dark backgrounds with the protagonist and antagonist lit from other sources of light, whether that is natural or artificial.

More extensive lighting systems may include the following:

·       Eyelight - a small light that can be focused to reflect in the subjects eye, giving them a reflective sparkle

·       Background light - to illuminate the background

·       Kicker light - similar to a back light, i.e. it helps to separate the subject from the background. It is usually placed low, behind the subject, and may be opposite the key light.

'Chiaroscuro' would be a term more likely to define the lighting in a psychological thriller. In Italian the word means ‘light-dark’. This is usedescribe paintings and art, however it is very effectively used in films in a specific genre. Here is an example of what this type of lighting looks like.

Both of these images are examples of Chiaroscuro and show the intensity of the image. The brightness of one part of the image and the darkness of the other part really gives it a shadow. This gives a very eerie look and it is perfect for psychological thrillers when in a tense situation.

Here is video on the lighting within films and photography. 

 

Research into film shots

Over the last few weeks, I have watched many trailer and films that link in to the genre I have chose and the majority of trailers start with an interesting shot. Most really start with a long shot or an establishing shot of something and as the trailer progresses the film begins to get more serious.

Following conventions, my film with start with an establishing or long shot. After that there is usually a close up on characters speaking to another character or doing something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laU2MI6X48I

Treatment of own film

My own film will resemble the common conventions of a typical psychological thriller, with the eerie atmosphere and darkness of the lighting. I have looked into and tried different shot types to see what would look the most effective in my trailer. While filming I have realized that a range of different techniques and shot would be more effective because I have focused on long shots and establishing shots to begin with and I need a tripod to ensure that my filming is of the best quality as possible with the equipment I have. Here are the main themes of psychological thrillers:

Synopsis & Filming Diary

Psychological thriller

Idea/plot

An ex army sergeant is a wanted criminal for killing several colleagues while working with the army. He broke out of  (St.Laurences) and is a huge danger to anyone due to psychological problems and mental illnesses. He is a very clever man and is one of the best hackers in the army. He steals the identity of a citizen and lays low for a while in an abandoned house.

He then meets a woman who he becomes very fond of , he uses his skills to find out as much as he can about her and becomes unhealthily obsessed with her. They are inseparable at first but then becomes paranoid and convinced that she is cheating on him. His unusual behaviour makes her wonder what has triggered this sense of paranoia off. He acts very suspiciously and wants to know where she is and what she’s doing 24/7.  He family and friends acknowledge his behaviour and warned her about him and urged and pleaded for her not to stay with him, but she did. He had used his mind games to worm his way in and make her resent her family and friends so he would have her all to himself.

She moves in with him after 6 months and this is when he becomes very weird, she wants to know why he is acting this way, she needs to find something. She kept finding unusual objects and things belonging to other people and when she tried to talk to him about this he would flip out or change the subject. While she is in his house which is far in the woods, she comes across a large metal box which he has tried to hide, sealed with a thick metal lock. She needed a key to get in the box but needed to find it. Where would the key be?

She becomes more and more agitated as she cant find the key. But one day she sees a glimpse something hanging around his neck that she has never noticed before. During the night she tries to get the key but the task seems impossible, she cant risk him seeing her trying to get it. He took it off in the shower once, so when he was in the shower she quickly and quietly snook into the bathroom, looked for the key, found it and grabbed it. After that she quickly ran out to where the box was and opened it to find all of his private documents. She found one with her name on it. Startled, she looked inside to find out he has all her details. He had her whole life in this folder, medical records, birth certificate, copies of letters addressed to her, pictures of her family, her whole life…summed up in one folder. Tears began to fill her eyes as she began to cry. She was very anxious and apprehensive. She continues to look through the other documents and sees one folder which frightens her . He has pictures and information on girls who have gone missing and have been found dead and murdered. Why would he have them? She began to panic as she recognised some of the girls from the news who have been reported missing.

The man comes out of the shower, dresses and reaches for his key. It was gone and knew she had taken it. He ran into find her and screamed at her…he wanted to know where it was. She had put it on the key rack and acted completely normal which threw him. She told him she was going to the supermarket and would be back in an hour. He insisted that he come with her but she said she had a surprise for him and needed to get it. With that she smiled and kissed him goodbye and left for the shop. He was very unsure about it but she reassured him that she would be back in an hour.

She left his house and had taken some of his documents with her. She turned up outside her friends house and told her she was right about him. Her friend and him hated each other  which resulted in her to chose her friends and family or him. He had manipulated her so much she loved him and chose him. She was completely dependant on him which he loved. Now she had opened her eyes and seen who he really was. However she didn’t know who he really was. Her friend had called the police who said they would look at the situation but it wasn’t a serious case. She warned her friend about this and when back to his house to find the police already there. She began to panic and slowly walked into the house to find two police officers talking to him…he had managed to divert them away from the situation that has been reported against him. She acted like she knew nothing but he knew it was here.

When the police had gone, he locked the doors and disconnected the phone wire. There was not much signal in the woods so mobiles rarely worked. He forcefully pinned her up to the wall and hit her across the face. He was stronger than her and she was powerless to him. He tied her up to a chair and put tape across her mouth. She had a phone in her pocket but there was no way to get it. When he left she looked around and saw a blunt blade hung on the wall which she took advantage of. She managed to stand up and cut the wire/rope around her hands. She then ripped the tape off her mouth and ran for the door, it was locked and there was no way of getting out. There was a small window at the top of the cellar and she smashed that in order to escape. She heard him coming back and quickly stood on the cabinets and boxes in the cellar and crawled out the window. He came through the door to see her escaping through the window and grabbed her leg. She managed to break free from his grasp and ran into the woods.  

Distressed and running from her life she ran further into the woods near a river. He ran out of the house with a knife and chased after her. He was crazy and she phoned her friend and hid behind a tree, she only just had signal. He friend answered the phone and she quickly told her while out of breath. He found her, snook up behind her and dragged her to the water. She was screaming down the phone at her friend until she was cut of because she was dragged into the water. He tried to drown her…

So far…

Summary

A cop who has mental issues and killed his partners escapes his metal hospital in an attempt to begin anew. He chooses to change his name and move as far away as possible in order to lay low. While in hiding he meets an attractive woman who he grows fond of. The relationship blooms and to her he seems very normal. They quickly fall in love, and she moves in with him, against her parents and friends wishes, who try to warn her of his odd nature.

After the move he becomes obsessed with her, wanting to know her every move. He researches her life and stores the information in a box, locked with a key that is kept around his neck. She soon starts to become suspicious of him and notices the key wondering what secrets it could unlock. The key jogs her memory of noticing a box that had no way of opening it, apart from a lock. Her first attempt at stealing  the key  was unsuccessful  though her second attempt, stealing it while he was showering, proves successful. She discovers his research and becomes troubled. She confides in a friend, who rings the police against her will.

Returning home she finds the police leaving after they find nothing wrong with Dexter. After they leave he locks her in the house basement, however she manages to escape out of a small window and runs into the forest. The chase begins and he manages to catch her near a fast flowing river and pushes her head under the water…


New Synopsis

A woman named Alice is a keen photographer and enjoys the tranquil surroundings of the nearby woods where she does most of her work. She receives a mysterious phone call from an unknown number, which frightens her, this makes her very on edge and become more cautious. She has no idea who this person is and after this she begins to notice strange figures in her images and this figure appears every time she develops her images. Things begin to get very serious when one of her images reveals this figure moving a body. When she realises what is happening she goes to the woods to see if the figure appears again, he does and captures her in the woods.  

This is when the scene of the trailer ends to leave a cliff hanger to entice the audience.

Here is a filming diary of the progression of filming for 'The Dark Room' we have included information regarding props, location, the people involved and more.