Preliminary Task 2- Concept

CONCEPT 

THE TITLE OF MY FILM (what is it called and why – justify your choice?):

Vengeance. It is about a man whose loved one had been murdered and so he searches for the killer.

MY TARGET AUDIENCE:

For mature audiences (13+) contains mature themes and content. 

THE 6-15 INSTITUTIONAL / GENRE CONVENTIONS I WILL INCLUDE IN MY FILM ARE (with detailed explanations): 

The  6-15 Institutional/ Genre conventions we will include in the film to show the thriller film genre and why we have chosen these effects are:

1. Darkness. This is often used as a thriller convention because darkness has a lack of light, and represents evil and the unknown. Our video will be mostly in twilight so that it adds a mysterious vibe to the clip. 

2. Shadows. Shadows are like masks in thriller films, and they hide the identity of the bad guy which makes their identity unknown which adds an extra feel of eerieness. Our characters will all be in the shadows to some degree which shows the audience what they are doing is secretive and they don't want anyone to know about it.

3. Envelope. They often represent the pass over of money or important information that is needed or wanted by both the good and the evil sides. Our character Declan receives an envelope from Simon, and it obviously has something important in it because he gets chased for the information that is in the envelope.

4. Silence. There is going to be a lack of noise which creates an eerie feel as we have shown that this guy is secluded and by himself, so no one is around to save him.

5. Hidden identity. We are gonna do a shot where it looks like it was the stalker knocking on the door, but we discover its the pizza delivery. The people will think its the guy about to kill him so we can play on that effect by adding creepy music in after.

6. Door knob. We are going to show the door knob being opened from the outside as to show that the house is being broken into. it will be quiet so Declan doesn't hear.

7. Non-diegetic music. When the music is added at the end, we can add suspense onto the moments like the pizza delivery, and the door knob opening to show something bad is happening.

8. Diegetic noise. The kettle in the video is loud and screechy, so when we see the guy running out into the pizza girl, and she opens he mouth to scream but Declan doesn't hear because of the kettle it adds suspense into the clip- the audience knows Declans in trouble when he doesn't, so they sympathize with him.

9. Isolation. One of peoples biggest fears is being isolated and having no help, and since we show that Declans family has died by the picture on the fridge we can see that no one will hear him when this guy gets into his house.

A PLOT SYNOPSIS (your storyline – 200-300 words):

·      The film starts off with an extreme wide shot/establishing shot of the house which sets the scene and shows the type of people they are.

·      The pace of the film is quite fast paced as Declan is under time restraints such as being hunted down, he knows there isn't much time but time catches up to him and he has to accept the reality that he isn't going to escape.

·      The camera focuses a lot on expression. This is shown through close ups and extreme closeups which really get in close and show how the person is feeling. The non diegetic use of music will be a lot more intense that in my previous film. There will also be more of a variety so instead of intense music all the time i will try and include soft music that still adds tension.
     There will be parallel editing to show that the people who are inside the house are having a conversation and at the same time there is someone on the outside lurking and the editing will cut between the two of them to add tension because the motive of the lurking man is not made clear until we see him pull the gun out.

·    

CHARACTERS AND NAMES with detailed explanations about their purpose in the film and their background/relationship with other characters: 

 Characters
The main character is called Declan Hunt. He wants to find the people that murdered his loved one. He goes to work and this is represented by the blazer seen in the background which is on the dining room chair. He lives in a massive house which indicates he is quite wealthy. It should make the audience wonder why he lives alone. 

The antagonist is the stalker/invader. His name is George Wayne. He stands outside the house watching the main character through the windows. The reason why he is doing so isn't clear. The scene will end in ambiguity allowing the audience to interpret for themselves the opening scene. For this reason, he is a mystery. 



The pizza delivery guy is a side character. His name is Simon Owens. He plays an important part in breaking the tense atmosphere of the scene. 

Costumes

The stalker wears a black oversized hoody and pants. As this is set in the night, he will be surrounded by partial darkness and shadows making him a creepy character which is supported by him lurking outside the main character's house. This will play on the audience fear as the main character is inside his house yet instead of it being a safe environment there is the feeling that he is in danger. The fact that the main character is unaware of this builds the tension and suspense in the scene. 

The main character wears a plain black t-shirt and pants. He has just arrived home from work- this hint is given by the blazer on the chair in the background indicating he has just gotten changed out of his work attire. Black represents him mourning the death of his loved one. It also represents the emptiness he feels because of this which is also emphasised by the massive space in the house which only he occupies. 

The pizza delivery person wears a plain red t-shirt with a cap. The red represents danger which acts as an irony device. 

PRACTICALITIES OF FILMING/CONTENT (All considerations should include detailed comments): 

Examples:

·      How realistic is your idea?

·      Will you have any health and safety issues?

·      Locations and any necessary permission (ie. Filming at a local iwi’s marae)

·      Timing (Weekend vs available hours during / after school)

·      Weather and back-up options

·      Equipment

·      How-To’s in getting any difficult shots

Preliminary Task 2- Treatment

A

TREATMENT

FOR VENGENCE

______________________________________

Prepared by Pill Productions (Priscilla, Levi and Luci)

18.4.20

…

The clip will be 2 to 3 minutes. We have chosen to film at Luci's house because her house has the ability to give it that open/ creepy vibe. And at the bottom of her driveway she has a road which at night time gets very dark and creepy.

This film will include the following conventions of thriller films (details of why these are chosen [what effects they will help you achieve] and how they will interest your target audience): 
(Luci)

Jason Bourne has inspired me to make a moving title Which i will make in after effects

  

We haven't encountered any problems as of now except for the delays due to the corona virus and the inability to actually be at school and planning together.

This film will include the things specified in the brief such as and establishing shot, extreme closeup, closeup etc. and it will include non diegetic and diegtic sounds there will be a healthy mix and both of them will be used to enhance the tension between the audience and the thriller.

(1) Character names with detailed explanations about their purpose in the film and their background/relationship with other characters in the film:

The main character is called Declan Hunt. He wants to find the people that murdered his loved one. He goes to work and this is represented by the blazer seen in the background which is on the dining room chair. He lives in a massive house which indicates he is quite wealthy. It should make the audience wonder why he lives alone. 

The antagonist is the stalker/invader. His name is George Wayne. He stands outside the house watching the main character through the windows. The reason why he is doing so isn't clear. The scene will end in ambiguity allowing the audience to interpret for themselves the opening scene. For this reason, he is a mystery. 



The pizza delivery guy is a side character. His name is Simon Owens. He plays an important part in breaking the tense atmosphere of the scene. 

(2) Ideology (incl. message of the film, relevant representations and any commentary on supporting or challenging representations as well as representation theorists)

Film message 

The film, Prisoners (2013),  inspired the plot of the movie. One of the themes in the movie is lost which will be seen in the opening scene as it is represented by a prop. 

The chase scene in the film, Brick (2006), is acting as the inspiration behind the on-foot chase sequence in the opening scene. 

The build-up leading to the chase scene is fast-paced and effective keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. The close-up shots obscure the audience from seeing the bigger picture helping to create a tense atmosphere. The shadows hide the features of the other person making it look like the moving figure is faceless. It portrays the idea of darkness coming towards the person and this is chilling because of the frightening connotation that is associated with darkness. During the chase scene, the camera is ground level showing the characters running towards it. This camera position allows the audience to see the character running from a far distance and it suggests the possibility of the chaser being able to catch up with the runner by jumping from the side. 

(3) Mood and Tone:

The mood of the Thriller is mysterious in a way. There is a lot the audience doesn't yet know and makes them want to know more or see what comes next but they don't get to see, which increases the anticipation.

(4) Camera Shots, camera movement/lighting/angles, lighting:

There will be a variety of shots included in this thriller, in the brief it said we had to include an extreme closeup which we be when Declan is reading the note he has been given.
It will be of his eyes and his nose, but it will mainly focus on the expression of his eye brows.

Another part of the brief is to include a close up, this will be of George the antagonist. It will be when he is holding the gun about to shoot before the black screen.

It will show more of his face and allow us to see all his expression which are fear.

The 180 degree rule will be during the conversation and it will show the two as they exchange the note. 

This will be follow by a shot reverse shot as the note is handed to Declan which mimics out last Thriller "The Hitman".

match on action is being used when our charcter first walks into the house. It will be similar to "the Hitman" in that we will use the same types of shots.

(5) Themes and motifs:

(6) Narrative

(5) Mise-en-scene/setting:
Trying to get across the creepy house vibes, we have planned to film at Luci's house which is good because she has a lot of space and also at the bottom of her drive way she has a road that gets creepy at night time with the trees hanging over the road and it doesnt have street lights so it is really dark, and good for a thriller. The photo isnt of Luci's house but it is an example.

(6) Symbolism

Props 

The pizza box breaks the suspense by removing the focus on the stalker and the main character. 

A kettle is an ordinary object. Yet, in this scene, it is given the human quality of voice as it calls the main character from the entrance door back to the kitchen. The whistling sound is haunt-like and sudden. 

Cup+coffee shows the main character is unwinding from his day. He is tired and not alert and this is terrifying for the audience as it means he is unaware of the stalker outside his house. 

 While the main character is waiting for the water to boil he goes to the refrigerator to get milk. Match-on-action occurs when the main character opens the door of the fridge. The fridge and the lighting from it emanates a cool chilly feeling.  

When the main character has shut the refrigerator door he looks stares at the fridge for a while (looking at the photo on the fridge). A close-up shot focuses for a while on a photo on the fridge with a young girl on it (main character's younger sister that he believes is murdered). The close-up shot highlights the importance of the photo to the main character. It should the audience wonder who the person is and try to figure out the role of that character in the movie. An unpleasant feeling should be created because of the lingering shot on the photo and the cold fridge lighting. It gives the impression that something is not right because tells the audience that something had happened to them as now he is living alone without them. 

In the background is the blazer hanging on the dinning room chair this shows the character is a working. 

(7) Sound and music:

(8) Use of credits and logos:

The logo will be made when we get back to school as none of us have any software capable of making a logo.

(9) Editing
This time i hope to take my editing to another level by implementing a lot of different techniques but not too much that everything gets lost, i am still reseaching different techniques and it will be in a separate blog post later on.

 A summary of your opening only (not the whole film).  Explain what will happen under the following:

There is a man seen lurking around the house, he is wearing a black hoodie and the audience doesn't necessarily know what he is up to all we know is that he isn't up to any good. 

The tension of the opening scene will be made to seem as if something has already happened almost like the audience knows that declan has done something and that they know something bad is going to happen just like in a good thriller.