Pre-production is the process of preparation before you then go and produce that piece of media. This can be refereed to as the prep stage where you need to do a variety of tasks before you can start to consider making it. It could be in the form of a film, series or any other type of performance that is accessible for the media.
This can be broken down into 3 different parts:
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Pre-production
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Planning
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Post-production
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Prop and wardrobe identification and preparation
Pre- production
Pre-production
Set construction
Location scouting
Special effects identification and preparation
Thriller Conventions
CONVENTIONS
Low-key lighting
Most scenes set at night
Lots of shadows
Multiple quick cuts
Suspenseful/creepy music
Antagonist/Protagonist
Crime
Sinister music
Fast pace music
A crime thriller usually consists of a battle between a protagonist character and an antagonist character where there is some sort of disruption in the equilibrium. The story-line tends to show multiple bad events occurring which are used to build up tension and suspense for the audience. It is most commonly found that the crime thriller is based around highlighting the life of a crime figure the crime's victim. There tends to be a rise or fall from a type of criminal whether that be a gang, bank robber, murderer or lawbreakers. These characters are often in a place of personal power or conflict with the law and order figures and under where a conflictional nature will arise from for example a rival gang. Gangster/crime films are usually set in large, crowded cities to provide a view of the secret world of the criminal. This is so that they can use aspects such as Dark nightclubs , dim lit streets, fast cars and piles of cash which all add to the crime thriller conventions. The undermining question that goes on throughout the thriller usually consists of how the law authority figures see the criminal eg whether he's guilty or not or the mystery of who stole the valued object.
Political/conspirasy
​In political thrillers the main convention will be political corruption or an element of terrorism. The key act within this genre is to save civilians and prevent harm and illegal acts from occurring. In this genre the theme is usually linking to someone that has or is with holding information that they shouldn't have in which they are now in a position of threat as there may be people that want to silence this person. You would expect to see a clear female protagonist which is often the main character in thriller films as it evokes the sense that the protagonist is vulnerable and needs help which is how the storyline continues. Dim lighting and low-key lighting will be a constant element within this category as well as several chase scenes in which tension will be built up. You as the audience are found questioning the validity of the protagonists morale stance in the film as well as their allegiance with that false hero who now seems to be showing signs of the traits of an antagonist. This usually occurs when that character has undergone some sort of pain and now intends to inflict that anger against the political system and take matters into their own hands.
psychological
​Psychological thrillers are based around the psychology of its characters and their unstable and delicate emotional states. This is a key aspect within this genre as this is where the mind games come in and preying on ones fears or insecurities. This encapsulates audience members attention as there is often link to what the protagonist fears and what we as consumers feel ourselves and therefore feel threatened alongside the protagonist as if we were in their situation. The key themes which are most prevalent throughout this genre are aspects of death, reality, identity, existence and purpose. A variety of these themes are usually used together in psychological thrillers relating to the supernatural and often incorporating ghosts and the concept of the other side and coming into contact with the dead. It can even be that the ghost itself may be the antagonist and haunting the protagonist. There will always be a constant use of low-key lighting in this genre as it relates more to the dead and creates a darker, more sinister atmosphere linking to fear and the unknown. Often it is very common to feature bathrooms as mirrors and the act of being naked and vulnerable is something that can easily be played with and manipulated into being a dangerous situation. Psychological films will incorporate elements from the mystery and drama and can often overlap with the horror genre as this genre has many of the same elements such as haunting and death. Towards the end of the film it is often that characters can no longer rely on physical strength but have to ensure their minds stay intact in order to overcome their enemies through a battle of the mind.
Medical
Medical thrillers are generally envisions of horrific scenarios where diseases become epidemic and the antagonists in fact more sinister acts from their darker motives. The protagonist therefore plays the role of the fight back towards the drug or other physicians engaged in unethical experiments. Within the story line there is often an element of nightmarish situations that occur in a somewhat medical field. This genre tend to play on the idea of a viral infection or disease and the spreading of it where it then exceed to potentially wiping out large proportions of the population. There is usually an ongoing recurrence of the idea that the day is safer than the night as these extreme situations seem to break out when it is dark and tension is higher where people feel more at risk. It is conventional for there to be a viral infection spreading which is then turning people into creatures and mutating them into zombie-like beings transformed mutations. There tends to be a sole protagonist with the creatures then taking the role of the antagonist. From this it would lead on to some sort of equilibrium in which the protagonist then either has to make a cure/antidote or find someone who can and try and prevent the spread of this infection source.
Erotic
Erotic thrillers have a thematic basis in illicit romance or level of romantic fantasy where danger and romance is combine. It plays on the idea of having an affair or an intimate relationship with someone that you shouldn't which may then lead to psychotic actions and dead. Traditional erotic thriller conventions often play on the sense that there is an affair in which the one who has been hurt becomes mentally unstable and shows psychotic signs which tend to lead to stalking and being followed. This is because that character then becomes psychotically attached to the character where it bases around the most common mental mindset of 'if i cant have him no one can'. It is common for erotic thrillers to have an ongoing theme of obsession whether that be with a person or dark desire. This genre conventional contain scenes of soft core sex and nudity and frequent sexual acts.
psycho case study
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Psycho is an American psychological slasher film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock also known as " the master of suspense" in 1960. The film is based on Robert Hale's Psycho novel which was published in 1959 where a then later remake was made of it directed by Gus Ran Sant in 1998. This movie is considered a slasher as it merges both the horror and thriller genre and could apply to both categories. This film created this sub genre as it followed the conventions of a thriller but subversively had an element of horror conventions within it. Within thriller films, they conventionally keep the main protagonist alive, however in this film the main actress gets killed off where we are then left with clues to who has killed her. Although this does immediately categorise this film into the horror genre, the film generally follows the codes and conventions of a thriller and is therefore classed a mix of the two separate genres.
Relating to both the thriller and horror convention, the film is set in an isolated building in which the protagonist is left alone .This stereotypical creates a sinister atmosphere as we are left fearing who she might come across with no one there to help her. In thrillers, they tend to introduce the main protagonist at the start of the film as this makes it clear whose side we are supposed to be positioned on. Within this film the main protagonist is a female character by the name of Marion Crane acted by Janet Leigh. The antagonist is played by Norman Bates acted by Anthony Perkins who plays the role of the murder. Her role in the film as a female has been purposefully decided by the directors as this follows traditional gender stereotypes in which the women are the passive characters and have a vulnerable status. This is reinforced by the fact that the killer is male as this evokes the ideal that men are the powerful ones that have all the control. This power imbalance between the two opposing gender roles within the film and glorifies the fact that men are seen as stronger than women which supports those conventions gender representations .
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psycho opening
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panic room opening
The net opening
What lies beneath case study
What Lies Beneath is a thriller/drama from the psychological genre, directed by Robert Zemeckis in 2000. This is classed as a psychological thriller due to the codes it follows to fall into this category. For example some of the features it presents, such as the female as the lead role Claire Spencer casted by Michelle Pfeiffer as a female main character is known to be one of the most common conventions of a thriller. This case study reinforces the likely-hood of thriller films having a girl protagonist male antagonist. The antagonist Norman Spenser casted by Harrison Ford . This typically follows the traditional representations of gender whereby females are represented as passive individuals whereas men are presented as dominant and assertive. They tend to cast films this way to evoke the idea that the protagonist cannot fend for themselves which therefore adds to the tension as we fear for her safety. This is down to the connection we make with the main character meaning that we find ourselves on their side and even furthermore out ourselves in their place as if we are the protagonists in danger. This conventional representation of women allows us to then see the way in which the male antagonist is then conveyed as manipulative and powerful in comparison to the female character representation. At one stage during the film we are left slightly in the dark to what the character of Madison is, who is in fact a ghost, and what her intentions might be. This is due to the fact that she very quickly changes from seeming like the antagonist at first and then subverting that position within the film as when then start to uncover the truth in which she is actually trying to help her and warn her, revealing the real antagonist. The undermining truth aspect that is prevalent during the film in terms of who is right and what lies are in fact being revealed. The fact that the characters both have unstable emotional states is a typical aspect that seems to occur during thriller films as this means that there will be some sort of messing with the mind which in this case is Claire and her mission to uncover and work out the truth for herself. In this film we witness the ghost of Madison who was a former student of her husband Norman, starts to make Claire re-think her safety and whether or not she can trust her own husband. It is very conventional to have an element of superstition in physiological thriller films linking to whether or not life exists after death and whether or not we believe it ourselves. Viewers tend to be left in the dark in thriller films to an extent where they do not know whether there is a supernatural aspect or whether it is all in the person's head being just an illusion of the mind. The homonym within the title title 'what lies beneath' could be interpreted in multiple different ways through the use of the verb 'lies'. This links to the ongoing theme of death and suspense that goes on throughout the film symbolising a grave and being buried due to one's death. In contrast to this, it could also link to the act of lying in relation to not telling the truth evoking the idea that the truth becoming revealed. This double meaning word evokes a very cryptic and unsettling atmosphere as everything might not be as it seems.
Pelican Breif case study
​The Pelican Brief is a conspiracy thriller produced in 1993. This film was produced after Alan J. Pakula was inspired by the novel written by John Grisham who then intrigued him to remake this into a real life thriller. Actress Julia Roberts casted as the main character, won this film the people's choice award for favorite dramatic movie actress in 1994. This film could be categorised as both a conspiracy thriller or even a spy or political thriller due to the fact that the female lead role has some sort of information which she shouldn't. Another common feature in political films is that you would always expect to see some sort of political corruption or act of terrorism. In the pelican brief Julia Roberts, who plays Darcy Shaw, is a very smart woman who becomes aware of some secret information where she then finds herself on the run from multiple antagonists trying to assassinate her. It often occurs that the audience are left questioning the validity of the protagonists morale due to a character revealing himself to be a false hero and in fact the antagonist himself. A very typical convention that thriller films tend to have is the female protagonist which this film also follows. Additionally, it isn't uncommon for the antagonist to remain a mystery until the end as this builds suspense and creates an unsettling atmosphere in which the audience get hooked to see the end to find out the truth.​ This brings into context Tzvetan Todorov's 'whodunit' narrative in which the story unfolds in relation not to a future event but one that is already known and merely lying in wait. This creates a level of distrust for the protagonist and as we as the consumers are supposed to be placed in her view point establish this same sense of tension within ourselves. There is always an emphasis on chase sequences and evoking tension for fear of the protagonists safety. An element of deception is evoked throughout this film as she doesnt know who she can trust and who's actually out to get her. There are constant dim lit scenes with low-key lighting to induce fear and enhance trepidation.
Seven case study
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Seven is an American crime/drama/mystery thriller directed by David Fincher. This film was produced in 1995 when it was then released in 1996 on the 5th of January. It won several awards including; MTV Movie & TV Award for Best Movie, MTV Movie Award for Best Villain Kevin Spacey, London Film Critics' Circle Award for Actor of the Year Morgan Freeman and the MTV Movie Award for Most Desirable Male Brad Pitt. It is considered dark and disturbing as it tells the story of David Mills casted by Brad Pitt, a detective who partners with the retiring William Somerset casted by Morgan Freeman to track down a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as a motif in his murders. Due to its sinister nature and gory scenes it considered one of the closest thriller films to be classed as on the verge of being a horror. This comes down to its codes and conventions which almost exceed the limit to what a thriller is classed as and almost closely grasping the horror band. As most thriller films do, Seven saves it's most shocking revelations for the final scenes which is a common convention in the mystery thriller category where at the end we are no longer left in the dark as an audience member and all is revealed. It sits among the bleakest films in mainstream cinema history and leaves you unsettled due to its heartbreaking and twisted end. Within this film there are two protagonists which we are introduced to which isn't as often however not unconventional as this is a good technique to evoke a sense of teamwork and stability as they offer each other help and protect one another. The reason for this is that it allows the audience to see the teamwork thrive and for the characters to understand themselves and each other. Although there is an ongoing theme of death throughout the film including the unfortunate gruesome death of protagonist David Mills, both of the protagonists remain alive at the end of the film. This is most likely what made the difference between it being classed as a thriller or a horror. The two main characters were never in any real threat as the serial killer had a motif which was to kill anyone who had committed one of the 7 deadly sins in which he would then inflict gruesome murders on them.
The boy next door case study
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The boy next door is a erotic thriller directed by Rob Cohen with a budget of 4 million USD. This film was released on 27th february 2015 where it won the MTV movie award for most frightened performance as well as Premio Juventud for Favorite Flick - Movies. It is based around the main protagonist Claire Peters casted by Jennifer Lopez who engages in a steamy affair with Noah Sandborn played by Ryan Guzman, a man much younger to her. She fails to realise that the consequences of her actions will have a perilous outcome. It is clear that the protagonist is quickly established by an audience member who can see the unhealthy obsession Noah becomes through his sexual interest. It is conventional for erotic thriller to have a prevalent sexual nature about them throughout the film where one character becomes in sexually risked position in which she no longer feels safe or comfortable. The most common occurrence within this genre is one character making the mistake of involving themselves in sexual actors with another only to regret it after discovering their true nature and personality. Sexual scenes of the protagonist and antagonist are shown to audience which tend to evoke an emotive atmosphere only for that to be twisted and shown to be of a bad intention from one side. Protagonists are often blackmailed or threatened in which the antagonist may threaten to hurt the protagonist loved ones in order to ensure his desire is met. This is where the concept of psychotic obsession evokes highlighting the antagonists unable emotional and mental state in which they put themselves and others at risk. Although it is common in thriller films for the protagonist to be female and the antagonist to be male, in erotic thriller it is equally as conventional to have the oppositional gender roles.
I am a legend case study
I Am A Legend is a 2007 medical thriller produced by Francis Lawrence. This American post-apocalyptic film was based on the 1954 novel of the same name by Richard Matheson and has film star Will Smith acting as the main character Robert Neville. His character is a scientist being the only one immune to the plague that hit New York. As his role as the protagonist he attempts to find a way to reverse the effects of the man-made virus by using his own immune blood. It is common to show the panicked reaction of the civilians in response to the outbreak. This is used as a technique of creating fear and tension as we see innocent people being struck down from all their surroundings as if there is no where to run or hide. This as an audience member who has already been introduced to the protagonist, feel fearful for his life and worry for his safety in such a national disaster. This makes him claim the role as the heroic figure who saves the day. The fact that he is a male lead presents traditional gender roles linking to male dominance and them being seen as the strong and brave ones that then restore the peace. In this film the main antagonist is the alpha male which he fights against to find to cure the population. The protagonist witnesses lots of traumatic events and horrific occurrences to him or those around him where he must remain strong and keep fighting which again reinforces the need for the hero to dominate the balance and fill his need to resolve the issue. Roberts best friend sam, a German shepherd who remains the only other New York survivor alongside him as his companion died due to being bitten by an infected dog while protecting his owner. This is a common trait for a medial thriller as it is very conventional for the protagonist to loose a loved one or something close to them. This then usually sets the protagonist on his course even more determined as if to be in honour of his beloved best friend. In this genre the main ongoing theme is survival and protection which is crucial in this film as he seems to be the only one close to a cure as well as having the immune gene for the virus.
What is a Rationale?
A rationale is a logical basis and/or reason for a course of action or belief. It is the act of making sense of your own idea and the logic behind that idea through the use of descriptive and experimental research.
my Rationale
From our brief, we were given a scenario in which we were asked to create the opening of a thriller of our choice. In response to this, we investigated the conventions of a thriller and the sub genres alongside. In our previous research we investigated how pre production was used throughout a range of different case studies in order to understand the process of pre-production and its requirements. This was crucial to help us gain the key knowledge that would help us with our own upcoming preproduction and prepare us for our current brief. In order to decide which sub genre we would use for our own project, we thoroughly studied different case study examples for each of the different categories. After looking at the budget plan, we quickly realised that it was in our best interest to use the fact that we could easily access the science laps to our advantage due to low budget limitations. This would additionally mean that we would not have to travel far to film or spend any unnecessary money hiring out private spaces. Therefore we decided in conjunction within our group, that we would produce a medical thriller opening. After speaking to Mr Hodgson and discussing our ideas with him, he seemed to be very on board in lending us any equipment or probes we needed including his room space and lab coat. As a team we then started brainstorming and collaborating on ideas which led us to our current plan. I was given the job of the storyboard as the group felt I would contribute greatly with my more artistic talents which I could then inflict into my work. The group nominated me as the main character as they thought I would be a reliable and easily accessible member of the group. To our advantage, on our team we had Carly, who specialised in special effects makeup. I believe this will make our opening more interesting and add an element of realism to our opening.
What is a proposal?
A proposal is a type of suggestion in the form of a document in which you present your objective to a potential customer for consideration by others.
my Proposal
For our project plan we will produce a medical thriller opening which will have me and Matty acting in it with Annie, Carly, Jai raj, Jack, Jacob and Kai filming and directing. We will ensure that the editing is spread out evenly and whoever is more editing based receives lot's of help and feedback from us so that we are all contributing to the work load. We made the decision that the opening will last approximately two minutes as this is the average time a thriller opening lasts. My role was as a scientist testing out a new unstable serum on a patient. Once injected into Matty, acting as my patient, he begins to show signs of irritation and bruising whereby the unstable nature of the substance is recognised. By this time it would have already travelled too far into his blood stream, infecting him and killing him. This project will be aimed at a unisex audience with a targeted audience of ages 17-30. In regards to any issues that might occur and disrupt filming time, we have completed a risk assessment to ensure our safety and to avoid any delays in production.
As a group we have chosen to split up the different tasks that need to be completed. We ensured everyone was happy with their part and got to do their preferred bit. Here we are going to present our course of action and considerations throughout our work. Here are some of the things we need to take into account when putting our story-line/storyboard together.
The budget plan
Here is our budget plan we produced in order to work out what we can and cannot afford from our available resources. Following this budget plan will give us a good concept of what the actual prices of all the requirements to make a thriller would be. This will also give us a good idea how much we would have to spend to make certain that we do not go over our limit and spend more than we actually have. This budget plan does also present the general amount for crew members and any other aspects that might be included in a production.This budget adds to our understanding of how budgeting bigger productions would work and what the rough costs would be legitimately.
Location recce
On this recce we would look for generally interesting locations beforehand in which those areas become better known and accessible. Having this database of locations can help to ensure that you know where your limits of filming are as you have already scoped out the places that would work and therefore cancelled out any areas that are not accessible. Location scouts often negotiate legal access to filming locations in bigger production types however as we are only working on a low budget project this is not essential for us. Due to the fact that we know our thriller is going to in the medical genre, this means that we only needed those specific science based areas in relation to our idea rather than finding a variety of locations suited more for bigger productions with more than one main location. We then also had to ensure we were granted permission to film in those certain areas which is why we all decided to sent an email to the science team coming from one of our group members in which they responding accordingly and granting us this request.
makeup and costume plans
This costume and makeup plan presents the process of pre-production directed towards our final outcome and the research we have compiled into those areas for what is required. We have two main characters in which the costume must be considered the both and the makeup only for one of them as they will be the individual with the special effects. For the role of the scientist we will require a lab coat as this is one of the main conventions shown within a medical based thrillers. The role of the patient doesn't require a very specific costume as long as they are generally dressed in clothes the average patient would wear from home. From this planning, a good sense of the limitations has been evoked, that we will face in terms of how realistic we can make the injuries look. This is down to the multiple trials done by our makeup artist in which we all discussed which effects were the most successful and resembled what we were trying to accomplish. We all agreed together on the title and logo style by voting for our favourites which then resulted in using the most frequently chosen one. I have gathered from this task, that in thriller films costume and makeup is one of the most crucial aspects to consider as this indicates meaning which an audience member then unintentionally decodes. Bigger production companies tend to know exactly how they want the audience to decode it and therefore uses specific codes and conventions to support this.
props and equiptment plan
The prop and equipment plan will help us determine all the equipment that will need to organise prior to filming and in some ways almost being used as a checklist to make sure every shooting session is managed efficiently. This will also give us a better understanding of what the shots might look like in conjunction with the actors and how this adds a more realistic element to our thriller. To our advantage, we happen to have a lot of equipment and props available to us which will significantly improve our project and give it more detail.
risk assesment and Contingency plan
Generally you could argue that the risk assessment and contingency plan are essentially the most important aspects of pre-production alongside it actually being a legal requirement. It is useful to identify health and safety hazards in which you can then evaluate the risks which may arise. Written on the risk assessment is the control measures and contingency plan for any risk we have assessed. A contingency plan is a way of evaluating any problems that may occur and giving the best solution to what might resolve this issue if it did happen. This ensures the effectiveness and suitability of existing control measures meaning that in those situations you can respond accordingly and efficiently. The most likely problem to occur will probably be the absence of a group member whether they are ill or just not bale to attend. Our then planned solution would be to fill that role with whom we think is most suitable as a backup to this part.
Title and Logo plans
Our title plan presents a variety of the different font, colour and size choices available. This will be for our titles and logos for our thriller opening credits. We chose 8 different styles of fonts and presented them to the group in which we took a vote and discussed which would be best to suit what we want to convey through our project. We must make sure whatever font is chosen is used consistently throughout the duration of the opening otherwise it will look unprofessional. Additionally it will look unprofessional if we use lower case letters and should always ensure we are putting the titles in capital letters so we have a good presentation.
Music links
Here is a completed music plan which we intentionally sourced ready for editing so that we had lots of ideas in advance which we could then match to our project and select the best audio from. This was an efficient use of time so that we don't find ourselves trying to find music to match our opening but instead have more time to choose which track suits the best alongside the footage. An important reason we must complete this task is so that we can make certain we are aware of the copyright laws and sourcing non copyrighted music for our audio. This needs to be done carefully as the legal penalties can can charge you up to £50,000 and in extreme cases incarceration.
This is our shot list presented though an organised table layout in which it categorises the different shot types, shot number, what is taking place in that specific scene and what props will be being used. Using this style of layout, helps our organisation for the different shoots and in what order each shots should be taken in. This additionally gives us a greater understanding of what the final outcome may look like as we will have a clearer picture of what will be going on
storyboard
I produced the storyboard myself as my team nominated me to do so as they felt I was reliable and had a good level of artistic skills which would benefit this task. It presents the plan of each of the desired shots alongside any dialogue that is required. This task is a crucial part of pre-production in terms of helping your group have a clear picture of which direction the project is heading in. It essentially gives us the opportunity to has see what our film is going to look like before it actually being made. This is an advantageous position to be in as it means there is then room and time to make any adjustments that we decide to change. Storyboards can be generally used as a checklist or guide as it means you can use it to make sure every shot that is needed is filmed accurately.
filming and editing schedule
This shooting schedule is project plan of each day's shooting for our film production. It presents the exact dates for who is involved on what day as well as who the director is for each of those shooting sessions. he value of a good shooting schedule is crucial as this will reflect on the organisation of the team and whether you then have enough time left to edit. We thought it was imperative to try and get as many of the pre-production staff as possible into an initial meeting as this will give everyone an understanding of what we are starting with and what we are trying to accomplish. After this we then discussed scheduling and gave everyone an almost equal amount of filming sessions to take part in (not including Me and Matty as we are the only two casted roles within the project). Without a shooting schedule there would be a lack or organisation and time management as it would be difficult to remember ourselves causing disruptions to the production due to delays and being behind schedule.
filming diary
Throughout my research, I have realised at all thrillers conventionally will be full of suspense and some element of surprise or uncertainty within it. In terms of camera angles, shots and movement, there is a consistent use of close ups and extreme close ups of the protagonists. From this project, I have gained key experience and now understand what are the necessary requirements are before even capturing the footage and how the whole process of pre-production itself comes into it all.