Costume Changes

In the scene of Anastasia in Dylan's attic we decided to chose a different costume to the outfit in the scene of the 'equilibrium' to make it very clear to the audience that when the flash forward of the disruption is shown, it is on a different day to the following scene shown of Anastasia being okay and happy. We chose the costume to be light colours to again show the audience that dispite all the blood, dirt and briuses on her, she is the good character and not the bad. It is also a modern and fashionable outfit. 

White shoes to show that she is a good character and to connote her purity and innocence. The colour white gives this impression because people often match white with angelic symbols and we really wanted Anastasia to have this 'good girl' reputation. They are also a branded shoe (Adidas). Showing this brand on our character will really appeal to our primary audience because it is a very popular and modern brand, which a lot of teenagers/young adults wear or like. It will help us appeal to the 'Mainstreamer' group, as according to Young and Rubicam's audience classification system; the mainstreamers enjoy value for money and fitting in with everyone else. This is often through things like wearing well known brands, which is what Anastasia is doing herself. Therefore allowing the audience to connect with her because they will feel like they are like her because she is wearing the same shoe/brand as them. It supports the Colonist theory because of the fact that she is wearing western fashion and a brand that is popular in western countries.

Make-up

We used eyeshadow and a grey contour powder to create bruises on my forehead and near my mouth. We wanted to show the audience how much danger Anastasia is in and that she is severely hurt. The bruises show them that is they aren't fresh injuries and that they were inflicted on her some time ago. So it shows them that the Antagonist has kept her locked up for a long period of time. It also shows that Damien is very violent and shows them that he is an angry and aggressive person.

We bought fake blood to use. We used this for the deep wounds on her leg and stomach. Also dripping from her head, eyebrow and ears. The look of the fresh blood suggests to the audience that they are fresh wounds, unlike the bruises. We needed to establish that Damien is constantly hurting her and is nearly always violent. The audience can be 100% clear from this that the injuries were not just a one off thing, the antagonists aggressiveness and violence is a consistant thing.

Location Recce

The attic is the main location of our film. We love the whole look of the attic. There are so many different elements that make it the perfect set for our opening sequence. Referring to Barthes Code Theory, the attic will leave the audience with plenty of semantic codes. These our vital considering the first thing the audience will see is Anastasia in the attic.

They will need some clues as to what is going on, even if they cannot make complete sense of it all. The dirty and broken floor boards will tell the audience that Anastasia is in a bad place and she is in danger because the connotations of dirtiness and broken objects are that things are not right.

 There are also cobwebs all over the windows and in the broken floorboards, which will give the audience a sense of fear, due to the association of cobwebs to spiders. An animal in which many people fear. It also gives the impression that the attic has been untouched for a very long time and that it is not usually used or visited by people, giving the hint that Anastasia is being kept away from others.













We will also have a scene of Anastasia in her bedroom. This will be to show the audience that the scene in the attic was a flash forward to the 'disruption' and that the film will now return to the 'equilibrium' and will now follow Todorov's narrative theory, whereby the plot is set out in the following order:

• Equilibrium
• Disruption
• Resolution 
• New equilibrium

The location that we have chosen for Anastasia's bedroom is my actual bedroom. We felt this was the perfect place to do it as my bedroom is predominantly covered in light colours. The walls and carpet are a very light grey. All the furniture is white. Having a lot of light colours, especially white, signifies Anastasia's purity and innocence. It shows the audience that she is a good character, which needs to be established following the first scene because she is very dirty and heart. She is also in a dark and dirty location so some of the audience may misinterpret her as what Propp would refer to as the 'Antagonist' because these are usually the connotions associated to a bad character. The second location will reassure the audience as to the fact that she is a good character and present her as another character role from Propp's character theory: the 'Prince/Prize' because they will see how she was in trouble in the first scene and in the second scene they will see that she is actually a innocent and desired character. We provided the text from Dylan our protagonist as an action code, to hint to the character that he is her rescuer and that she is desired by the male characters. There are also big mirrors to give the audience the impression that she takes care in her appearence and cares about how she looks to others. There are also cosmetics lying around her room such as: makeup, perfumes etc. These again show the audience how she take care of her appearence. Suggesting to the audience that she could be quite a popular girl in school, as often teenagers who are classed as popular are often stereotypically labelled as being vain and egotistic. 

There will then be a very short moment when you see Anastasia and Damien walking down the street outside. This was the road that I live down. There are lots of trees down my road and as it is winter they are all bare of leaves which really helped give that eerie affect. It is also a fairly quiet road so there was no by passers, which really helped hint to the audience that Damien was going to keep Anastasia away from the rest of the world and that very soon she would only have his company. 

All these locations were either near my house or in my house so they were extremely easy to access and there was no trouble in finding the ideal place. 

There was so members of the public that interfered whilst filming the scene outside, therefore we did not have to ask anyone for permission to film there or ask people to avoid the shot. However when filming in my house, my family were often very loud and it was heard to film and not get the sound of them talking etc. in the shot, especially my 4 year-old niece who kept crying and interrupting our filming. However luckily we didn't want to include any usual dialogue or sounds and we edited in all non-diegetic and diegetic sounds afterwards. 

The only way to get in to my attic is by a very shaky and unstable ladder, which was quite dangerous especially when taking things like lamps and the camera equipment up and down. To overcome this the boys went up first and then me and Sophie handed up anything we needed to take up and followed up after them. We also had to be very careful where we stood because there were nails on the floor and some of the floorboards we broken. We used the nails to our advantage and included it in our opening sequence as a prop. However there was not really anything particular that we could do with the broken floorboards, we just ensured that we avoided standing near them or in them. We also included shots of these in the opening sequence to really emphasise how much danger Anastasia is in.

Story Board

Shot List

We chose to use the following shots in our opening sequence:

• An extreme close-up of Anastasias eye, this was to really make the audience connect with how she is feeling and instantly create empathy. It is important to make this connection happen instantly so that the audience will like Anastasia as a character. It is also to make the audience feel claustrophobic and uncomfortable, therefore showing that she is in a bad situation and also  establishing the genre of the film.
• We used a high angle shot of the first time the audience get to see the antagonist and Anastasia in the same shot together. We wanted to communicate to the audience that the antagonist has a hold over Anastasia, so this shot makes her look really tiny in comparison to him. Showing that he is more superior.
• Another shot we have used is a mixture between a head-on-shot and a hand-held shot, to enhance the realism and involvement of the audience. It will make it very engaging for them because it will almost feel like they are there, in Anastasia's place. It will then make it a lot easier for them to empathise with her.
• A reverse zoom shot was used at the end to focus the audiences attention on the antagonist and highlight the fact that he is an important factor to the story because they have not yet seen his face. They can only identity that it is him by the costume.

Communicating Our Genre By Ollie Clark

What genre signifiers will we include?


In our opening sequence we will include genre signifiers such as blood and wounds on Anastasia's face. You would only conventionally see a high volume of blood and deep cut wounds in genres such as action, psychological thrillers and thrillers, therefore blood being demonstrated through extreme close ups and normal close up shots already breaks it down for the audience. The audience could also suggest hat if somebody has blood all round her face and is unable to get out of the situation then somebody has put her there, which the audience could then infer that they might have been some sort of psycho. According to Rick Altman's genre theory, all films contain semantic and syntactic elements. This opening shot strongly supports this theory because as well as being visual to all the blood and deep cut wounds, the use of close up shots connote that she is in grief as well. People might also enjoy the repetition of blood in psychological thrillers, therefore want to watch more. This links to Steve Neales genre theory that audience might enjoy repetition of conventions in genres and would want to see more.

We will also communicate our genre to the audience by using taboo language when the character is in distress. This is extremely common in horrors and psychological thrillers because the idea is so the dialect expresses the main characters level of distress, frustration and anxiousness. This is seen most famously in classics such as Saw where he shouts 'someone help me' in an extremely high pitched voice. As Saw is a horror film, this supports Roberts Stams theory as some people may argue it is a hybrid of genres rather than just a psychological thriller. However it could also challenge his theory because, dialect of distress is also seen in other genres such as action and thrillers and not just horrors.

The use of camera shots and angles will connote that the films genre is a psychological thriller by showing close ups of the girls facial expression to signify she had been psychologically effected. Her beautiful face and long shots of her tied up to a pole in a basement suggests that a psycho is obsessed over her, therefore took matters into their own hands and locked her up all for themselves. The audience may be able to infer that this psycho may be somebody who is obsessive and unable to control themselves. This challenges Robert Stams theory because no film contains a obsessive psycho other than films of the genre 'psychological thriller'. These inferences give the audience a clear understanding of the genre as they have been demonstrated in the opening sequence. Camera shots and angles are also key in contributing the genre because they help the audience understand the daunting atmosphere Anastasia is in. For example the over the shoulder establishing shots connote that the atmosphere is conventional to a thriller, a psychological thriller or a horror film.

All the elements of a psychological thriller such as high amounts of blood, a psycho villain, a princess and prize and a protagonist all thrown into one film contribute to the film being able to push the boundaries of the genre, which supports Steve Neale's genre theory as his idea is that genre is always evolving through a cycle of events. Therefore our film, concealed, pushes the psychological thriller boundaries because all the key concepts take the genre to the next level.

Finally, the use of non-diagetic sounds and music will communicate the genre of our film. The use of high pitched music to work together with dark lighting of the mise-en-scene and pan camera shots create a daunting atmosphere to the audience, and could also help them come to the conclusion that Anastasia is psychologically effected by this as the music could have links and annotations on to how she is feeling.

How Are We Going To Engage Our Audience?

Our story line is non-linear, as it starts with the disruption. When looking at Todorov's narrative structure usually films follow the structure of:

• Equilibrium 
• Disruption 
• Resolution 
• New Equilibrium 

Therefore our story will immediately grab the audiences attention because it is not what they are used to. They are immediately thrown into the deep end and this will engage them because they will try to figure out what is going on and why it is not following the usual structure of a film.

The hidden identity of the antagonist will also highly engage the audience. It is very clear from the costume and the angles that the antagonist is shown in that he is a bad character rather than a good character. However they do not see his face or have any hints as to who he is. It will encourage them to keep watching because they would've seen Anastasia and what is happening to her, however they will not know who is doing it or why they're doing it. So they will keep watching so that they can get the answers to their questions, it will also give them a sense of pleasure because as the film progresses they would get more action codes to give them an idea of the antagonist's identity, so they will start making their own predictions. If they predict the right identity then they we'll start to feel clever and will provide them with that sense of achievement, which according to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs will give them a boost in 'Self-Esteem'.

The main character: Anastasia was purposely constructed to fit in with our target audience, we really wanted to create a likable and relatible character that the audience can connect with and build a relationship with. We used close-ups and extreme close-ups to really emphasise how she is feeling to position the audience to connect with her emotions and feel a large amount of sympathy for her. As the audience are  given the chance to connect with Anastasia within the first minute of the film they will instantly start to build a relationship with her character, causing them to want to watch more because they can see in the beginning that she is in trouble and they will want to know that she ends up happy in order to gain a sense of catharsis.

Evaluation of Inner Evil (AS Media Opening Sequence)

Good

• Varied choice of shots
• close-ups
• medium shots
• birds-eye view
• shallow focus
• long shot
• loose shot
• over the shoulder shot
• hand held shot
• Good use of editing techniques
• jump cuts
• non-continuity editing
• visual effects
• Mis-en-Scene
• the protagonist is wearing light colours and the antagonist is wearing dark colours to signify good and bad.
• unsaturated colours in the flashbacks.

Bad

• It is unclear what is happening in the opening.
• There are some points when the sound sounds slightly fuzzy.

Research Into Genre: Psychological Thriller

Psychological Thriller is a sub-genre of the broad genre;Thriller. It incorporates different elements from genres such as Action, Drama, Horror as well as including common conventions from the Thriller genre.

Mis-en-Scene:

• Low-key lighting and shadows are used frequently in psychological thrillers. This genre is about the mind and mental in/stability therefore the dark lighting not only signifies but also emphasises the darkness of the antagonist. Sometimes it is the protagonist that is beginning to become mentally unstable, for example Nina in 'The Black Swan'. The low-key lighting also highlights how much darkness is taking over a character's mind.
•  The location is normally set in very normal places to create a sense of realism for the audience, which makes everything more dramatic. It creates a slight worry amongst the audience because it highlights how much psychological thriller movies sometimes contain a narrative story that is not  completely unrealistic, therefore they cannot rule out the possibility of it actually happening in real life. Like in 'The Strangers' or 'Se7en' that are based on a story about human murderers.  
• Often the costume is usual clothing such as jeans and t-shirts, to again create a sense of realism for the audience, especially in films that have a far fetched storyline. 'The Exorcist' characters are dressed in the appropriate clothing for the era that it is set in because it is about a young girl who is possessed. The story line is not realistic therefore the sense of realism should be provided in a different way, costume is one of the ways the director created it. 
• The antagonist is usually in a dark costume so that they are associated with the connotations of dark colours. These connotations being: evil, dangerous and mysterious. In contrast, the antagonist is usually put in light or bright colours to show that they are good.
• In films like 'The Black Swan' props such as mirrors are often used to show the reflection of the character's inner self in contrast with who they appear as to other characters. In the 'Black Swan' in a scene when Nina is looking into a mirror she sees a different reflection to what is happening in reality, Nina sees her darker side that is slowly taking over her personality. The contrast makes the difference even more dramatic, as you can see how different that the way they are represented is to their inner and real self. 

Sound:

• Directors usually use eerie non-diegetic music to build tension slowly.
• Dialogue is not often included in psychological thriller openings. It creates more mystery because the non-diegetic music does not explain what is going on in the scene. Dialogue between characters usually helps the audience understand what events are occurring, however not having it leaves them to figure it out themselves.
•  High pitched, screechy hyperbolic sounds are often used.  'Se7en' contains a lot of these sounds during the opening sequence. They make the audience feel very uncomfortable because these sounds make them feel on edge and are very difficult to listen.  
• Sometimes there is moments of complete silence. In psychological thrillers that contain a supernatural antagonist, like 'Paranormal Activity' this is often used at the climax of an event that was previously built up. This could be when the supernatural being is about to strike, the silence makes the audience feel on edge because they are waiting for the emptiness to be filled, as it is odd for there to be complete silence in a film for no reason.

Editing:

• Slow Motion editing is used to build suspense. The audience will feel on edge because they want to know what is going to happen next, but they have to wait because the moment is pro-longed.
• Face paced editing is used to distort and confuse the audience. It does not give them enough time to fully take in what they have seen so they will become confused.
• A montage is used in 'The Bone Collector' and 'Se7en' to show the audience what has taken place before the film in a short space of time. Although it may not be completely clear what is being shown in the montage, once the action codes in the film are shown they should be able to figure it out for themselves.

Structure:

• Usually Todorov's narrative structure is followed:
• equilibrium
• distruption
• resolution
• new equilibrium

Conventional Directors:

•   David Fincher
• 'Se7en'
• 'The Game'
• 'Panic Room'
• 'Zodiac'
• Sir Alfred Hitchcock ('Master of Suspense')
• Psycho
• Martin Scorcese
• 'Shutter Island'
• 'Cape Fear'
• 'The Taxi Driver'
• Christopher Nolan
• 'Insomnia'
• 'Momento'
• 'Following'

Conventional Actors/Actresses:

• 

  Antony Hopkins
  

  • 'Hannibal'
  • 'Silence Of The Lambs'

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  • Leonardo Di Caprio
  • 'Shutter Island'
  • 'Inception'
  • 'The Departed'

Themes Commonly Tackled In The Genre:

• Guilt
• Characters usually feel guilt for something that they had done in the past. In 'Shutter Island' the protagonist killed his wife and she drowned their two children. He felt so guilty for his actions that he created a story in his mind that gave him a new identity, allowing him to forget about the events that took place.
•   Identity
• A character is on their journey searching for self-actualisation.
• Death
• The death of another character deeply troubles the protagonist and they blame themselves for mistakes they made.
• Obsession
• The character constantly has one thing on their mind and it drives them crazy. Nina in 'The Black Swan' becomes so obsessed with becoming Odile that slowly she literally becomes her.
• Mind
• The way the characters mind works. This challenges events that happen in the films, as the audience will question whether it actually happened or just happened in the character's mind.

The Audience

• The repetition of all these elements when looking at Steve Neale 's genre theory creates enjoyment for the audience because they have some familiarity with the films of the genre. They do not like feeling stupid and therefore the repertoire of elements allows them to have better understanding of things and avoids making them feel un intelligent.
• Blumer and Katz suggested that audiences use media for different reasons, in this case it would be for entertainment. The film provides the audience with something to engage with.