1. Thriller Conventions
Our film consists of the thriller conventions using enigmas and building up suspense.
Throughout the opening scene the character is never fully revealed which we used to engage the spectator as it builds up their curiosity.
The suspense is built up through using unusual clips and using music, random sounds and script to create an eerie atmosphere which then gets more intense and dangerous as the sounds get louder and the clips get shorter and faster.
There’s also a shot of a lock, which as an audience we expect to be significant to the rest of the story, leaving another mystery.
THRILLER CONVENTIONS
I chose to use a this shot at the start because the colouring is quite dark and sets the mood and also it only reveals a silhouette of the side of her face so the main character is not revealed leaving an enigma and adding suspense because the audience want to know who this character is.
This strange unexplained shot also leaves an enigma as the audience wonder why the girl is crying and if it explains this later on in the story.
Thrillers are often dark and eerie and I think this shot really creates an eerie feel to the opening as her reflection is very ghost like as reflections are translucent like ghosts. And also the dark blue colouring of this shot also makes the film seem very creepy and dark.
In this clip her eyes jolt from side to side which suggests she’s afraid which adds mystery as too why. And also in this shot is faded into another clip of someone purposely pricking their fingertip which shows that the character is very strange and the blood links with death and builds tension as the spectator suspects that this girl thinks about death which is reinforced by the voice over when she says that she doesn't love herself.
2. Social Groups
The character in our group has schizophrenia which puts her in the social group of people with ‘Mental Disorders’.
We portrayed this social group through sound, by using mixed up voices and noises (for example violins, traffic, voices and barking) to show the illusions and hallucinations that people with schizophrenia experience because she hears things that aren’t there, it shows how her disorder makes her imagination take over reality.
We also showed this through clips of unusual behavior for example when she is fidgeting with her hands repeatedly or when she’s crying looking blankly straight ahead of her and where her eyes jolt from side to side almost twitching.
And also she is always alone which shows she isolates herself from other people or they isolate her.
Schizophrenia symtoms include:
-Delusions & Hallucinations Are Common in Schizophrenia
-Social isolation and withdrawal
-Irrational, bizarre or odd statements or beliefs
-Increased paranoia or questioning others' motivations
-Becoming more emotionless
-Hostility or suspiciousness
-Increasing reliance on drugs or alcohol (in an attempt to self-medicate)
-Lack of motivation
-Speaking in a strange manner unlike themselves
-Inappropriate laughter
-Insomnia or oversleeping
-Deterioration in their personal appearance and hygiene
Nina from the ‘Black Swan’
She has Schizophrenia and her hallucinations and anxiety attacks spiral out of control similarly too our character.
Characters with mental disorders are usually portrayed as very strange and confused for example character ‘Ayers’ in ‘the solo artist’ he is extremely talented but he cant handle the noises he hears and this holds him back in life.
3. MEDIA INSTITUTION
We filmed our Thriller in locations we owned and used our own possessions as props because we had no budget so I think a suitable media institution would be a small British distributor that focus on young and upcoming film makers such as our group.
Distributors such as Film four or the Metrodome group would be the most suitable for our film as they produce the type of films that aren’t mainstream or Hollywood and our film would fit in nicely with their category and also these companies have the resources and contacts to get films in cinemas and get them distributed well. These companies also have the idea that they’re promoting a new talented film maker at interest rather than making big gross revenue like the large film companies concentrate on.
This is a preview of what my Film would look like on the internet.
4. Audience
Our target audience would be 25 to 45 year olds or Artistic University Students.
People who enjoy going to film festivals or somewhere like the arts picture house. Also people with a little intellect and understanding of films who like to interpret films and enjoy films that make you think. As the film isn’t very Hollywood like the big blockbusters you watch in big cinemas.
I’ve put the certificate as a 15 though because some scenes will be very disturbing as the character does things she unaware of because of her condition.
The empire focuses on the genres Thriller and Horror which fits in with our thriller opening. The magazine also has a variety of smaller budget films, which our film would fit under. Also Empire is a world known magazine and this would give our film very good publicity and they cover such a wide range of films and attract such a diverse audience that our film would be likely to attract the attention of at least quite a few people.
Also our film is turmoil and creates a lot of opportunities where questions are created and the intellectual journalists that write for empire have a deep knowledge of film and would have the kind of skills needed to interpret the meanings behind the unclear shots we’ve used to portray messages without clear flowing scenes.
Review
Plot
Silent Minds is a film about a fragile low self esteemed girl, who suffers from depression, and severe isolation and deals daily with her mental disorder, schizophrenia. She is confused and easily influenced by the problems in modern society! The teenager’s problems are making life extremely hard for her. She gets into the wrong crowd at college and starts drinking and abusing drugs, which creates distraught situations for this confused teenager. Strange things begin happening in her neighborhood without explanations, the church is burnt to the ground, undecipherable messages written everywhere. Rumors spread and Accusations are made.
She tries to run away from her problems and stays at a hostel in the city, where she befriends a homeless boy who understands her and saves her from herself.
As the film progresses we uncover the truth of her lonely life and why she is the way she is.
Review
The opening is carefully structured with clips that appear to be in a random order but if you look deeper the clips connected shows a story. It takes you on the emotional journey of an Isolated Schizophrenic girl as we uncover the reality of the world through her eyes, distorted and messed up.
We sympathise with the girl as she struggles with depression and isolation whilst battling with her disorder. The director takes you on a journey through different ages slowly uncovering the becoming of her schizophrenia – Her memories haunt her years after her childhood and affect her later on in life.
Actress Charlie Hall plays this distressed character with conviction as she really gets into her dark characteristics to the point where you get a shiver down your spine.
Similarly Darren Aronofsky creates this two dimensional schizophrenic character in ‘The Black Swan’ who similarly deals with Mental illness and has her hallucinations and anxiety attacks escalate. The Character from black swan also deals with a dangerous love of perfection which causes her to change for the worse, which also effects the character from Silent Minds as she has developed a hatred towards herself because she doesn’t satisfy her need for perfection.
5. Attracting/ engaging the audience
We used a variety of camera angles and shots to keep the film engaging and diverse.
To grab the spectator’s attention we created enigmas and questions to be asked so they would like to keep watching and reveal some answers.
The film try’s to make viewers think. At the beginning she whispers the phrase ‘society demands us to love each other. But how could I possibly love another when I don’t even love myself.’ Which shows you an element of the character, that has no self esteem and leaves you with the question as to why she thinks like this, what have others have done to make her feel like this or has she always been this cold hearted. In the clips she is slowly revealed part by part and the spectator must interpret what she looks like and slowly build up who she is and what she’s like through the clips in the film.
For example in the shot where she stands isolated in a field, it gives the impression that she’s often alone and you wonder if she chooses this or if others have isolated her. Also in this shot we have chosen to blend a layer of a clip of an angel statue on top which contradicts this dark persona the character is given through the dark music and the dark eerie mise en scene. An angel could also be a metaphor for her death wish as it’s portrayed that she is miserable and the angel shows that she might wish to go to heaven and also she is also looking up at the sky which suggests she’s looking up at heaven. Another thing that suggests she doesn’t love herself is when there is a clip of her looking at herself in her reflection which is followed by a clip of her crying despite her trying to make herself look more pretty with makeup. It shows a girl with insecurity, which viewers can relate to but this girl has a more extreme case of insecurity and this opening portrays this depression.
6. WHAT YOU’VE LEARNT
I’ve learnt a lot about using Final Cut for example I’ve learnt how to link the clips to there sound which saved a lot of time moving clips around and I learnt how to layer to clips and blend them together and I learnt how to many instruments can overpower the visuals to much and that keeping it subtle simple but eerie can be much more effective.
With garage band we used two pieces of music made with garage and and layered them to create a very unsettling ambience.
TASK SIX –
FINAL CUT EXPRESS
Final Cut Express is video editing software and its actually just a slightly lower grade version of the software that professional film editors use.
I learnt how to group the clips together with their sounds and was able to move them together rather than separately which saved a lot of time.
I’d already used final cut lots in the past so I know all about you cut clips, add text, use transitions etc.
Garage Band –
I had learnt a lot from using this software in our previous project ‘the children’s film project’. I found it really easy to use and as all the instruments are categorized into type of instruments and also in the mood they express.
I kept it simple as I remembered that in the previous situations I made the sound to complicated and overpowering and it didn’t suit the videos. So I used a mix of violins and added a beat so when the clips came onto the screen with a beat it would be more powerful.
7. FROM THE PLELIMANARY TASK TO THE FINAL PEICE
I've definitely learnt a lot from the preliminary task as it helps you see what you did wrong so you make the right choices the next time around and don’t make those same mistakes. In our preliminary task we didn’t do enough takes of the scenes and so we didn’t have enough material to edit whereas this time around we had plenty of clips and various shots so we could make a decision on what clip was best to use.
And also in the preliminary task the music was too dramatic and over powering so this time I made sure the music was subtle but still had the right emotion.
Ive also done a presentation on prezi which you can veiw at :
http://prezi.com/kng7-wbrxsnq/media-task-seven/
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