Location

Deciding where our production was to be located and filmed wasn't very challenging as we already had a location in mind that was easily accessible, and seemed to fit well with the ideas we had for our production. When deciding our location the key things we looked for in the layout of the location were; 

• That it had a stream near by. This was important as we thought a stream would help contribute to setting the perfect atmosphere and surroundings to create the appropriate mood for our thriller. The stream is only seen and heard briefly, however I believe it is effective. 

The stream

• That it had a wide path or a quiet road near by the house where we could film the mother pushing the pram down. It was important that the road or path was quiet so that it showed the viewer there was nobody around, making the mood feel a little more scary and tension filled. Also, the road had to be near the house so that the viewer could assume the villain knew where the characters lived. As you can see in the picture below, the road is right near the house. 

Other locations we filmed were all internal after those external ones. The internal locations we shot at were in the kitchen, living room, hall, stairs, and landing. 

Props List

This is a list of the props we are using in our thriller opening. They will be brought by our group. 

 

Pram: This will be brought by me, and used to walk the baby in outside, where the mother initially meets the villain. 

Baby Monitor: This will also be brought by me. This is used when the mother puts the baby to bed and leaves the room, the mysterious man whispers through the baby monitor to create a thriller like atmosphere.

Moses Basket: This will be brought by me too. It is used as the baby's bed, where she sleeps. It is a significant feature in creating a dramatic effect of the disappearance of the baby.

Balaclava: This will be brought by Frankie, and used to hide the identity of the villain, to create mystery and interest.

Toy: Rosie is bringing this. This will be shown as the mother bumps into the villain, and again later in the Moses basket replacing the baby, after she has been taken.

Script

Script 

EXT. WALK – EVENING 

SARAH walks up a deserted and slightly eerie country path towards her home with her baby, GRACE. She notices a MYSTERIOUS MAN approaching. 

SARAH Oh sorry. 

Her voice sounds timid. 

The man walks very slowly and remains silent as she passed him. She seems scared by the encounter and when she arrives at her doorway she looks around as if to check that no one is there. 

INT. KITCHEN – EVENING

 Sarah enters the kitchen and closes the door behind her. She turns around to face the window and gasps in horror as she realizes the oven has been left on. 

INT. BEDROOM – NIGHT

 Sarah takes her baby to the bedroom and puts her to sleep. 

 Sarah leaves the baby to sleep and continues into her living room. She sits on the sofa and watches TV with he baby monitor close by.

MAN (through baby monitor) Ssshhh. 

Sarah hears the noise from the baby monitor and runs upstairs in shock to rush to Grace, only to find that she is no longer there, and has been replaced by a teddy. 

Shot List

Shot List 

1. Establishing long shot walking with the pram 

2. Medium close up of hooded figure 

3. Point of View shot of him looking at woman and pram 

4. Long shot of her behind 

5. Long shot of them bumping into each other 

6. Close up of toy falling to the floor 

7. Extreme close up of toys eyes 

8. Ellipses to a long shot of her unlocking the door 

9. Close up on keys 

10. Cut away to bush medium shot 

11. Point of view from bush on her 

12. Match on action shot going through the door 

13. Close up on face looking scared/shocked 

14. Medium shot of oven 

15. Extreme close up as she turns the oven off 

16. When she walks away camera pans to the window – see man 

17. Ellipses 

18. Camera tracks her walking up the stairs – low angle 

19. Medium close up of her rocking baby 

20. Pans to her putting baby in bed 

21. Close up of baby sleeping 

22. Extreme close up of the baby monitor as she turns it on – dissolve – music

23. Ellipses to her in bed – hears creaking 

24. Extreme close up on eyes as they open 

25. ‘shh’ on the baby monitor – zoom in 

26. Camera tracks her as she runs in room 

27. Close up on mosses basket – baby is gone – toy is there 

28. Dissolve to titles

Synopsis

Synopsis Crime thriller - 

On the way home from a walk with her baby, a young woman has a strange encounter with a mysterious person, as she walks past him, she has an odd feeling about him. She thinks little of it, but senses that something isn’t right. 

She carries on walking home, trying to push aside her uncertain and unsettling feelings, jumping slightly at innocent things. 

She puts the baby to bed, again pushing aside her uncertainties, and goes to bed herself. After hearing a hushing noise coming from the baby monitor she jumps out of bed to check on the baby, to find that it has gone.

Student analysis - Nocturnal Windows

Student Analysis – Nocturnal Windows

This student production is established as a thriller through key features such as chiaroscuro lighting, characters, sounds, shots and general mise-en-scene. The production opens with a high angle panning establishing shot; this immediately sets the scene and makes the viewer aware of the location. The shot shows many different doors which implies there are perhaps many places to hide, thus reinforcing the mystery surrounding the scene. There are then several fades to black connected by left to right panning movement showing the location and establishing that the house is apparently empty but also creating a menacing feel that something or someone may be looking.  We then use a dissolve to an exterior of the house, and the characters walking towards it signifying that they are approaching the house we’ve seen because the interior shots were shown before the exterior shots.  

Alongside the opening shots, there is mysterious non diegetic music with piano notes being played, this creates a sense of apprehension building tension and mystery and it reaches a crescendo and stops as the shot fades to the exterior action. There are then diegetic sounds of footsteps and the door being open and then locked. The camera focuses with a medium shot of the door being locked and a close up on the character locking the door. The light switching off acts as an ellipsis fade which creates irony as the viewer knows that something may be inside the house with them, and they have just locked it in. 

There is then an ellipsis into the bedroom, where both the characters are in bed. There is a medium long shot of the bed. The room is lit by a lamp, again there is chiaroscuro lighting establishing the opening as a thriller. The light next to the girl is lit, however the light next to the male is off, this could represent binary oppositions of life and death, as he dies shortly after. As the girl talks there is a medium close up on her face, this emphasizes the scared, nervous tones in her voice. The bedding is a bold red colour; this connotes blood and death which may foreshadow a later event that may take place. The male character reacts reluctantly to checking the house for his girlfriend, and in the end it can be assumed that he gets killed, this fits in with other thrillers we have watched as usually the person who is reluctant but brave enough to check dies.  The use of dialogue and continuity editing establish narrative themes.

As he walks upstairs there is a medium to long shot, we hear the diegetic sound of his footsteps as the shot fades to black, the sound of his footsteps fades away too. The fade to black denotes and ellipsis but could represent the uncertainty of his life.

The music starts again as she is walking upstairs in the dark with only a torch lighting the way. The darkness surrounding her and the torch is unsettling as it suggests something is hiding in it.  Here the lighting could have been better for example having the lights on, however that would not have created the same atmosphere. There is a low angle tracking shot of her as she walks up the stairs, the camera uses a night vision effect to highlight the darkness the character is seeing. The camera tracking behind her makes the viewer empathise and identify with her vulnerability at this point, wondering what lies ahead.  Non diegetic music starts again as there is a close up of her hand opening the door and the torch is shining on it, implying that this room is significant. 

There is a non-diegetic sharp high pitched string sound as she witnesses what’s inside the room, and then a close up on her face showing her shocked, disbelief expression. We cut to a medium close up of her dropping the torch in slow motion which signifies the loss of life or falling into a hellish situation. The diegetic sound of the torch dropping on the floor is emphasized to make the viewer feel her shocking impact of the discovery even though we don’t see it.  Here there is a change of pace with faster edits and use of quicker tempo music.

The camera is hand held, with an extreme close up on her face as she runs which creates a sense of urgency and panic. Here, the music is faster than before although we feel it is not fast enough as it needs to create a greater sense of urgency.  It would have been more effective if the music had a faster tempo and sharper notes. 

There is a cut to a low angle shot of a mysterious pair of feet dressed in black, we don’t see his face which creates more mystery. As she reaches the door she is frantically looking for the keys which we knew were placed on the hook from the earlier medium close up shot but now they have gone, the killer closely planned this. The camera quickly pans round behind her and shows a black figure coming towards her with a knife. The music reaches crescendo as the camera focuses on a close up of the knife.  A splatter font is used as ‘Nocturnal Windows’ appears as a full screen title hinting at disruption and blood/violence.

Analysis of a thriller - Face Off

Face off

The use of blue filters in the opening scene at the fairground where John Travolta and his son are on the carousel washes out the bright greens of the trees and the grass, and the blues and the reds of the balloons, and also makes the horses look sombre, not colorful or happy. It makes the scene seems cold, dull and sinister, which is contrasted to the usual assumption that it should be colorful and happy filled with children. The picture below shows an example of the blue filter dulling the colors and setting the atmosphere. 

At the fairground; the use of slow motion, music, lighting, and lack of people give it a very ominous feel. Carousels are often featured in horrors and crimes in this genre, as they involve innocent children as opposed to dangerous criminals who make the film more serious and interesting, establishing the genre further. 

Then an overlay screen text says 6 years later, and a big police department in the city where John Travolta is a high ranking detective is shown. This represents the thriller genre as most crime thrillers are set in the city where there are tall buildings and busy roads; also the main character fits the thriller hero character type as he’s a middle aged man who is the good reflection of the villain. 

There’s then a cut to Nicholas Cage in slightly chiaroscuro lighting as he is committing a crime at a bug convention center in the city. This establishes Nicholas Cage as the villain as he is not only committing a crime, but he is doing so in a place filled with innocent, good, happy people, and showing no mercy.

John Travolta is a chief detective, who is the typical age and gender of the hero. We see that he had a loving and close relationship with his son, and that the death of his son has impacted his life massively by putting strain on his marriage, and giving him a personal motive of revenge to catch the villain. Nicholas Cage is all dressed in black with religious connotations which could either show he commits crime through extreme religion, or he is just trying to blend in at the convention centre. His actions are over the top and appear to be a little manic. He seems more like an action movie villain. 

Non-diegetic music is played as we watch John Travolta and his son together at the carousel. This music is melodic and quite pleasant but sombre. As Nicholas Cage appears on screen it becomes darker and more dramatic with deep bass sound effects. At the bullet is shot the music stops and the extremely emphasised partially diegetic sound effect of the bullet flying through the air is heard, and echoes. Then we hear the pained cry of the carousel horse, and then sounds of crying and disbelief as John Travolta learns his son is dead. 

The music then takes us to a sound bridge where six years later appears on screen, and more conventional thriller, orchestral music is played. At first, the choir noise is non-diegetic as it is seen and not heard, however it acts as a sound bridge to the diegetic noise when the choir appears on screen. As there is a medium close up of John Travolta the opening music is reprised which shows us he’s still thinking of his son.

The use of slow motion is to establish a close relationship with his son, while also making it slightly eerie/disturbing/mysterious. There is an extreme close up of the gun sight to show impending violence. There’s then a close up on the horse with blood on it, which emphasizes the fact that the bullet has in fact gone straight through the man and the child. There is then a long shot of the balloons floating away, which represents the loss of life. After the fade to six years later, there’s a close up of John Travolta still emotional and angry, grieving for his son. We then see all of his plaques and awards.

The titles start with a classic sans serif font, on a black background. They fade in from a blur, and then out again back to a blur. This signifies mystery, and then things from the mystery becoming clearer, and resolved. 

The names of John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, and the title of the film ‘Face Off’ are over laid in bold. The first word of the two comes forward and enlarges as the second word of the two reduces. For example, ‘John’ would come forward and enlarge whilst ‘Travolta’ would reduce in size and appear to go back. The aim of this is to signify and emphasize the films main themes, which is swapping identities, and the binary oppositions of good vs evil.

The link to the opening scene which I analysed follows.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNOvfuybPao

Research into Thriller Conventions

The Proppian character types commonly found in the thriller openings are; the villain, the donor, the helper, the princess, the false hero, the dispatcher and the hero. 

The Villain and The Hero – The villain is usually of much likeness to the hero, they are both usually around the same age and status just the opposite in the way that one is good and one is bad. For example in face off the hero John Travolta is a chief of a secret anti-terrorist covert which is a job with a high status, whereas the Villain Nick Cage is a high class criminal who hasn’t been caught for killing a child 6 years ago. This shows that he is a skilled criminal, even more skilled than the hero. They are both around the same age, which makes them similar excluding this one massive difference that one’s good and one’s bad. The plot of this film is that the characters swap a identities which again reinforces the idea that the villain and hero are similar characters working against each other. 

 The false Hero – This character is a deceiving one and plays an important role that keeps mystery within the film. They are the bridge to the other side linking bad and good; they act as though they are good to get information, and to cover their tracks as they are really bad. This character is usually a member of the police or someone of high status who the viewers wouldn’t initially think it is. The false hero could also have a motive of marrying the princess, and that is why he’s pretending to be the hero. 

The Princess/ damsel in distress – This character is usually a woman as the role of this character is to be vulnerable and in need of rescue and help. The hero often has a close or personal relationship with the princess. In Ile, the princess is the teacher. Her weakness and vulnerability is shown many times; the fact that she isn’t from this country and can’t speak the language, she’s a woman, and she’s a school teacher which shows kindness and a soft

maternal nature.

The Helper – The helper is usually someone with a different motive to the Hero but the same goal. Or the helper can just be someone who helps the hero. For example the hero could be a person with a personal vendetta/ motive and the hero could be the police and could disclose information and help the hero. In seven Brad Pitt plays the role of the helper as he helps Morgan Freeman solve the case. Also, the helper could be someone who discloses key information which is essential for the hero to do his job. Or the helper could be someone who supplies weapons and gadgets to the hero. 

Claude Levi Strauss’s idea about structure in terms of binary oppositions is demonstrated in thrillers through the main theme of good and bad. When the titles come on the screen they are usually white on a black background, this again shows binary oppositions with connotations of; good and bad, known and unknown, criminal and innocent, pure and evil, the psychopaths and the normal people. These binary oppositions are important in thrillers as they emphasize the themes and contrast of the hero and the villain. In face-off John Travolta’s characters and Nick Cage’s character are an example of binary oppositions. They are presented as two sides of the same coin, good and evil. This is demonstrated through the titles as they were a light color on a light background which suggests they’re both the same and it’s hard to differentiate between them (which we know is true as they swap identities). In addition to this the titles break away from each other and split in half emphasizing the binary oppositions. Also, in seven, binary oppositions are shown as both Morgan Freeman’s character and the killer’s characters are obsessive and very precise and particular about what they do, but one of them is moral and the other is psychotic. 

The openings of thrillers conform to Todorov’s theory of narrative structure of there being an initial equilibrium, then a disruption, then a solution, and finally a new equilibrium. In the opening of thrillers we usually just see the initial equilibrium and the disruption. The equilibrium is shown in the opening of the thriller so that the viewer has an idea of the background of the characters before the disruption happens. The disruption happens in the opening of a thriller in order to make the viewer interested, and eager to find out what happens in terms of justice, and finding a new equilibrium. For example, in Face off the initial equilibrium is John Travolta and his son on a carrousel laughing and looking loving, then the disruption is Nick Cage shooting them both and killing the little boy. This immediately tells the viewer that the film is going to revolve around John Travolta getting revenge and justice for his son, and catches their attention quickly making them interested enough to watch the rest of the film. 

 In Sixth Sense, the opening credits are played all together, and central on the screen, so that the whole time they are played the focus is on them, and they are the main thing on the screen. This allows the viewer’s attention to be solely on the title, and also gives them time to get focused and settle down before the film begins. The titles are white, on a black background; this follows Claude Levi Strauss's theory of binary oppositions, in this case being known and unknown, white and black. The opening credits could have overlapped the opening and been played at the same time, however they weren't, this suggests that the viewer’s full attention must be fully on the opening, or else they may miss something important. This suggests also that the movie is for more intelligent and grown up people, as it requires focus. The titles appear as though they are blowing in the wind, and floating off the screen. Along with this, the use of shadow effects and music creates connotations of mystery, hidden enigmas and even the supernatural. 

 

  In Face Off, the opening credits are played alongside the opening of the movie. Because the credits are played at the same time, they are positioned in less obvious places with the intention being that they don't fully distract the viewer from what is happening in the opening. This suggests that the movie requires less focus and is aimed at less intelligent people. Also, it suggests that it’s easy to watch. The titles split in half and are quite dynamic, which fits the film in terms of distinguishing between swapped identities of the villain and the hero, where the only difference between them is that one is good and one is bad.