Scarlett - Kayce Mitchell, Thriller Opening

Here is my final, edited thriller opening.

Thank You.

Thank you for taking the time to view my blog and see the work I have done; I have spent a lot of time on it, which I hope is visible as you have read through. 

Thanks again, 
Kayce Mitchell. :) 

Evaluation: Question Seven

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

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Evaluation: Question Six

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?



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Evaluation: Question Five

How did you attract/address your audience?



I completed an Emaze Presentation in order to answer this question.

Evaluation: Question Four

Who would be the audience for your media product?


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Evaluation: Question Three

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?



Here I have embedded a YouTube video that I made, which is a voiceover with pictures answering the above question. 

Evaluation: Question Two

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Director's Commentary:

Evaluation: Question One

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 

Firstly, my opening incorporates the generic convention of a non-linear narrative within thrillers. There are flashbacks in the very beginning of the opening, depicting Scarlett and Emma's previous relationship based around the tree with the scarf tied around it. 

This was to show that there is history between them, and makes what happens to Scarlett much more tragic, as the audience have seen a prior, happier aspect of their lives. The narration is also a convention of thrillers, for example in 'V For Vendetta', where Evie is talking right at the beginning of the film, over a flashback visual. 

Violence against women is also a generic convention of thrillers, as they are usually based around Propp's typical 'damsel in distress' that requires saving either from the threat  of violence, or actual violence against them. For example, in 'Girl on the Train', there are multiple threats and actual violence against the main character, from both her ex-husband and the husband of the woman who has gone missing. 

This threat is seen in my thriller where Scarlett is being stalked, and is eventually attacked. The threat of this violence is especially terrifying to the audience due to the low POV shot shown below - it shows that Scarlett isn't even able to see the threat, and is completely oblivious to it. This makes her helpless at the hands of whoever is stalking her. 

The convention of someone being either murdered or missing is also evident within my thriller - Emma, at the end, does not know where Scarlett is, and this enigma code causes the audience to wonder which of those things has happened to her. They are never given a full explanation, and can only assume; this means that the rest of the film is essential for them, as they must know what actually happened to her. 

I also decided to use a generic thriller setting - the woods - to make it easier for the audience to relate to the opening; almost every place has a wooded area, meaning that their fear is accentuated - they are close to a place where this could happen. 

Point of View shots were utilised in the middle of the opening, to give the stalker more solidity - they seem more real, rather than just an accumulation of noises that could be in Scarlett's head, but are also not too real, so they are not a physical body that can be given a face. I did this believing that when something has no discernible identity it is scarier; you're never completely sure who they are, and so they could take the form of anyone you could think of. This plausibility increases the fear that the audience feels. Moreover, the POV shots aid the tension felt within the scene, as the audience are put in the position of the stalker, which is quite uncomfortable. The shaky cam further suggests that the stalker may suffer from mental instability, making the audience fear their perceived unpredictability. 

Demonstratively, I decided to challenge the thriller convention of having an adult, heterosexual male as the lead of the film. Alternatively, I chose the lead to be a female, homosexual teenager, as to subvert the typical conventions and aid a more diverse representation within the opening. The two lead characters, Emma and Scarlett, go against the typical representation of youths, females, and gay characters. They are not loud and disruptive, as youths are usually portrayed by films and programmes, and the flashbacks help to show their relationship as a happy, healthy one - unlike what is usually shown of same-sex relationships in the media. The media often portrays them as very sexual, and mostly unhealthy, and portray them as wearing different clothes to heterosexuals and having different attributes (for example, lesbians having short hair and wearing plaid clothing.)
In addition to this, both Scarlett and Emma subvert Propp's theory of a damsel in distress - although both female, neither portray the classic features that would have them put in that category. Scarlett herself is curious, looking for the stalker rather than running from him, and when realizing he is behind her, she makes no attempt to scream. Emma also goes against stereotypes of females by having no detectable melodramatic nature; she stays quiet and calm, and her voice and movement show no discernible panic at what is happening. 

The use of conventions within this thriller suggest that it may have the sub-genre of crime; the violence against women is typically prominent within hybrids such as crime thrillers. However, it can also be seen as having the sub-genre of horror, due to the fact that Scarlett is stalked.  

Gone Girl influenced my thriller opening as I wanted a female character that was not only strong, but also seemed quite emotionless and hard to understand. Although Emma is in a relationship with Scarlett, she doesn't seem particularly full of emotion, or scared, and thus her character is almost like Amy with her slightly psychopathic nature. Despite demonstrating some care for her, she is in no way loving, and the audience is caught quite off-guard by this. It suggests an enigma code of who Emma really is.

My Idea (Original and Developed) + Marketing

Original Idea:

My original idea was about a girl's sister going missing despite her meeting her after school everyday; the shots would track the lives of each sister as they occur, with one of them walking through a safe environment (school building) and the other going through the woods. The concept of the narration, the flashbacks and the forest-stalker was kept in the developed idea, as I saw them as key conventions that really pulled the opening together into the thriller genre.


Developed Idea:

My developed idea became a story about two girls in a relationship who meet everyday at the same place - a tree in a forest, labelled by a pink scarf. The flashbacks feature their relationship along the past year, and goes along with a voiceover by Emma, the other girl in the film alongside Scarlett. The date then shows that it is a saturday - the day they always meet - and to make the relationship even clearer, it is Valentine's day. Emma is on the phone, and her speech helps to establish that the two are in a relationship, and the norms of it. Scarlett reaches the tree, characteristically "early", but finds she is not alone; multiple shots make the audience assume that she is being watched from several directions. When Emma reaches the tree, Scarlett is nowhere to be seen, so she calls her.

My idea meets the brief due to it containing followed/subverted conventions and also being two minutes long. It contains the main convention of a thriller: the girl is either dead or missing, and there is a sense of fear and tension throughout. It doesn't cross into being an either action or horror film, and stays within definitive thriller boundaries; it features no visible action, and doesn't involve extreme gore and such involved in horror films.

I also made a Prezi containing more information:

After I had figured out my idea and what I wanted to do with it, I decided to create a small (and very rough) draft of what the advertising poster might look like. I wanted to capture both the feeling of being stalked - hence the lower right depiction of Scarlett being followed - and also the essence of what the film was about; Scarlett herself and her relationship with Emma. That's why the top left has a depiction of the two of them holding hands.

Collecting Data

Quantitative Questionnaire:

We decided to do a questionnaire in order to find out about what our target audience really wanted - we aimed the questions at and spoke to teenage females, but we also asked a few teenage boys and young adults.

From this, we realised that most people liked seeing males as leads - however, we thought that considering it was such a convention, we would subvert it and have a female lead. This would appeal more to female audiences.

From this data that we collected, we found that people preferred realistic thrillers to paranormal ones - thus, we decided to make a kind of thriller that seems eerily plausible. By using a common location and a common villain (a stalker) we could create a situation that could actually happen to the audience. This plausibility accentuates the tension created in the opening, as it isn't incredibly far from what could happen in someone's everyday life.

From these results we saw that most people preferred non-linear narratives; thus, our opening is a mix of non-linear and linear narrative. The flashbacks mean that further depth is given to the characters and the audience has a better understanding of what they are watching. 

From the pie chart we were able to conclude that a vast majority preferred when the enigma code was surrounding the villain - thus, our antagonist is faceless, and this anonymity not only increases the plausibility of the thriller (it could be anyone) it also makes the audience feel as though they could be hunted by something invisible, that they don't suspect. We did also include aspects of the enigma code surrounding Scarlett's death - it isn't entirely clear from the opening what killed her, as there is no visible blood or anything.

Many found that they enjoyed thrillers more when they were based on a real story, but unfortunately we didn't have a real story to follow, so instead we made it entirely fiction.

Analysis of Lighting: My Thriller

I took a few screenshots from my actual opening, and have chosen to explain some of my choices in camera placement and such that would allow me to get the kind of natural lighting I wish to have in each shot.

In this shot, the natural lighting makes the surroundings seem very safe and dreamlike - the sunshine spilling over the background reinforces the fact that it is a very familiar environment that creates comfort for Scarlett, as reinforced by her smile. This juxtaposes heavily with the darkness on the left side of the image - here, the lighting is darker and behind Scarlett, foreshadowing that something sinister is lurking, and catch up with her. This creates more suspense within the audience.

In this shot, Emma is in a very bright environment; however, the lighting is bland whilst it is natural. There is no sunshine, showing that Emma's world without Scarlett is dull - no colours are accentuated, and despite her environment seeming non-threatening and safe, it causes dramatic irony as something very sinister has happened only a small distance away from where she stands, and she has no idea. 

This shot of the entrance to the woods has very dark lighting and serves as a suggestion to the audience that something evil will occur within them. They instantly feel uncomfortable at the sight of it, as it doesn't look at all like it would be a safe place. The scene also looks as though it has a very high contrast, creating a harsher image that further creates a dark and sullen atmosphere. The hard light also creates the same effect and further shows the location's imperfections and muddy, undesirable appearance. 

The lighting in the background is very bright, and naturally sunny, directly contrasting to the darker shadows on Scarlett herself; this shows that something bad is creeping up on her; she is being targeted by something bad. 

The dark shadows surrounding the stalker within this shot suggests that they're dangerous and evil; they are completely covered by shadows and looking out at the brighter lighting that Scarlett walks in. This juxtaposition further accentuates the harsh differences between the two of them.

In order to get the above shot, I crouched within the bushes - this allowed me to make the stalker's surroundings seem darker, as I could film from a position that did not allow a lot of light on the camera, as it was sheltered by leaves above. This helped me to create the direct contrast between the light and shadows of the stalker's and Scarlett's worlds. The below image is a photo taken of me whilst I was filming the shot; as seen, I did not use a tripod as I wanted the camera to be slightly shaky to give off a sense of instability on the stalker's part, as it was their POV. 

 

The natural, attached shadow on Scarlett's face shows that she is not entirely aware about what is happening; she is still in the dark about the situation, and cannot yet see it clearly. The audience are tortured by the fact she doesn't know what is going to happen to her, and helpless against it.

At the end, the very dark and dull lighting that surrounds Scarlett accentuates the sinister and helpless reality of the situation; she is now completely unable to escape, and is powerless against the stalker that follows her. 

Analysis of Location

The location I chose was a secluded part of the woods on Mitcham Common. As this is an area I know quite well, it was easy to navigate, and was also a classic setting for a thriller scene due to how isolated it is. I also liked how the area looked mostly the same, even if the weather changed, due to how much light the trees allowed in. As well as this, the scenery can be perceived as both sinister and welcoming; in the beginning, it is something of a safe haven to the girls where their relationship isn't judged as nobody can see them - but as the opening progresses, the audience begins to wonder whether this is actually a good thing at all. 

I decided that the chosen tree for the girls to meet at would be this one due to the fact it was positioned at an intersection in the woods; this means that when they're there, they can be seen from lots of directions without even being aware of it. This aids the stalker as Scarlett cannot look everywhere at once, and thus they have the ability to move unseen. The pink scarf is tied around the tree - I chose pink because it was quite an innocent, bright colour, showing that the meeting place is associated with good memories, and is meant to be an area of safety for the two girls. This creates quite a lot of irony within the opening; it was meant to be a safe place for them, where they can always find each other, but it turns out to be the opposite. 

Analysis of Clothing/Characters

Louise:

As a Character - Louise plays a character called Scarlett.
Scarlett is the first character to appear on screen; she poses the typical damsel in distress, like in Propp's theory, through her fear and eventual attack - however, she subverts thriller conventions through her sexuality. She isn't a straight character, and is in a relationship with the second character that appears, Emma.

Red top - suggestive of the danger she may be in, due to the negative connotations of the colour red e.g. danger. As well as this, red is a warm colour, which contrasts heavily with the colder colours around her; such as the green bushes and leaves, and brown bark.  Therefore we see that she stands out. Where she is wearing this bright, warm colour, the location she is in juxtaposes with its coldness. This not only reinforces her personality as a character, increasing the sympathy gained from the audience when she is stalked and attacked, but also causes her to be easily distinguishable from Emma.

Blue jeggings - these suggest that she is comfortable and ready for the environment, contrasting with the uncomfortable clothing Emma wears, which is suggestive that she is not supposed to be there (that perhaps she has lied about where she is in order to be there - this raises more of an enigma code for the rest of the film).

Trainers - These are also suggestive of the fact she is ready for the environment, whereas Emma is wearing boots that would typically be worn if you're going out with friends and such.

Kayce (me):


As a Character - I play a character called Emma, the main protagonist of the thriller.
She subverts thriller conventions by being a female lead, and not being a heterosexual - she also displays none of the typical damsel in distress behaviour, such as the stereotypically melodramatic, fearful nature so often portrayed in thriller films.

Black jumper and coat - The dark colours suggest that she is trying her best not to stand out, possibly so that she's not recognised or paid attention to on my way there. This gives reasoning behind the hesitance in the narration; instead of speaking confidently or lovingly of Scarlett, she speaks with quite a detached tone, like she is hiding a secret between the two of them (which she is).

Behind The Scenes

I had my friend take several pictures of me whilst I was filming and directing, so that I am now able to talk about the techniques I used and what kinds of shots I was able to get from my positions.

In the above shot, I was filming the tracking shot of Scarlett as she walks around the tree; to keep the camera steady enough so as not to cause the audience motion sickness, but also to give a feel of it being a point of view shot, I kept my hand curved underneath the lens part of the camera. This is a technique I used throughout filming, to account for our lack of a tripod towards the end and to give that feeling of the shots being from someone's point of view. 

I chose to have this shot on the right of the arch because it meant that they created a shadow across where I would film (due to the copious amounts of leaves) and would cause a darker, more sinister atmosphere for Scarlett's final moment, showing that the stalker had finally caught up with her. 

In the above shot, I was demonstrating to my partner which angle to take the shot from (which would be of me) and how to zoom out smoothly, so that it would not be jolty. 

Here I am checking footage that my partner has filmed in order to see if it was steady enough, and if it is the angle that I wanted. I wanted this shot because I thought it would make a good cutaway; as the scarf is such an integral, symbolical prop within the thriller, I wanted at least one video that focused on it in all it's innocence. This shot also brings the audience back to the time when it would have been taken, during the happy parts of the girls' relationship, causing them to be reminded of it and the previous good times during Scarlett's last moments, accentuating the tragedy of the situation and heightening the grief. 

Here, I am filming the shot where Scarlett whips around to look at the camera; as opposed to using a tripod, I have used the tree to support my hand and keep the camera steady in the way I want it. This use of the tree has also meant that I'm able to get some of the tree itself in front of the camera, giving the feeling that the stalker is peering out from behind it. It reinforces to the audience that he is hidden, and heightens the tension as Scarlett still does not know what is waiting in the shadows for her. 

Here is an alternate shot of me filming using the tree, so that you are able to see the protruding branch that I am leading the camera on. I also took this shot far from the path; this meant that not a lot of light was in the shot, and the environment seemed darker and more desolate from where the stalker was standing - this reinforces the juxtaposition within the character's lives, as Scarlett is still in the light and very innocent. 

The above photos are of me directing Louise (Scarlett) on what I needed her to do, like when to turn around in shots and where to stand during the flashback scenes. I chose the flashbacks to be at an intersection within the common, as this is at first hidden in those scenes, but when Scarlett later turns to the place, they become revealed. This makes it more suspenseful and eerie, as there are more places from which a stalker could see you when you're standing in the middle without noticing.