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?

I created a Zoho presentation in order to answer this question:

Evaluation: Question Six

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



If any text is too small, simply zoom in.

(If you are unable to view it, follow this link: https://prezi.com/ycauaexvu1ns/evaluation-question-six/)

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?


I made a Canva Presentation in order to answer this question. In order to change the slides, you may need to use the keyboard (arrows). 

If the presentation does not work, please find the slides screenshotted below:

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.