Section 1: Background To Thriller Genre

There are many different places thrillers are set it many of them are in small claustrophobic spaces to give the audience a sense of entrapment such as:















· Planes
· Coffins
· Under Water
· Boot of a Car
· Elevator/Lift
· Walk In Freezer
· Tube Trains
· White Vans
· Small Room
· Car
· Prison Cell
· Narrow Alleyway
· Multi Storey Car Park




















And there are many sub genres of thriller that are responsible for film gold like
James Bond- Spy Thriller
The Godfather- Crime Thriller
Earthquake- Disaster Thriller
The Manchurian Candidate- Political Thriller
The Talented Mr Ripley- Psychological Thriller



















Theoretical approaches to the thriller genre

GK Chesterton - The Transformed City
The British author Chesterton wrote a series of crime detective stories in the early 1900's. As a modern genre, he liked the idea of the 'poetry of modern life'. In doing this, he protected the thriller genre fiercely from critics by describing reality as drab and mundane, and a thriller is an attempt to find possibilities for excitement and adventure within the boring world of reality.

Northrop Frye - The Heroic Romance
Frye agrees with Chesterton's take on the genre, and pioneered the theory that the hero could be 'one of us' . We, as the audience agree with these strange circumstances as we do with the romance genre - as in romance ordinary laws of nature are slightly suspended and completely skewed. This ends up as the the thriller exchanging the romantic setting of the 'enchanted forest' for a more urbanized setting in the 'modern city'

John Cawelti - The Exotic
Cawelti agrees with Frye and Chesterton, and thinks that the setting transforms the city 'from a modern centre of commerce, industry and science into a place of enchantment and mystery'. The exotic doesn't necessarily mean as in a tropical island; it is simply something other to the audience or foreign to the viewer. Many thrillers use artefacts from the middle east or the orient e.g Japanese style props in Blade Runner or the african artefacts in Jumanji.

WH Matthews - Mazes and Labyrinths
This theme comes from Greek Mythology, related to Theseus and the Minotaur. The hero has to overcome a variety of challenges through a maze of twists to defeat the villain. It is a definitive formula for a lot of thrillers. Labyrinths and mazes show the twists and turns in which a story goes. The journey of the story is a theoretical maze. For example, in the Da Vinci Code it is a system by system story in which deduction and strategy works along with the hero to puzzle through, and involves the audience - will they find the answer before the hero does?

Pascal Bonitzer - Partial Vision
Bonitzer argues that we, as an audience, can only see so much, and what we cannot see is as, if not more important than what we can see. As if there is a hidden truth within the movie, that could be the 'last piece of the puzzle'. 'The answers may lie just around the next turn in the labyrinth'.

Lars Ole Saurberg - Concealment and Protraction
Concealment is the deliberate hiding of something from the audience. This links to Bonitzer's idea of 'partial vision'. It could be the hiding of an identity or a vital clue to the mystery of the film. Protraction is the intentional delaying of a suspected outcome e.g Bomb Countdowns. This encourages dramatic irony - the character doesn't know what is coming next, but the viewer does.

Noel Carroll - The Question-Answer Model
The audience wait for the answers to the questions that thrillers bring up - suspense is brought to the answers. The questions simply develops the thoughts of the audience - what? where? who why? The probability factor plays a part in the thriller genre - if something is more likely to happen, it is less exciting and suspenseful than something that is half chance, or almost impossible. The moral factor is important within thrillers - if we consider the outcome to be morally right we feel more secure with the story and it sharpens the suspense. This is evident in films such as the Bourne Supremacy - we want Bourne to get his true identity back; even though he is not living by the conventional ideas of right and wrong, he is right within the character profile.

Section 2: Research Into Examples Of Thriller Opening Scenes

My research into thrillers, mainly Red Eye, State of Play, Se7en,Memento and Silence of the Lambs have shown me that they both conform to the classic codes and conventions of a thriller film, such as mysterious shots, tense music and ominous settings.

Se7en is classed as a crime thriller as the plot revolves around murder and the police’s chase of the killer who as in true thriller fashion remains anonymous as the killer refers to himself as John Doe a name for unidentified people in both law and medical professions. This is also shown by Kevin Spacey’s refusal to participate in having his name as the first actor on the opening credits as he wanted to keep the theme of the killer’s anonymousness running up until he hands himself into the police. The opening credits alert the audience to the dark messages running throughout the film as it uses black and white in many of the shots to enhance the idea of good and evil, the use of red also provokes the audience to think that there will be blood and death. The setting is mainly dark which creates tension within the audience as does the slightly twisted montage of clips throughout the opening credits hinting to the audience that this is the deranged way the killer sees the world.

The narrative structure of both films are very different as Red Eyes opening two minutes introduces the audience to the main protagonist within the first 15 seconds in the form of a graduation picture which shows that not only is she pretty but she is also very smart, the presence of an action photo of her in the midst of a game of hockey also tells the audience that she can handle herself in times of trouble. The opening plants many seeds of question into the audiences mind, why is the girl in the photos important? What is in the large grey box that is being hidden inside a crate of fish? Why is Florida significant? Why was JR’s wallet stolen and who is he?
State of Play however keeps the audience guessing for longer than the opening two minutes as the first character the audience sees is a man running away from someone or something and trying his hardest to put as much distance between the two as possible whether that means he endangers himself or not. The image of him being shot followed by a passing delivery man poses the question in the audiences mind, did the first victim see something he shouldn’t have and if so what was it?

Both films camerawork uses many of the usual techniques mainly pans and tilts to follow characters movements and extreme close-ups to create tension and a nervous atmosphere within the audience.
The editing of both films starts off quite slow throughout the opening sequence but in the case of both films the editing gets quicker as the sequence progresses with the aid of background music in both and a gripping chase scene in State of Play although the styles and purpose of the editing in both films is very different as in Red Eye the audience sees many different snippets of three different sequences whereas in State of Play it is the same storyline the audience is shown so it is easier for them to follow it.

The graphics and audio are very well though out in both films as they portray the narrative, setting and make the audience sense the atmosphere in the sequence being played out before them, for example in State of Play the sound of a helicopter is heard followed by that of sirens and later rain and thunder this would cause the audience to subconsciously pick up on the grim setting of the back alleys the character runs down and sense that all is not going to end well. The opening titles in Red Eye shows a black background with the titles in white getting smaller this shows that there will be a conflict between good and evil where it seems that the good will not prevail.

The narrative of the opening of Memento is fairly dificult to understand, as one of the main traits of the film is that the story runs in two strands that constantly intertwine, one being shown in black and white and the other in techicolour, the story runs from finish to start, so the audience sees the main character shooting an unidentified person in the head in slow motion and in reverse, to the point of even the pulling of the trigger is reversed.

The codes and conventions of thrillers in the opening sequence are those of mystery and confuion as the first image the audience sees is a polaroid photograph of a man who has been stot in the head with a blood splatered wall behind him. The audience know nothing of the man or his killers motives.

The close ups of various objects in the room cause concern to the audience as they see the bullets move in slow motion back through the victim and out back into the gun. The close up of the victim lying on the floor being turned upside down with blood running up the walls would confuse the audience as they are being led to believe that up is down and down is up in this confusing and backwards sequence and they would sense that because things are so messed up that wrong is right in the eyes of this killer.

The music used at the begining of this sequence is that of violins that build up to a cresendo much like the situation of a killer debating if they should pull the trigger or not and then eventually pulling it and ending their victims life.

On first impressions Silence of the lambs has a very boring opening scene however on closer inspection I can see that small details of the opening give hints to the narrative of the story such as nailed to a tree on the assault course are 4 wooden boards saying "HURT" "AGONY" "PAIN" "LOVE IT" this hints to the audience that the films female lead Clarice Starling will have to overcome the obstacles and hardships in her way if she is to complete her assignment much like having to overcome the physical pain and exhaustion felt whilst in the midst of an assualt course.

Section 3: Brainstorm Of Ideas For Your Film

We had many ideas for our film and what we would and wouldn't be able to achieve, our ideas were:
A montage of close up shots of a children's playground with the swings and roundabout going round by themselves. The quick editing of the shots would excite the audience and keep their attentions a it poses many questions for them to ask throughout the film as it creates an air of mystery.

Ruin of a castle with a view of a graveyard nearby, this seemed to be the perfect place for us to pose a storyline of a drugs or weapons exchange that could go very badly wrong. We thought of adding in the sound of shouting and gunshots as this would unnerve the audience and leave them wanting to know why this is happening and why the main characters have got themselves mixed up in this.

A teenage girl terrified to leave the hotel room she is locked in, because because she fears for her life. She slowly becomes more and more unnerved as she stick hundreds of pictures of herself all over the hotel room, and keeps a video camera on at all times so that she can find out if anyone has entered the room while she was not looking. The audience would want to know why she is here and what has happened to her.

A young woman is running through a train station away from someone or something. the anonymous male antagonist is hooded and the audience do not see his face, he is in complete contrast with the small feeble female protagonist. We decided that she should be holding a large briefcase that obviously would not belong to her which would make the audience want to know whats in it and why does she have it. Our location ideas were to be ideally at Manchester's Oxford Road station as it is dark and run down so it would fit in with the mysterious storyline.

An abandoned warehouse full of book covered with splattered blood and gore. We also considered the use of extreme close ups of bloodied objects and a desk with blood and gore dripping off the edges. This would hook the audiences interests and leave them wanting to know why all this has happened and who it has happened to.

Our last idea was the camera moving away from something from a point of view shot so it was like the audience were running away from someone. We thought that Delamere Forest and Manchester city centre would be good locations as they are in complete contrast with each other as one is quiet and there is hardly anyone there and the other is busy and there would be lot of people for the victim to hide amongst.

Section 4: Audience Research- and Research Into BBFC Film Classification System

For our audience research we created a questionnaire which looked like this

Thriller Questionnaire

1. What gender are you?
Male Female

2. Which category does your age fall in?
15-18
19-21
22-25
26+

3. What type of thriller do you prefer?
Action thriller
Psychological thriller
Disaster thriller
Crime thriller

4. Are weapons necessary in a thriller film
Yes No

5. Do you prefer to see a male or female protagonist?
Male
Female

6. Do you prefer to find out for yourself who the killer is or find out for yourself ?
Told who they are
Find out myself

8. Where do you think the best thrillers are set?
Woods
Hotels
Libraries
Abandoned houses
Warehouses

9. Which of these thrillers do you think are good?
Silence of the lambs
Se7en
The shining
The godfather
Memento

The following questions are our ideas of scenarios that may happen in our thriller, we would appreciate it if you could circle either yes or no if you think it’s a good idea.

10. Woman is trying to get onto a train unaware that she is being followed.
Yes No

11. Woman is being blackmailed and is slowly going mad in a hotel room.
Yes No

12. Man is lurking in bushes near children’s play area.
Yes No

13. A girl is possessed by the spirit of an orphan who died where her house was built.
Yes No

14. Librarian sat in an abandoned library with blood pouring off her hands.
Yes No

15. Woman running through forest.
Yes No

16. Rapist follows teenage girl around town centre.
Yes No

17. Murderer is being sent to prison then “Victim” appears before trial.
Yes No

18. Teenagers break into a haunted house.
Yes No

19. Mysterious patch of blood is found with no reason for it being there.
Yes No

20. These are our ideas for film names we would appreciate it if you could circle either yes or no if you think it’s a good idea.

A. Platform 13
Yes No

B. Suite 16
Yes No

C. Mr Wolf
Yes No

D. 13 Woodley Fold
Yes No

E. Checkout Time
Yes No

F. No Escape
Yes No

G. Shopping Run
Yes No

H. Jury Duty
Yes No

I. Past Life
Yes No

J. Don’t Look Back
Yes No

Analysis Of Questionaire Results

1)We asked slightly more males than females in the questionnaire, as our sample of college students contained more males.
2)The biggest age bracket was 15-18, because we asked college students. We did ask a few older students and teachers, which accounted for the rest of the age brackets.
3)The most popular type of thriller film was an action thriller. The runners-up were physicological and crime thrillers, which is more accurate for our film. However, our film does contain some action, as we knew that is what our audience preferred.
4)There was a joint vote for weapons in our questionnaire, as both answers got the same amount of votes. We then decided to use some weapons, but no graphic use, and none that are going to be disturbing for the viewer.
5)By a close vote, the audience preferred a female protaganist. However, we decided to use a female main character instead, and use male protaganists. We feel that this will still satisfy the audience.
6)The audience would rather find out for themselves who the killer is. As our film is a psychological thriller, there is a lot of times where the audience needs to figure out what is happening for themselves, which they should enjoy according to the questionnaire results.
8)The most popular setting for a thriller by a far, was a hotel, which was the setting for our film in the end. We feel this is a popular choice as it is a relatively unusual setting, and hotels are supposed to be seen as 'safe places', which keeps the audience even more intrigued as to what is going to happen.
9)Silence of the Lambs was the winner for this question, which is a different genre to our film, but does have some similarities, as the plot contains some psychological theories, and contains an unidentified person creating danger, which is the same in Suite 16.
11) This was a very popular idea, getting the majority of the vote. We believe that this idea was popular because it is very mysterious, and would create a sense of danger and excitement for the audience.
12) This was also a very popular idea, gaining the majority of the vote. This is the idea that we went with for our film, because we felt that it was the most original, and quite unusual for a thriller film. It is also very psychological, which we believe our audience will enjoy. It also creates mystery for the audience, and arises a lot of questions - such as, who is keeping her in the hotel room?
13) This was a close vote, but the audience voted yes. However, we felt that this could be potentially be a controversial plot, as children would be used, and that it could possibly be difficult to film.
14) This was quite a popular idea too, but we felt that the plot sounds quite similar, and may have possibly been done before.
15) There was a mixed-vote for this idea, as the audience wasn't very sure about it. We agreed with the audience, and felt that it may potentially be difficult to create a full film based on that idea.
16) This idea was not very popular with the audience, and we feel that they may not have liked it because of its predictability, and because it is quite similar to other films, so it could be difficult to make our film unique.
17) The audience liked this idea, as it creates a sense of danger and suspense for the audience. Also, with the main character being a teenage girl, we feel that the young target audience could relate more to the character.
18) This idea was not very popular with the audience, and we feel that it may have been difficult to make a full film out of this idea.
19) This idea got an equal vote, as the audience wasn't quite sure about it. However, we feel that the young target audience could have also related to the characters.
20) This was a very unpopular idea, as we feel it may have been because it would have been difficult to come up with a plot that was relatable and understandable.
A) Platform 13 was a popular choice for the name of our film, and we think this is because of the association with the number 13, and bad things, so it instantly gives the film a sense of danger and suspicion, just by the name.
B) This was a very popular choice for the name, and is the name we ended up using for our film. Suite 16 is a good title because it uses the word 'suite', which hints to the audience before they've even seen the film, that it is set in a hotel. It also uses '16', which is the main characters age, and the expression 'Sweet 16' is a common phrase, which could be used to describe how Jenny used to be before she was confined to the hotel room.
C) Mr Wolf was an unpopular choice of name for our film, and we feel it was because we have a teenage target audience, that it sounded a bit like a childrens film, or hinted more at immature audiences.
D) This was also an unpopular choice of name, and we feel it is because it not creative enough, and does not give away any hints of the plot of the film. It also does not make the audience feel threatened or endangered in any way.
E) This was also an unpopular title, and we feel it is again not imaginative enough, and doesn't really sound like the name of a thriller film.
F) This was a popular thriller name, and we feel it is because it makes the audience feel instantly threatened. 'No Escape' hints that there is no escape for the character, and it is going to be a really interesting plot. It also makes the audience ask questions - why can't the character escape?
G) This was the most unpopular title, and we feel it would not appeal to our target audience, and that it is not creative enough, nor does it relate to thriller films.
H) This was a close vote, but was eventually decided as a good idea for a plot name. We think it is because the title raises some suspicion, but could also hint to the plot.
I) This idea was voted neither a good or bad idea, and we feel it could possibly be giving away too much to the audience already, which is why they did not pick it. However, it hints at some sort of 'spirit' in the film, which could of excited the audience to make them pick it.

J) This was a popular idea, as we feel that it creates mystery and danger for the audience. It also hints at quite a creative, interesting plot.

Classification
We wanted our film to be a 15 certificate as that is the age of our lead female character and we wanted the audience to be able to relate to her and her relationship problems with her family much like many teenagers in today's society.
Also when we looked at the content of our film we concluded that it would be best if it was marketed as a 15 as it contains strong language although it will be used sporadically, it also connotes violence even if the audience do not see any and it is mainly psychological also many people under that age would not be able to understand the complex situation the female protagonist finds herself in and why she reacts to it the way she does.

BBFC Film Classification

Section 5: Treatment

Treatment

Suite 16 was written to be an unusual thriller. Our main female character will be confined to a hotel room, surrounded by photographs of herself with friends and family.

Synopsis

Jenny is a 16 year old girl who is being terrorised by two thugs named John Doe and Joe Bloggs she locks herself in a hotel room to try and hide from them but they keep finding her and leaving her "presents" and letters. She is anaware that she is also being watched by their contact, an employee of the hotel. Who is updating the thugs as to Jenny's every move.

Opening scene

The opening few seconds of the film are black with our production logo, the first shot the audience see is the establishing shot of the hotel, then we see Jenny running to the door of the hotel room and desperately trying the key in the door, once it is open the camera pans to show the whole room in one long continuous shot, we then cut to Jenny sat in an armchair looking very upset. The scene changes when she gets a phone call from her father who's voice the audience dont hear at all, she then sinks to the floor in tears until she hears a loud door slam which causes her to exit the bathroom and see that the bed is now covered with pictures of her and there is a letter with her name on it she reads it then runs to the window to check if there is anyone there.

Target Audience

The film will have a target audience of 16-25 year olds. As 16-25 year olds would prefer a psychological thriller such as many of the classic Hitchcock films so having it this age will fit in better with the mystery of our thriller. Despite the story being ficticious, 16-25 year old will be able to understand some of the pressures the character may be feeling.

Therefore our certificate will be 15, to relate to the younger generation of society. Although its not everyday someone gets blackmailed the reasons why will link to teenage life.

Other details
Our thriller will not be using recognised names as this would divert away from the issues raised in the film. Also our choice of location is quite unusual as the majority of our film will be shot in and around the specified hotel.

Section 6 : Character Outlines and Script

Jenny

A 16 year old girl who finds herself being blackmailed by John Doe and Joe Bloggs. She is visibly troubled and is mentally unstable although when threatened she becomes extraordinarily strong and defends herself very well

Robert

Jenny’s father. He is tired of his daughter and her paranoia and drives her away from home. He has looked after Jenny since her mother died when she was very young and has become a raging alcoholic. Jenny having grown up with this behaviour is under the influence that this is normal and believes that her father loves her dearly.

Sandra

The receptionist of the hotel. She is a typical pretty, blonde, nosey thirty something bimbo who has along with Sergei been at the hotel for 15 years. She soon acts as a mother figure to Jenny, taking a great deal of interest in her and eventually becoming her only confidant. However this is short lived as she soon begins selling Jenny's information to thugs and is in close contact with her father.

Sergei

The hotel's Russian housekeeper. He seems to know everything about everyone that comes to the hotel, particularly Jenny. He tries to keep her out of harms way, but sadly his tries are in vain. He is close to retirement age, with deep set wrinkles and white hair.

Joe Bloggs

A young man not much older that 25 who tries to conceal his identity and his unknown battle scars from the audience by wearing a thick balaclava. Bloggs view of life is that his only concern is when he will get to next be in a bar brawl, he is the brawn to Doe's brains as his burly frame shows the audience.

John Doe

The complete opposite physically to Bloggs, Doe is short, skinny and in his mid-60's. Like Bloggs he never shows his face on screen to continue with the films sense of anonymity, his obsesion with Jenny and desperate need to know more about her is starting to affect his mental health and he is becoming careless.

SCRIPT

FADE IN:

EXT. OUTSIDE HOTEL – DAY

Establishing shot outside of the hotel.

CUT TO:

INT.

OUTSIDE HOTEL ROOM – DAY

Character #1 scrambles for keys.

CUT TO:

INT.

HOTEL ROOM – DAY

Inside the hotel room.

Character searches room.

Character sits on chair and curls up in a ball.

Character gets up and we get shots of pictures which are lining the wall.

Character takes one picture off the wall and falls against it. CAPTION SHOWS 2 WEEKS LATER

CUT TO:

INT.

HOTEL ROOM – DAY, 2 WEEKS LATER

Character is on a chair which she was sat on two weeks previously, but wearing different clothes and sat in a different position to symbolise the time lapse.

The character is fidgeting and then the phone which is in the character’s hands begins to ring.

She answers the phone and stands up to walk

JENNY (while on the phone) Hello?

CUT TO: INT.

BATHROOM – DAY

Within the en suite bathroom of the hotel room.

Character is still on the phone

JENNY (while on the phone) I know, dad.

JENNY (while on the phone) I’ve got to go. I love you.

Jenny puts the phone down and falls against the bathroom door, crying.

CUT TO:

INT.

HOTEL ROOM – DAY

Shadow on the bathroom door.

CUT TO:

INT.

BATHROOM – DAY

*BANG FROM OUTSIDE THE DOOR*

Jenny gasps and runs outside of the bathroom

CUT TO:

INT.

HOTEL ROOM – DAY

Jenny runs into the bedroom and pauses by the bed.

We are then able to see a bed covered in pills and pictures.

She picks up a piece of paper from the bed and drops a picture off it.

Jenny then drops the letter and runs towards the window.

CUT TO:

EXT.

HOTEL ROOM – DAY

Outside Jenny’s bedroom window, Jenny searches out of the window and looks in every direction.

She then looks straight into the camera.

Captions are laid over the film;

CAPTION: Produced by Vick Copley

CAPTION: Edited by Demi Mottram

CAPTION: Written by Rebecca Marshall

FADE TO BLACK

CAPTION: Directed by Leanne Smith

BLACK AND RED CAPTION STATING ‘SUITE 16’

FADE OUT

Section 7: Production Material - Storyboards & Shotlists