Character Profile for Summer

SUMMER

• Gender - Female
• Age - 16 - 18
• Is developing/has schizophrenia
• Had a boyfriend who committed suicide
• Shy person/very reserved
• Is clumsy, cowardly, delusional, jumpy, fidgety, gloomy, frustrated etc
• Height - 5 ft 4
• Eye colour - Blue eyes
• Costume - every day/casual clothes = jeans and a tee shirt

She is the main character. Her boyfriend has just committed suicide and is experiencing symptoms of schizophrenia as she is constantly seeing a nurse following her and dead boyfriend. She has nightmares of seing her dead boyfriend, and needs therapy which lets the audience know she's slowly going insane. 

                                                                  Analysis of 'Sybil'

                                                           (Research into similar films)

'Sybil' is a 70's psychological thriller starring Sally Field. It is based on a true story about a woman who develops multiple personality disorder as a result of her harrowing childhood. 



Analysis of first 15 minutes of 'Sybil':

Cinematography

-Firstly, before the first scene has even begin there is prologue which states that the film is "based on a true story". This gives the audience an immediate feeling of trepidation and is a strategy often used in psychological thrillers/ horrors- even if it is not actually true- due to the fact that it intrigues the audience and instantly makes the film appear more realistic, therefore the audience is more likely to be scared.

-In the first scene, (in the park as the children are painting) the atmosphere appears to be peaceful, (due to the fact children represent joy/ happiness and the lighting is bright etc) when all of a sudden a grandmother and some children playing on the swings catch her eye and she has a sudden flashback of her harrowing childhood. The mood instantly changes as there are flashes of a disturbing scene Sybil is remembering having witnessed from her childhood. This gave us inspiration for a scene in which we will use in our own film to show that our main character (Summer) is suffering from schizophrenia and provide flashes of the event (her boyfriends suicide) which has sent her spiraling out of control.

-When Sybil is at the hospital being questioned by the doctor, we visually experience one of her psychotic episodes for the first time. When her 'young' personality is present, there is a close-up shot of her face as she sits with her head in the palm of her hand. The close-up shot means that we can clearly see her childish facial expressions which gives her 'young' personality away to the audience. However, when her 'older' personality is present, the camera zooms out to reveal an establishing shot of the hospital room and we see Sybil put on a pair of glasses which makes her appear more mature.

Editing  

-The title sequence at the beginning of the film uses capitalisation in the text which reflects the drama and danger of the storyline.

-Before the first scene in the park, there are several images shown of paintings of the New York  city skyline. One of the images transitions into a moving clip and could be a way in which to reflect Sybil's multiple personality disorder as it suggests the transition Sybil struggles to make in her life between fantasy/ imagination and reality due to her mental illness.

Sound

-During the title sequence, a soundtrack of a children's lullaby is being sang by a 'creepy' sounding young girl with a sinister, rumbling sound effect playing alongside it. This gives the audience an uneasy feeling and builds suspense as it reflects the thriller aspect of the film.

-As sybil retreats back to her New York apartment after experiencing a psychotic episode at the park, a sinister, dramatic soundtrack plays over the scene which builds tension for the climax of her smashing the window after experiencing yet another one of her psychotic episodes.

Mise en Scene

-During the title sequence, there are several images of paintings of the New York city skyline shown. However, the overall colour scheme of the paintings are dark colours (such as dark brown, black etc) which reflect the horror/ thriller genre of the film.

-In the first scene in the park, every person in the scene is dressed in bright, vibrant colours that reflect happiness. However, Sybil on the other hand is dressed in dark clothing which highlights the fact she is the character who is suffering with a mental illness.

Similar films to Delusion

Some similar films to delusion are:

Black swan
Phsyco
Shutter Island
Memento
The purge
Butterfly effect
Fight club
Inception
The reason these films are similar to the film we are going to produce is because the main element of delusion is the fear of the illness and how it is affecting the main character summer. Also because most of these psychological thrillers are at the certification of 15. All theses films have elements that we wish to portray in our film for example,

In Memento the end of the film starts at the beginning. In our film we are going to have the story told as if it has already happened.










In black Swan the characters illness builds over the course of the film and even though we are not making the whole film we want this to be portrayed in the first two minutes. (that her condition will get worse)

In Shutter Island the storyline is very complex and doesn't give much away but reveals the information in small sections. We would like to keep the truth about what is wrong with summer until the very end of the film to keep the audience interested, however we don't want to make it too complex that they don't understand.

 

Script for first two minutes - DELUSION

Title Sequence Research

Title sequences are used in media products (films and tv programmes) to give the audience not only information about who is in the film (cast) and who has made it (crew) they also give away small bits of information about the film.
The film our group is going to produce is going to be a pychological thriller, therefore for my research I am going to look at title sequences for pychological thrillers to try and get some inspiration for our films title seuence.


This during this title sequence of the butterfly effect the background pictures move quite rapidly. The lettering is in white and appears by fading in the letters in a radom order. The only part of the title sequence that is different is the title its self as the title is blue and appears all at once but in two place. One of the titles slides along and off the screen the other stays in the same place and does nothing. The entre title sequence looks like it has been filmed with a handheld camera as alot of the close ups of the backgound images are shakey and not very clear. However, this could be have the director wanted the start of the title sequence to be as it doesnt give much away about the film itself.



The title sequence of Inception is animated. It has two main colours in the sequence which are red and black, also all the lettering is in capital letters and there are alot of zoom in`s and zoom out`s and the images ( screen) seems to rotate offten which gives the audience the inpression that not everything is normal but has different sides to look at.




Shutter Islands title sequence is very interesting as it changes. To start with all the writting is red and in capitals (and has a flicker to it) and the images (especially the stair case) move very fast.Then you (the audience) look like they are entering a building and the images slow down and the writting turns white but it has stopped flicking. All the casts names stay still andthe rest of the writting flickers.Then a gun is shown and the music has a slight change. The next image makes things clearer. It is a match being lite but once it is lite the audience get to see the Island for the first time. The title itself is red and blode on a black background in capitals and then zooms in as if its zooming into the picture or in this case the story of the film.




The title sequence for Fight Club is very interesting as it has been rhythmically edited. It also is the only title sequence that I looked at with a strange not simple fount. The fount in this title sequence is the most important thing as it is what the audience is drawn to, not only by the rhythmic editing but also as it is the brightest thing on screen(so bright it is almost blinding). The text is white and in capitals. The image on the screen is animated and doesnt tell the audience must about the film.



This title sequence is NOT the sequence that is on the film, it is one that has been made by a group of college pupils. The reason I am looking at this title sequence is because there isnt really a title sequence on Black Swan as it doesnt show any names of the cast it just shows who the distributor is and the producor and director is.
In this version of Black Swans title sequence it is animated and uses only the clours black, white and red. Black and White are really important in this film so i believe creating it in this way really shows the contrast between the two characters. The text appears with a smooth fade in and changes to contrast the background as the background is always moving. I belive out of all the sequences I have looked at this one shows more about what is going to happen in the film than any of the others.  

Research into title sequences that we will do our title sequence like

The opening credits to the film Secret window:

I would like to use ideas from Secret window's opening credits in our title sequence.

I like the fact that it has come in from a flash back, zooms out and fades into another image. The writing shown slowly fades in in a basic font and white colour looking normal and un-peculiar. The music in the back ground is eerie and gives the overall look a suspicious feel to it. I like also that there is a slow and steady zoom in to one specific part of the film as it is doing this.

When the name of the title appears on screen it is the same colour as the rest of the writing and fades in, in the same way. However, it then slowly turns a dark red representing blood and danger giving the film a horror/thriller feel to it. When it fades out there is a soft thumping sound - like a heartbeat - to give the film a better atmosphere. I like the way the title sequence is done and would use something like the techniques that are used in our film. 

A possible distributor for our film

Secret window:

This film is a psychological thriller which includes aspects and ideas similar to the ones we would like to include in our film. The distributor for this film is Columbia Pictures. This company has been going for a long time and is well known which is a positive. They are known for distributing many thrillers such as Panic room for example so the audience know that the film is of a certain type and could become more interested.
I think that this company is a good choice for us to use as it has been the distributor for a lot of thrillers before and has been going for such a long time. It is easily recognized by the audience and has a good reputation. 

Black swan:

This film was distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures which hasn't been going as long as Columbia Pictures. However it is fairly recognizable and people expect big things from the films it distributes. As well as this, it also has experience in distributing thrillers (like Columbia has) such as The hills have eyes which is very well known thriller/horror film.
I think that this would also be a good distributor to use for our film as it has a positive reputation and is more recent.

Both of these companies are the subsidiary companies to a conglomerate which is a benefit as our film will not be a mainstream film with famous actors and high post production prices. 
I think the best distributor company for our film would be Columbia Pictures as it has been going for the longest, has distributed far more thriller/horror films and is better known.

Analysis of another film like the one we are doing

The film I chose to look at was 'Secret Window' as it is a psychological thriller and I think that inspiration on cinematography and sounds could be used in our film from this.

Cinematography:
In the first shot, the image is a head shot that shows the facial expressions of the character and lets the audience judge what type of film it is from this one shot. The character looks angry and scared so the film looks to be either a horror or thriller. Because of the rain clearly seen on the car window, the mood is also represented through the character giving it an even more sinister/tense atmosphere.
I noticed during the 15 minutes of the beginning of the film, there were a lot of POV shots. I like the idea of these as it makes the audience feel even more involved and as if they were following the story as if the were there. I also noticed as well as POV shots there were dolly/tracking shots used frequently. This helped to build the tension of the scene and helped make the overall look, seem flawless. In our piece I think that using POV shots would help to build tension and help the audience feel more included.
When the tension is building, slow panning and zoom shots are used. I like the ideas of these also; as well as building tension, these shots are good for setting the scene. Because this is a psychological thriller, the camerawork is usually different to usual films as it will need to be creepier and build more tension. Therefore in our piece, I feel like shots such as canted angles and zoom ins/outs could be used as they are not natural to the eye and give the film a creepier look.

In this film, there is a contrast between high and low angle shots (as seen on the right). Mainly low angle shots are used at first to show the character's uncertainty and self-confidence issue. However, as the movie progresses, more and more high angle shots are used to define the power. I also like this idea to use in our film.



This video is from the opening sequence at the beginning of the film that demonstrates some of the camera shots I talked about.

Editing:

The editing in secret window varies throughout. When the tension is increasing the editing becomes more fast paced, however during conversations for example the editing is slow and goes by the shot reverse shot rule to make the movie seem more tense as it progresses. As well as this, during the shot reverse shots, the camera cuts to important things for instance the dog which foreshadows that something will happen to the dog. I like the idea of using this editing technique as it would fit in with the genre of film we are doing and builds the tension and suspense.

As this film is a thriller there needs to be a lot of tension to be built up. In one scene during the first 15 minutes, the main character (Mort) is falling to sleep on his sofa. The camera is pointed straight over him looking down on to him to show that his eyes are getting heavy. Then there is a cut to the clock to show the time, back to Mort on the sofa and back to the clock again. The time has passed on the clock! This is a good editing technique that I believe we could use in our film (supposedly in the beginning scene in the therapy room).
In the same scene there is an impact cut. There is a slight zoom in to a door, that is being bashed down. The whole lighting is over exposed to make it look creepier. However during this there is no sound apart from the noise of a ticking clock. I really like the use of the editing and sound in this scene, and I think that it could be used in our film. The impact cut is used when the antagonist (Shooter) walks towards the camera and the image is quickly changed when there is a loud noise of a phone ringing. This was done to increase tension. Because our film will be a similar genre, I think using at least one impact cut in our film would help build the suspense and tension.

The clip in which the banging door is shown. Go to time: 2:00 to watch the shot. 

Mise en scene:

The mise en scene for this film is straight forward but adds a good effect to the overall look of the film. I noticed that the weather commonly represents the mood in the film for example in the first scene when Mort's wife is cheating on him, it is dark, snowy/rainy and dull. I think for the mise en scene of the film, it gives the film a sinister look which relates to it's genre.
The lighting in the film is crucial. When something odd is happening the light is usually over exposed to represent Mort's craziness setting in and also to show his anger. I think that in our film, using a bright filter or being somewhere where the lighting is over exposed will suit the iconography used for a psychological thriller.

Sound:
This type of film relies heavily on the use of sounds. At the start of the film there is only the sound of the wind screen wipers or what could possibly be a heart beating. I like the fact that it is left up to the mind of the viewer to decide. The sound usually begins off quite quiet but then increases until it reaches a certain noise and is stopped somehow once the tension has been increased.
There is a voice over a lot of time which lets the audience into the mind of the character, and shows that he talks to himself inside his head and also foreshadows that all of this is happening in his head.
I like the fact that when the audience suspects there to be a loud noise (for example the banging on the door) there is either no noise at all, a white noise or a non-diegetic sound such as a clock ticking. I like this idea as it makes the film look distorted and abnormal. As well as this the fact that in some scenes, there is absolutely no sound creates tension as the audience suspects that there will be a loud bang or an impact cut.

Story line:
 The story line for this film is fairy simple but can be easily expanded on and there are a lot of plot twists. In the first scene it is told to the audience the main characters past so they have a better understanding on what that character is like and empathizes with him. Like this film, we need to make a lot happen in a little time frame and the use of flash backs and the plot moving along quickly is what we are aiming to do in our film.

Genre:
it is clear from the use of cinematography, editing and music what the genre is from the very beginning. The use of close ups of the characters facial expressions let us know that they are angry which informs the audience that the film could possibly be a thriller or a horror. the music is tense and eerie therefore it gives a spooky over all impression. Because the lighting varies from dark and light, (and it also represents the mood of the scene) the film looks dark and mysterious to the viewer.

Characters:

The characters are rather suspicious looking and wear/do things that would put them into a thriller category.
The main protagonist wears scruffy/ripped clothes which represent his feeling and life. he acts suspicious as he constantly talks to himself foreboding that he will turn out to be crazy.
The antagonist, acts suspicious and has the iconography of the colour black. The fact he wears the hat gives him a sinister look and his facial expressions show that he is sinister and bad.
 

Title Sequences

                                                                     Title Sequences

A title sequence is when films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members- or both- using visuals and sound. It usually follows (but should not be confused) with the opening credits.

                                      (The title sequence from Alfred Hitchcock's Pyscho)

The effect of using a title sequence at the beginning of a film is the fact that it intrigues the audience into what characters are starring in the particular film, especially if someone is a fan of a certain actor/ actress. Also, it informs the audience of the cast members in which have worked on set of the film. For example, the director/ producer etc. It can also be a way in which to inform the audience of the setting of the scene, as shown in the last frame on the image above.

 

 Another reason in which title sequences are used is to, in some cases, give away the genre and partly the plot of the film to the audience. For example, in the title sequence of Pyscho (as shown above) the color scheme is kept very minimalistic by only using black, white and greyscale. This immediately insinuates the audience that the genre of the film is a thriller/ horror as the dark colors reflect gloomy, menacing connotations that give the audience a sinister vibe.

A possible distributor of our film could be Paramount Pictures as they are a company well known for producing successful physiological thrillers such as 'Pyscho' and 'Shutter Island'.

 

 

Paramount Pictures is a film and television production/distribution studio which is ranked as one of the largest movie studios in Hollywood. It is a unit of the American media conglomerate Viacom.

Paramount Pictures is the fifth oldest existing film studio in the world behind Universal Studios, Nordisk Film and numerous others. Also, it is the last major film studio that is still headquartered in Hollywood.


The certificate of our film will be a rated '15' as our film is going to contain the following: strong violence; frequent strong language; discriminatory language or behavior and drug taking.

Also, many physiological thrillers are rated 15 due to the fact that at 15 there can be strong threat and menace (as long as it is not sadistic or sexualized), although the strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable.

Research into similar film

Research into similar film

Another psychological thriller with a character that has a similar condition to the one of our character is Shutter island. The character in shutter island has the mental disorder schizophrenia, the doctors and rest of the people he is around let him believe that he is in fact trying to discover a patient that has escaped from the mental hospital for the criminally insane. But he is in fact himself a patient there. Everyone around teddy leads him to believe that he is indeed still a an officer of the law and fully sane man. We discover at the end that he is in fact not and this is very similar to that of our character. She is in fact schitzophenic and discovers at the end of the film that she is this way. But to keep her happy and out of the way of self harm they lead her believe she live Avery normal life.

Research into other thriller films

Secret window:
Secret window is a psychological thriller about a man going slowly crazy after he and his wife divorce. He lives alone in a cabin in the woods with his dog whilst he writes short stories. One day a man comes to his door accusing him of stealing his story. He threatens him and makes him paranoid and begins seeing him every where. In the end it turns out that the man was just a figment of his imagination and it was in fact him who was threatening and killing people.

Review of this film

This film is very much like the one we are planning to make as it involves the main character seeing things, acting crazy and having a psychotic effect to it.

This is the films trailer:


Black swan:
This film is also a psychological thriller that involves a ballet dancer gong slowly crazy. It is very similar to Secret window as signs of the main character turning crazy are shown and by the end it is clear to the audience that she has been seeing things and is in fact crazy. In the last scene because she cannot determine right from wrong she stabs herself thinking she stabbed some one else and kills her self.

Review of this film

This film is like the one we are planning to do as it relies on lighting to build tension and involves the iconography of going crazy and seeing things that no one else can see.

This is the trailer for Black swan:

Analysis Of Memento

The film I have chosen to look at is a pyschological thriller called Memento. I have chosen to look at this film as I believe its storyline is quite similar to our groups film. Also I believe that from this film we will be inspired to look at certain parts of cinematography, mise-en-scene,sound and editing.
The analysis that I have done on this film is for the first 15 minutes, in the film we as going to make it will only be 2 minutes long, so I am looking at this film to try and see what is used to hook the audience into watching the rest of the film.



The title sequence to memento is simple with smooth fades. The music plays a large part in the title sequence, as it gets louder and louder as well as it being a sad sounding but yet intreging section of music. Also the key part to the title sequence is the ever fading picture which reveals less with every shake. I believe that this is because the main character has a short term memory loss which you find out about 10 minutes into the film.

Within the first 15 minutes of the film memento there are alot of different locations like: a hotel room, a corridoor, a buliding that could potentially be a warehouse, inside of a car, a car park and a room in which a man dies. During the clip a few of the locations are shot in black and white, I believe that this is to show when lennie has forgotten something however, not everything he forgets is in black and white. The black and white parts of the clip give the audience a feeling that something is not quite right with lennie as they soon find out.

The editing in this clip is normal (there are not fast edits or slow ones) the only major editing done in this clip is right at the begining when the death of the man teddy (john) is shown in reverse. This could be a good technic to use in our film to show what has already happened and what is happening.

There is not much sound to the clip as most of the sound is normal dialogue however the two gun shots that the audience heres with in this short clip are very loud and over powering. Also the music changes when lennie starts to realise `the facts`.

I believe that memento well help use to create or film as memento starts at the end of the film (or very close to the end) and then plays everything back but in jumbled up orders until the audience realise what is going on. This will be good as our film is going to start in the middle and do a replay of the events that have taken place. Also, our film will have flashbacks to parts of the film that the audience hasnt seen to reveal more information. This is kind of like memento as it reveals information by haing it written on lennies body.