Screenplay

Screenplay from Tammybaldwin99

Our Production Logo

Here is our production logo '21st Century Productions'.

Me and Laura thought that it would be good to use quite a simple yet unique logo so as the viewers know who it belongs to. 

The text '21st Century Productions' is being projected out onto the screen behind it which is why we have used a yellow shadow behind the text. By using this it creates the image that there is light there which we think makes it look like a projected image instead of plain boring text.

The shadows we think also connect with the type of films (such our thriller)that we make as it makes it more mysterious.

We used the name '21st Century Productions' as it it also simple yet effective. This name is also easy to say (for all people) and is also easy to remember.

 

Time and equipment required

We have decided we will need about 3-4 days to film our thriller opening, however we will use more if needed. These days will include the making/sorting out of our props and costume and ensuring that the people we need are available at the time that we need them for.

For the making of our thriller, based on the storyline that we have, we think that we will be using the following technologies:

1. DSLR Camera - for the main filming
2. Tripod - For steady/still shots and panning
3. Shoulder mount - for moving shots
4. Possibly the Go Pro - for running/point-of-view shots

Risk assessment

Risk assesment part B from LauraKN

'Secret diary of a call girl' analysis

Secret diary of from Tammybaldwin99

Thriller Storyboard

Storyboard from Tammybaldwin99

Textual analysis of a past student thriller opening

Texual analysis of a thriller film

Role of the screenplay

In todays lesson we learnt all about screenplays; what they are, how they are different from a script, and why they are used.

Firstly we got given a copy of a screenplay from the beginning of the film Jaws:

We learnt that one page of a screenplay is equivalent to one minute of screen time, and we also learnt how to structure a screenplay. This will give us an idea of how to structure and write our own screenplays for our thriller opening.

The role of the screenplay is so the actors/actresses and the director know exactly what happens, when, where and at what shot angle. 

A screenplay is different from a script because it provides more detail of the location of the shots and the mise-en-scene of the location, and the type of shot used. Whereas a script is just the dialog of what the characters say. 

How the audience will 'use' or thriller

Based off my previous blog on theories I will be focusing on the uses and gratification theory and show how we will relate to it in our thriller.

I believe our thriller is aimed at teenagers and adults and I think they will watch (use) our film as it aims to be a very dramatic thriller type film, but we didn't want to give much away in the opening which will have the audience 'on the edge of their seats' and intrigue them.

I also think that the audience will be able to relate to our film as the opening starts off with a typical family conflict between a teenager and her dad which I'm sure many will be able to relate to. Therefore, because the audience might be able to see similarities in their lives along with the lives of the characters this will enable them to interact more with the film and the other characters within it more (Meaning that they can emotionally connect with the film, the action, and the feelings of the characters).

I think that our thriller opening/film will give a message to the viewers that life isn't always what we expect it to be, and that sometimes bad things can happen even if everything seems perfect or just like a normal life.

We decided to leave the ending to our thriller up to audience interpretation so that it will promote discussion about our film hopefully attracting others to watch it.

Audience theories

Active Vs. Passive 

Academic theories of audience can be split between models which see the audience as passive and those which see it as aggressive. Passive means it is easily manipulated, weak willed, controlled, dominated, and is compliant. Active means being engaged, involved, responsive, in control and free willed. The passive audience: The Hypodermic Syringe/needle model - short term effect, this was developed in 1930s where all audience members react in the same way, they all passively receive messages, the audience are manipulated and the media affects thoughts and behaviour.

I think our thriller will appeal to the aggressive audience because it will probably get different reactions as some people will find it interesting and mysterious, but others might not get the concept so might not like it because they don't understand it. I think this because it isn't a conventional thriller, that might scare people but its a thriller that makes people think.

Uses and Gratification

The Uses and Gratification theory of audience suggest, unlike the hypodermic needle model, that the audience determines what to do with the media rather than the media influencing the audience directly. When an audience actively seeks media, they want to gratify them, they are choosing to interpret its message. The main idea is that media does not fully control a helpless audience, but rather the media is subjective per person as they use it to meet needs.

Reception theory

The Effects model (active vs. passive) and the uses and gratifications have some problems and limitations so a different approach was developed by the academic Stuart Hall at Birmingham University in the 1970s. This considered how text were encoded with meaning by producers and then decoded (understood) by audiences. This theory suggest that when a producer constructs a text it is encoded with the meaning or message that the producer wishes to convey to the audience. Sometimes audiences will correctly decode the message or meaning and understand what the producer is trying to say. However in some instances the audience will either reject or fail to correctly understand the message. Stuart Hall identified 3 types of audience decoding of the text: dominant or preferred which is where the audience decodes the message correctly and agrees with it, negotiated this is where the audience accepts, rejects or refines elements of the text in light of previously held views, and oppositional where the dominant meaning is recognised but rejected for cultural, political or ideological reasons.

Primary audience research

Here is a survey we did to find out what types of audiences would watch our thriller film

Primary audience research from LauraKN