Treatment and Storyboard

Treatment:
Title: Intruder
Production Company: Spectral Studios
Directors: Camilla Sloan and Kathryn Davies
Duration of Trailer: 2 minutes 30 seconds
Duration of Film: 1 hour 45 minutes
BBFC Trailer Rating: 12
BBFC Film Rating: 15
Location Bodmin: 15
Trailer Filming and Production Duration: October - December 2015

1. Male character wakes up and a voice-over tells the viewers that his family have died and left him the house. He hasn't recovered mentally and is starting to go psychotic from being alone.
2. Male character then reveals to the audience that he imagines things are going missing from his house, and doesn't know whether it is his mental issues or if someone really is taking things from his house.
3. The man continues to do everyday things but begins to feel cold spots and the audience see silhouettes of the 'intruder' that's living in the house. 
4. He then decides to install cameras in his house to view his movements in the house and what goes on when he isn't at home, to prove or disprove that it is his mind playing tricks on him.
5. After a few mundane days he reviews the camera footage and realises that he isn't going crazy and that there is a female living in the house, but he doesn't know where she is staying or why.
6. Man walks around during the night causing lack of sleep, but cannot settle until he figures out who it is and where they are in his house, he is unsuccessful.
7. He starts to have a mental breakdown as his belongings are being taken from him and he doesn't know how he can stop it.
8. He explains that he is lonely and that the presence in his house is unnerving but he likes it because it means he feels less lonely.
9. Man becomes extremely distressed as his work life and social life are both being affected as he feels distracted in life.
10. He continues to try and catch the intruder in his house.
11. Then one evening he catches a glimpse of the night dress that the intruder wears and begins to chase her, causing his house to get messed up as he knocks over furniture and belongings.
12. He then loses her in his house.
13. Man then becomes paranoid that it is just his mind playing tricks on him because of his loneliness and because he is mentally unstable.
14. Man finally comes face to face with the intruder and they have a 'one-sided' confrontation.
15. Film ends leaving the audience in suspense.

youThe audience are never given the name of the main character as the information is not relevant and it also creates mystery, suggesting he has no place in society. The trailer begins by showing the main character returning home from work/being out. It will show the house, where the film is set. While these clips are being shown, separated by a succession of transitions, a voiceover will explain that the main character has been having psychological problems after his family all died and he is hallucinating thing around his house. This audio will be layered with some non-digetic, ambient music to create tension for the audience and foreshadow an upcoming event.

As the man enters the house he will explain that things have been going missing or have been moving around his house and he doesn't recall moving these belongings. He will go about his day-to-day routine but remain confused and agitated as to where his things are going. This will trigger the beginning of the emotional breakdown where the suspense will build.

The man decides that he is going to set up cameras around his house to track whatever is taking his things, or if it is just himself and that the problem is just a figment of his imagination. After recording his movements for a couple of days he will watch the footage briefly and discover that someone is living in his house. 'She' wears a long, white night dress and is not clearly identifiable as she makes minimal noises as she moves around the house making her challenging to track.

The man decides to try and catch out the 'woman' when she least expects it but is unsuccessful and the man begins to question whether he is just imagining the whole thing. This sends the man into a spiral of hatred and frustration and he goes on a rampage throughout his house.

The woman then makes an appearance when the man is at his weakest so as to confuse him through his blurry vision. He comes face to face with the woman once they have both entered a room with only one exit. At this the woman will spin around and the camera will move from her ankles to her chin, showing the audience vaguely what she looks like. The film will cut before any more of her is revealed so that the audience are left in suspense as to who she is.

Here is my first look at doing a story board:

ANIMATIC 1st DRAFT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNCRaCjVuG0
ANIMATIC 2nd DRAFT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIvYZPqriHI

As the trailer developed during the production processes we realised that the initial storyboard and animatic was going to make our trailer more like a short film. We initially wanted to make a short film but decided against it as we were advised that our ideas could be really effective in a trailer. So, during the initial planning stages we kept our script and ideas very film orientated and this shows in our planning above.


Now, as the trailer has progressed and we have become more experienced in researching trailers and using the equipment, some of the ideas have changed. Many of the shots are now in a different, and more effective order. The sound has changed and the script is much shorter to mean that we have more time to create suspense with ambient, non-diegetic and digetic sounds. We have also changed the duration of most of the shots so that the trailer is slower at the start and using shots of under a second in duration the pace will build at the end. We got feedback from peers of the same profile as our target audience as we worked on the trailer, which really benefitted us to make sure our product was as good as can be.

Having done this research was still worthwhile as it allowed us to identify mistakes in our planning and make changes before it was too late.

Chosen Institutions

We have decided to create our own production called Spectral Studios. We chose this because it allows us to have flexibility to create the target audience for ourselves and to create it in the way we want. We wanted to call it Spectral Studios as 'Spectral' is a synonym for the word 'Ghostly' connoting the supernatural feel of Horrors and Thrillers. The alliteration also makes it very memorable as it rolls off the tongue so the audience will remember it and it will help to make film genres clear as we would be known for making the certain genre.

Hammer Horror Films was going to be our choice but they recently became a lot more well known meaning that the budget is a lot higher. As we are creating a low budget film, it will be easier for us to produce our own film so we can create it how we want and won't have to fit other conventions that the company will already have from producing the other films.


http://libanswers.uvic.ca/a.php?qid=84200

Film Shot and Lighting Research

There are many kinds of shots and camera movements that are used in film to convey mood and atmosphere to the audience. Here are the examples of shots and movements that I have found from looking online:

Aerial shot - A shot filmed from the air which is used to show the audience the location of the film and to help the audience to paint the story's picture in their head.

Arc shot - A shot where the subject is circled by the camera using a dolly often used to show details about the background without looking away from the subject.

Bridging shot - A shot that helps the continuity of the film, i.e if a year passes then this shot will maybe show a calendar or newspaper to help cover the jump in time.

Deep Focus - is a shot that keeps the subject in the foreground, middle ground and the background in focus sharply, to show what is happening in the whole shot.

Dolly zoom - A shot that makes the foreground subject stay the same size but the background increases or decreases in size which causes a dizziness to the viewer to convey a realisation from a character.

Dutch tilt - A shot that is tilted at an angle (usually 13 degrees) which suggests disorientation of characters.

Handheld shot - A shot that is filmed whilst being held by the camera man without a tripod or steady cam to give a shaky/jerky look to give a realistic look and to help tell the narrative.

Locked-Down Shot - A shot where the camera doesn't move whilst the action moves off screen which can create suspense and the realistic idea that stuff can't always happen the way you think it will.

Over The Shoulder Shot - A shot from over the shoulder of another character used mostly during a conversation to show the other character's facial expressions and to convey a feeling of distance from the other character.

POV shot - A shot that is from the eyes of a character to see what they are seeing, makes the viewer feel like they're a part of the movie.

Tracking shot - A shot that follows the subject as they move along, usually from the front or the side using a dolly with hydraulic arms to give smooth shot.

180 degree rule

The 180-degree rule is a basic filmmaking rule regarding the on-screen the space between a character and another character or object within a scene. A made up line called the axis connects the characters, and by keeping the camera on one side of this axis for every shot in the scene, the first character is always frame right of the second character, who is then always frame left of the first. If the camera crosses the line then it is seen as breaking the rule and called shooting in the round.

Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is used all the time in video and film production it is when the frame is divided into into nine imaginary sections.  This makes points of reference which act as guides for framing the image. Points of interest should occur at 1/3 or 2/3 of the way up or into the frame, rather than in the centre. This is not always necessary  but it is one of those rules you should understand well before you break it.

Lighting
High and Low Key:
Low key lighting is used a lot in Thriller, it gives a dull and dark look creating shadows and a sense of unknownness and danger to the viewer, it can also make the viewer frightened or on edge. Low
key lighting creates a Chiaroscuro effect which is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark. 
High key lighting is the opposite, so the background and foreground is all very bright, it usually connotes positivity and sometimes femininity. Using this concept means the contrast is very high.

Under lighting:  when the main source of light comes from underneath the subject. This makes the subject look disfigured as the subjects are being lit from where shadows naturally form. This can be used to mask the identity of the character as shadows are created in different places. 

Filler light: involves one or more reflectors to soften harsh lights and shadows. It can include other things that absorb, reflect and alter light to give a distorted image. 

Top lighting: where a light is placed above the subject. This technique highlights features on the subject. It is commonly used in horror/thriller films as it can create a sinister effect on the subject that the light is directed on. 

Synopsis of Film & Title ideas

A man is living alone in his house when he starts to notice some of his possessions are being moved or taken. He wants to investigate what is taking his things or if it is just a figure of his damaged imagination. He has no family, friends or spouse and the loneliness is starting to turn him psychotic. He sets up some security cameras in the house to monitor his movement and try and capture anything living in the house. After battling with some psychotic troubles he discovers something is living in his house, he tries to find them when they least expect it and comes face to face with the thing that's been haunting his days and nights. 

We have thought of lots of different titles that relate to the theme and plot of our film including:

• Intruder
• Alone
• Isolation

We chose 'Intruder' as it connotes someone who is unwelcome in the house and we think it will sound interesting to the audience.

Common Conventions

The plot of Thrillers is usually a story of a good protagonist vs a bad person or problem and the plot is mainly about a villain. Common themes are ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge, kidnappings, mind games, psychological themes, stalking, being trapped and obsessions. The characters in a thriller always depend on the story but in most include a few of these: criminals, stalkers, assassins, innocent victims, threatened women, mentally unstable people, characters with a deep and mysterious past, serial killers, sociopaths, secret agents, escaped convicts and people in difficult relationships. In psychological thrillers, the protagonists are reliant on their resources, whether it be by battling wits with the antagonist or by battling for equilibrium in the character's own mind.

The editing is normally fast paced quick cuts and this is to create tension and suspense but can sometimes slow down to make the trailer even more suspenseful. The colours black and white are conventions of a thriller which emphasise the shadows and lighting bringing a darker and sinister feel to the movie. The lighting is usually low and has a gothic colours that are like the colours in the bottom few rows in the image to the right. In psychological thrillers mirrors and stairs are used quite often relating to the iconography of thrillers using things such as shadows, and confined spaces. There is also a lot of continuity editing and montage sequencing to help pass time and not elongate the storyline. There are also a lot of flashbacks to help clarify and develop the story. These are all used to keep the audience interested, explain the narrative and constantly make them think. The trailers usually include a lot of writing in between sections of scenes to make the viewer interested.

Music is very useful as it helps to build up tension using noises from instruments like the violin which get louder and higher pitched or quick loud banging sounds whenever the clip changes to a new one to make the heart beat faster. There is often ticking sounds that are played in trailers aswell to build tension and suspense. There is usually some sort of dialogue in the beginning of thriller trailers to explain some of the story to the viewer, usually the character will be shown doing something intriguing and they will then say a hook line to make the viewer interested in the rest of the trailer. Non-Diegetic Music is played throughout most trailers to give a particular mood or atmosphere and the sequence in the editing is usually cut to the beat of the music or insynchronous sounds to give a quick paced and professional effect. Sometimes there may even be contrapuntal sound which is when the sound or music doesn't fit the image you're seeing e.g. a fight scene with classical music playing, which actually does fit in an ironic way.

Ident and graphics research

Idents, logos and graphics are important for a production company to have in the trailer as it get's the name out there in the viewers eyes and helps other film makers to look at the work that the company has already done to see if the production company would produce their film well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb5gmLsqt-o - This trailer is a trailer for a film called The Lazurus effect and is produced by Blumhouse productions which is the logo you can see in the centre of the screenshot to the left. The logo shows for 1.5 secs and is 18 seconds in. The three logos in a row zoom in as they are shown which sort of makes the viewer see them as it makes them in your face, I think it is a bit fast for the viewers to read all three but because the BH logo is in the middle and has a different graphic to the others it is more eye-catching. They have made to logo as a silhouette of the letters B and H with a grainy white house as a background and the word productions underneath. I think that the logo looks good but maybe should have had its own section in the trailer to make it more memorable and noticeable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DSMCbWo6u4 - This trailer is for a film called The Woman in Black - Angel of Death (sequel of The Woman in Black) and the logo of the production companies Entertainment One and Hammer films are shown for 2.5 seconds right at the beginning of the trailer. They fade in from the black background and have a spotlight with smoke in front that realistically moves to give a textured effect which is quite unique. I think this is similar to the one above but because there are only two logos and the smoky effect it gives it a more interesting look which may be more memorable to the viewer, I also prefer the fact that it is at the beginning and not mid way through the trailer like some are.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNON0qDbecw - This is the trailer for a film called Pressure. At the very beginning the ident for 20th Century Fox shows and then the ident for Pinewood Picture shows. The Pinewood pictures ident was juts the logo which looked very textured and had a shadowed/light effect to give a 3d look, it also had dust particles which floated around in the light to give a cool effect. The Pinewood logo played for about 1.5 seconds and because it is just this logo at the time I think it is a good time as the viewer has enough time to read it but it isn't on the screen for too long so you don't notice it much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z3_vcRbi7k - This is the trailer for Captive, a thriller released in 2014. The ident at the beginning of the trailer is for entertainment one and the logo travels in as a bunch of dust particles which then come together to make the logo. The white background and black logo is quite different to the others I have seen which sets it out from the rest. The ident plays for about 3 seconds which is a good length of time as it shows the animation as well as just the logo, the animation makes it more interesting.

Film Trailer Primary Audience Research & Survey Monkey Results

Target Audience Profile
We will be aiming for a mass target audience as films of the genre often appeal to audiences that love films of other genres too like action, crime, and horror. From the results of my survey monkey and research into similar products, I can tell you that our target audience for the film trailer will be heterosexual males that are aged between 17-22. I chose this age range because like Stanley Hall said in 1904 'Youth seeks excitement' and I chose heterosexual males because my secondary research into existing products showed me that the main target audience is straight heterosexual males as these are the type of people who consume Thriller films. Because we are aiming at a mass audience, we will have a secondary target audience of straight females of a similar age. Analysing psychographics allowed me to conclude that my target audience are likely to be 'Explorers' (Young and Rubican). These type of people are thrill-seeking and like to take chances, much like the characters in a thriller film. I think that films provide an extent of discovery which is what 'explorers' desire the most. In terms of lifestyle categories I think my target audience are likely to be 'egoists' as people watch films for enjoyment and entertainment. People who are categorised as 'egoists' want to get the best out of their lives and get the most pleasure for themselves. I think that my target audience will be of the middle classes and have sufficient disposable income to spend on going to the cinema and watching films. As thriller films are typically low budget, anyone could make a film of this genre which I think makes the concepts and content more accessible to the audience.

The results from the first question in my survey showed that just over 58% of the people that took my survey were male and just under 42% of the people were female showing me that the results from my survey will be quite relevant as my target audience are males. When looking at gender there are a few representation theories that I can relate to, Mulvey's 1975 theory that 'females are erotic objects of desire for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic objects of desire for the spectator within the auditorium' and Mackinnon's 2003 theory that 'Men are increasingly and unapologetically objectified, both in terms of erotic spectacle and as targets of advertising for product beyond cars and beers, including many items once thought to be market for women alone'. 

The results from question 2 show me that out of the 24 people that took my survey 91.66% are between the ages of 0-24, these results compliment my target audience as my target audience is 17-22 year olds. This means that the results I get from the survey will be relevant as the age of the people taking it were between the correct ages for my primary target audience. When thinking about youths I need to look into representation theories such as Stanley Hall's 1904 theory that 'Youth must have excitement and if this is not at hand in the form of moral intellectual enthusiasms it is more prone to be sought in sex or drink' and Hebdige's 1988 theory that The portrayal of youth is not entirely pessimistic as mixed metaphors appear that term “youth as fun” and “youth as trouble maker.”

The third question is asking what the people's sexuality is. The results show that 87.50% of them are Heterosexual, 8.33% of them were Homosexual and 4.17% was Bisexual. This means that my target audience will most likely be majorly Heterosexuals, but there will still be people with other sexualities. When thinking about sexuality I need to think about the representation theories such as Medhurst's 1998 theories that 'Homosexual males are represented as screaming queers and their female counterparts as butch dykes' and 'They are awful because they are not like us'.





The fourth question I asked is about the ethnicity of the 24 people that took my survey. The majority of the people were white/caucasian but there were two people that weren't.  This shows me that the majority of people that will watch the trailer will be white/caucasian so i will use actors that are white/caucasian in the trailer, where as if I has a group of people with a with a wider group of ethnicities I would have to use actors of other ethnicities to relate to the audience. When thinking about the ethnicity of my target audience, I need to think about representation theories such as Malik's 1998 theory that "The word ‘race’ in the cultural and political terrain has almost universally been aligned with Black and Asian people, as though they are the only racial groups that ‘own’ an ethnicity… Whiteness has been naturalized, as though it is an invisible ‘norm.’"  and Alvarado's 1987 theory that minorities are portrayed in four ways: Exotic, Dangerous, Humorous and Pitied. 

For the fifth question I asked how often they watched films and the majority of people that answered my survey watched films frequently at home and also watched them in cinema sometimes too. The people who chose the options that they didn't watch as many films could have been the older people that took the survey, this could relate to Stanley Hall's theory that Youths seek excitement as they could be seeking excitement through film. 

The sixth question asked what genre of film was their favourite and Horror/Thriller was the most chosen answer which is good because our film trailer is going to be a Thriller trailer.

This question asked what the main things people look for in a film, the top three were Storyline, Acting quality and Genre, this shows me that when people are looking for a film to watch and enjoy,  they will be looking into what the story is about (maybe through watching the trailer), who the actors are and if they're recognisable etc. and what the genre of the film is so they know if they will enjoy it or not.

The eighth question I asked was how much about the film should the trailer tell the audience, 62.50 percent of the people chose the option of 'Know something about characters and plot' which shows that we should only explain some of the storyline briefly so we don't tell the audience too much of the film.

This question asked if the people prefer cinematic or teaser trailers. Teaser trailers are trailers that are normally released whilst the film is still being produced and are quite short. The trailer normally just consists of some clips from the film and little information about the film and release date with not a lot of explanation towards the storyline. The cinematic trailer is longer and well edited usually after the film has finished being produced. It usually contains a bit more of a narrative so explains the storyline or characters more than the teaser trailer but doesn't reveal the whole film. It also usually has more information about institutions and dates on it. The results on the survey showed that 83.33% prefer cinematic trailers.

The last question I asked was 'What is the most important quality of a film trailer' and the most popular answers were that the genre is shown well, the camera work is adequate and acting and sound came joint third, showing that in our trailer we need to make sure we meet the views of the audience.