SYNOPSIS/TREATMENT: BEST FRIENDS FOR LIFE!

Best Friends for Life.

When friendship becomes deadly...

Two best friends who knew each other since childhood. They knew everything about each other and they spent a lot of time together. Kylie (the girl) always wants to make Daniel (the boy) do things with her, go out, order takeaways, do college projects together. Daniel was always up for it, but he started hanging out with other people, got a girlfriend and he just did not have as much time as before to spend with Kylie. Kylie always kept a secret from Daniel that she has a split personality disorder and paranoia. This disease made her obsessed with Daniel, but while they were constantly together she could control it. As she starts seeing less of Daniel, she becomes more and more obsessed about him and jealous of others who hang out with him. She decides if Daniel can’t spend all his time with her, then he shouldn’t spend time with anyone. Kylie plans to kill Daniel by stabbing or strangling him. She picks a time when there is no one around and attempts the murder. Daniel manages to persuade her to drop the knife and takes Kylie who is in hysterics to police. Kylie gets locked up in a mental institution. She speaks very openly only to one male psychologist Steve, because he looks similar to Daniel. The film ends with Kylie asking the psychologist to be her new best friend and smiling at the camera.

·         Two best friends as children playing together.

·         Best friends grown up, spending time together, getting take aways, doing projects.

·         Daniel gets a girlfriend and starts to hang out more with her and her friends, which makes Kylie jealous.

·         What Daniel does not know that Kylie has split personality disorder and paranoia and as she sees less of him she starts to lose control over her illness.

·         Kylie plans to kill Daniel, because if she can’t have him then no one can.

·         She catches him in a hallway on his own, puts a knife to his throat, but he forcefully and persuasively gets her to drop the knife.

·         Daniel takes Kylie who is in hysterics to police, who take her to a mental institution, for help and monitoring.

·         Kylie gets close in speaking to male psychologist Steve, who looks similar to Daniel.

·         Kylie offers Steve to be her new best friend.

THRILLER PRESENTATION!

Thrillers

KEY MESSAGES THROUGH SEMIOTIC AND MEDIA VOCABULARY: THE SHINING!

We have chosen to analyse the poster for the “Shining.”
The typing in red ink of the signifier, signifies the title od the film “Shining” and this is an icon in the poster. The denotation of the style the title is written in is bold, red letters. This connotates however the meaning of danger and blood. The style of the title also signifies and denotates that this is a horror.
Photo of Jack Nicholson in a close up is also the signifier and it signifies that he is angry, violent and crazy as he stares to the side where the axe and the woman is, with his mouth half open and that suggests of him being the antagonistin the horror film. The connotation of the photo is an angry man, however we can denotate from the way he looks that he may want to kill the woman.
The signifier of the axe smashing through the door signifies violence and someon trying to break in. This is also an icon as we can instantly identify the action. Using weapons violently is a common convention of a horror. Although the denotation is just an axe being hit through the door, it denotates that someone is trying to break in to hurt someone.
Another icon in the picture is the signifier of the mid-shot of the woman with an open mouth which signifies that she is shocked of the axe. The knife in her hands signifies how she is protecting herself. By the body language in the way she holds the knife, the audience can identify that she is not likely to use it. The denotation of the picture is a woman with a scared face expression and it connotates that she is terrified of the other character breaking in to where she is and coming after her with an axe to kill her.

MEDIA LANGUAGE ANALYSIS: THE UNINVITED!

    

For my media language analysis, I have chosen to look at "The Uninvited." This trailer is in the genre of Thriller/Horror with elements of murder, which makes it close to the type of film my group wants to make.

The trailer is 2:17 long, this is an average time for a trailer, but our group is going to make a teaser trailer so it will have to be about a minute long. This trailer consists of several clips throughout the film, as it is trying to sump up and highlight the film in a linear narrative of events. The editor has concentrated on two types of transitions: cuts to show the events that are more close to normality and fades for the thrilling, creepy and scary parts. This differentiating is good as it helps to divide the trailer into "Normal and Abnormal."

Each clip is around a second or two seconds long. This is a good technique to use, because it shows parts of the film to the audience, but at the same time does not reveal too much information to keep the enigma and interest. The trailer begins with a green approval screen that almost every film trailer has, which also tells the audience that the film is PG 13. Then it tells us that the film was made by Dream Works SKG. Around the middle of the trailer, as the thrilling and tense parts broaden and increase, there is a text saying "From the producers of The Ring and Disturbia." This is a good type to advertise the film to the people, if they liked the two films mentioned. It is also a good way to establish the audience, as this texts creates an assumption that this film is aimed at the audience similar to those two films. Towards the end of the trailer there is also the tag line mentioned "Some secrets, just won't die." This identifies the theme of death and creates enigmas about the secrets. The last textual piece in the trailer is the title of the film "The Uninvited," which is just the basic information that audience can try to associate with the trailer.

There is a minor presence of graphics and special effects, because thrillers tend to stick to realistic filming. However there is a fire explosion shown in the beginning, which underlines the basic idea behind the film. There is a colour change present where everything goes into black and white, which highlights the twisting point of the trailer as from this moment it increases the effects of tension and fear. This colour is also used when dreaming is mentioned, to make it seem more unrealistic. The lighting that is day-time relevantly bright in the first part of the trailer, is made into darkness and low key lighting in the second part to again emphasise the change of events and the increase of fear. The speed of the trailer both increases at points to make the audience jump and decreases at creepy points to freak them out. The "jumpy" moments are used a few times, because they provide the best effect of thrilling and the last one, just before the title of the film is specifically loud and unexpected, to perhaps show the audience that the film will have a scary and shocking ending. From the beginning of the trailer the music is low key and it would keep someone on edge. The key sound effects such as explosions are increased in volume for emphasis and bang sounds at important scary parts of the trailer are also used for that reason. There is a change in music from about the middle of the trailer and it goes into piano, haunting and eery music. This is done to take the first impressions of fear and transform and broaden them and together with the video create a tense, creepy and shocking atmosphere. The typography is in capital, black letters, which aren't too bold and this reduction has contrast with all of the big impact and emotions of the trailer and this also helps to increase the thrill. What increases it even more is the cloudy background, which can be linked to the "dreaming" in the film and that makes it a key theme.

Overall this is an effective trailer, because it manages to take a variety of clips from the film in a linear narrative and by adding fades, cuts, creepy music, increasing and decreasing the speed-the discturbing, scary and shocking atmosphere that the director aims to bring with the film, is shown well in the trailer.

NARRATIVE ANALYSIS: THE SKELETON KEY.

1.       The narrative structure of the film is linear. The story flows in order and the sequence builds up to the end.  This is the main reason why this type of narrative was chosen, as you always want to be clear with the storyline and plot when it comes to horror/thriller and because the main , big and shocking point of the film is the ending. More evidence for this is that the narrative is also a three act structure; where the opening introduces the setting, the middle is where the main protagonist tries to figure out the answers to mysteries and questions and the end is where the main protagonist is trying to find a way to escape and save another character. Again all of these events are setting up the audience for the ultimate, climax twist, which is the ending.

2.       In this film are restricted narrative is used and throughout the film, the audience follow the main protagonist discovering and understanding everything in the way that she does.  The reason why this is an effective choice is because, if for example an omniscient narrative was used, then the several jumpy and scary moments in the film would not produce as much effect and the whole film together with the ending would become more predictable, dissolving the brilliant twist at the end.

3.       The trailer of the film also uses linear narrative structure and the trailer is a short sum up of the events of the film, without ofcourse revealing the main scary parts, the twists throughout and the twisted ending. Although the narrative is tried to kept mostly restricted in order to avoid spoiling the film, there are several elements present that can be said to be part of omniscient narrative. For example a part in the trailer concentrates on the voodoo powder, which your enemies are not able to cross and when the main protagonist puts it on the floor, the woman who has been portrayed also as protagonist and as her friend can not get to her. The reason this is used is because this creates an enoigma for the audience before they watch the film and this makes a dilemma and argument in their heads whether that old woman is actually the protagonist or the antagonist.

TRAILER GENRE ANALYSIS: THE ROOMMATTE.

          For my Genre Analysis, I have chosen a film roommate, because it is a thriller in the genre and subject, like the film idea I came up with and so it will be useful to analyse this film to see how I can make my trailer more effective.
          There are several criterias that define the genre. Well firstly in order to "thrill" a person, they need to be relaxed in the beginning, as when you try to scare and creep them out the effect will be greater. This is the reason for the first part of the film to have a relaxed atmosphere and for the second part of the trailer to be in complete contrast-jumpy, tense, fast. Violence, screaming and attacking are all elements of thrillers and they help to nerve the audience. Enigmas are created, such as the mentioning of "medication," which the audience did not expect and which will make them think about the reason for taking the medication. Several life threatening situations are presented in the trailer to raise the expectation of the audience and make them think about the reasons and the situations in which these occured.
          The first half of the trailer that shows peaceful college life has a relaxing, indie soundtrack, which is supposed to as I previously said calm the audience. The dialogue between the characters is casual and friendly. However as the second, more thrilling part of the trailer begins; The soundtrack changes to a creepy piano music, jumpy noises, shooting screams, clock bell, dialogues during attacks and which are more angry and nervous. The loud knocking at the end and the roaring scream are used to make the audience jump and emphasise the depth of horror elements presented in the thriller.
          Looking at the mise en scene and iconography there are elements which are very much common in the thriller genre. Small libraries, rooms and gothic buildings are not locations that people to make people feel calm and relaxed, but on the opposite to nerve them. The low key lighting and darkness are used so the audience feel more terrified. Using a simple prop of an earing, but ripping it out through someones ear, attempting to set someone on fire with a lighter, use of a gun, someone hanging out of the window on a piece of material are all examples of mise en scene and iconography to keep te audience on the edge of their seats.
          There are also several themes present in the trailer. Apart from psychotic behaviour, violence, obsession and hate; there are more normalistic themes like friendship, love, student life, entertainment and this is again to contrast the moods and atmosphere for the audience.