Detailed Extensive, Creative and Analytical Research; Inspiration For Our Titles

Se7en Film Title



The Se7en film title has a dark background with white text, this enables the audience to see the title clearly, this also represents that the film is going to create mystery and tension, within the film. The text is faded, which is a unique effect, that is normally put onto horror/thriller films, this creates mystery, almost as if something has faded the title. The text that is used to follow certain items, props or objects that is in the background, this is called motion tracking, this is done to show the key props that are going to be used in the film. As you can see from the second picture there are old, scuffed up hands, this could represent that a person in the film is going to be murdered, or tortured.

Shutter Island Film Title

The Shutter Island film title has a dark background with white text, this enables the audience to see the title clearly, this also represents that the film is going to create mystery and tension, within the film. It is also bold and clear with the writing colour fading at the top this can give a sense of mystery, the fact the rest of the background is plain doesn't give a lot away about the film so this can cause tension from the start as the audience doesn't know what to expect.

The Dark Knight Rises Film Title

The dark knight title is also black with white writing its bold and clear and behind the text is an outline of a bat, this shows that the film could be linked with batman and gives the audience a sense of originality as its a batman film. The batman symbol that is in the background of the text, also indicates the sense of mystery

The Dark Knight also has a title at the start of the film, the text colour separates the background from the text which enables the viewer to see it clearly. As you can see the colour of the background is black and white, and the text is red, this shows that it could be part of the scene as the newspaper is typically seen as being black, white and red. In the background there is a newspaper, which can indicate the titling is part of the scene.

Detailed Extensive, Creative and Analytical Research Into Titles

Research into titles used in Thriller Films

Inception

Definition of Inception: The foundation or origin point of an institution or activity, and the act of creating an idea into someone's mind by entering his or her dreams.

 In the film Inception includes a thief who steals corporate secrets through use of dream-sharing technology and is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a CEO. As the thief has to plant an idea into the mind of a CEO, suggests that he is starting something new, which links in with the title ‘Inception’.

 Cobb, which is the main character in the film, is an international fugitive and has cost him everything he has ever loved. Cobb has one last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible-inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. Cobb has to accomplish the impossible-inception, which also links with the title ‘Inception’, Inception includes being able to create an idea and plant it in his or hers dream, this is done by Cobb having the ‘Dream-sharing’ ability and is able to perform an inception.

Se7en

The title ‘Se7en’ refers to the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ which are wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony. Each sin in the film included a death or a murder, the one of seven murders that occurred in the film was ‘Sloth’, and this involves the victim having his brain turned to mush and is at the point where the victim can’t leave the bed. This refers back to the title of the murder, ‘Sloth’ and the title of the deadly sins or the film ‘Se7en’.

Summary

As proven from the text above, titles are commonly used for the events that take place in the film. Ensuring the title is linked to what happens in the film. Film developers often choose the film title, after the film is created, or when the film is in the process of being created.

Detailed Extensive, Creative and Analytical Research Into Costume - Interview With Costume Designer

Costume Designer Ideas For Costume

Detailed Extensive, Creative and Analytical Research Into Costume

Inspiration for our Costumes

Antagonist Costume

In a typical thriller film the antagonist will normally be in black and white, which will represent the mystery that the character brings, as black connotes evil and power. An example of a Thriller film that has an antagonist wearing black is Darth Maul from Star Wars:

He is wearing all black with a red face, this represents that the character is mysterious. The red from his face connotes the danger that the character can bring, and the black of the costume he is wearing connotes the mysterious feel for the audience. A black costume for the antagonist is typical in most thriller films, as it is shown as evil and represents the mystery that the character can bring. For our costume of the antagonist, we will be using black clothing but not a suit, we will just be using casual dark clothes, as it will still have the mysterious affect on the audience. The film is located in the forest, so there is no real need for the character to be wearing a suit as it doesn't match the location of the film.

Protagonist

In a typical Thriller film the protagonist is the character that typically wears casual clothes, as it implies that this character is just a normal day to day person. The antagonist is normally the character to create the issues, as he is represented in black which connotes mystery and evil. For our Thriller film, we have decided we will be using casual clothes that are yellow or red, this is because yellow connotes peace and innocents, and red connotes danger. We will be connoting various colours with the costumes we will be using, as it represents the character very well, and reveals to the audience which one is evil, and which one is the victim.

Heroine Character

In a typical Thriller film the heroine is the character that is normally dressed in casual clothes, or (depending on the type of Thriller film) slightly revealing clothes, this is to show the innocents of the character and the vulnerability that this character brings. Typically the character will be wearing yellow, too connote peace and innocents, as this is the character that normally dies in the film. In our thriller film, we will have our heroine character being tortured, therefore she will be dressed in casual clothes that are yellow and are ripped and scuffed up. The ripped feature we will be adding in, will imply that she is being tortured, and will represent that this is the character that is being punished.

Detailed Extensive, Creative and Analytical Research Into Costume: Research Into Costume, Props and Makeup

Costume

Costume are one of the most important and most influential parts to cinema. Good costume design immediately makes the character individual and ties them in more easily with the plot. Costumes may give an impact, but the most important feature of a costume is to ensure it develops the character and makes them believable. A bad costume design will remove the audience from the film and distract them from the plot, and also make the film a lot less believable.

Fashion trends usually are followed by; and even sometimes set by people who are notorious at the time. For example, Twiggy is the face of sixties fashion and everything about her even down to her make up is used still today to influence rebirth of sixties fashion. Another example of trend setting is Will Smith in Fresh Prince Of Bell Air, in which he reflects nineties fashion in the style of bright colours and baggy clothes.

Costume subtly reveals information about the plot. You can usually tell the time period of the film by what the characters are wearing. Clothing trends and fashions develop through the years and as a result film makers can use previous trends to ensure their film fits the time period in which the film is set. For example, in the 60’s trends involved bright, swirling colours. Psychedelic, tie-dye shirts and long hair and beards were commonplace. Woman wore unbelievably short skirts and men wore tunics and capes. Also, part of costume is also hair styles which in the sixties involved long hair for men and bobbed hair for women.

One example of a film set in the sixties is Blowup, which was made to formally explore the fissured psyche and instability of image in the decade of free will. It’s obvious that this film is set in the sixties because of the significant fashion.

If everyone in the film is wearing the same theme of clothing then it is obvious that the film is set in this time period, however to make an obvious impact the clothing needs to be consistent throughout the film. Keeping the realism of the film is vital because it’s important not to throw the audience off. Another example of where this technique is used is Grease which is set in the fifties but was made in the seventies. The use of leather jackets and hair grease for the boys and significant fifties dresses and bomber jackets for the girls makes it obvious which time period it is set in.

Not only does costume display the time period, but also the character development in a film. In the film Inception the main costume designer, Jeffrey Kurland, decided that the purpose of the costume was to "serve the emotional and physical needs of each of the characters".  Costume design reflects greatly on the movement of the plot Costume design reflects greatly on the movement of the plot, most significantly through character development. Character development is at the forefront of costume design. The characters move the story along and with the director and the actor the costume designer helps to set the film’s emotional tone in a visual way. In a more physical sense the costumes’ style and colour help to keep the story on track, keeping a check on time and place.  Picking a costume that reflects the tone of the film is key as without it confusion could be caused.

Costume design is so important mainly because it can reflect the characters personality. For example in Shutter Island the protagonist is wearing a typical detectives uniform which isn't particularly different to the accompanying detective, apart from the fact that his costume is that it is more untidy. His top button on his shirt is undone and his tie is off centre and his jacket around the collar is also worn. The connotation of this suggests that this character is struggling in someway or is just lazy, which is an idea which would become clearer and develop as the plot continues. The idea of perceiving the characters personality through their clothing and make up is great for thriller films as the personalities of characters are sometimes not fully explored. Doing this will give the characters more depth without taking up any more screen time than they need to, and ensures that it can cut straight to the storyline. 

 In many thriller films, the female roles are dressed in dresses and skirts with exception of films like the Hunger Games where there is a powerful female role who breaks the moulds of society. Dresses are the typical outfit for damsels in distress, and are portrayed to be glamorous and always dressed up which reflects the traditional sexist view that women are elegant yet fragile and that looks are the most important feature of them.

Makeup

Makeup is used in many different ways in films. It is used on men and women either to make them look better or worse than they usually would. To make them look better, especially the women, the make up artists on the film set use make up to fix the actors blemishes and inperfections to try and make them seem like the perfect role model/idol. The protagonists and heroins of a typical thriller are usually made to look better than they actually do whereas an antoginist would usually be made to look worse so that they do not appeal in any way to the audience.  A personal favourite use of makeup within films is when it is used to show injury to the skin. This is called injury fx, one way of doing this is using a latex based paint. The paint is build up and dried on different levels to create the effect and texture of an open wound, and usually different shades of red are used to paint on it to make it more realistic. An example of a film which uses this is Saw, which is about a serial killer so naturally many victims are gravely injured and nearly always killed in a gruesome way, which means the director had to use a lot of injury make up. 

Props 

Props are an aspect of normal daily life so in order to make a film realistic directors use props. If a film is a thriller, every day items are usually used for props along with non every day items such as weapons which are used for the dramatic impact of the film. An example of a film where props are used frequently is District 9. This is a sci-fi thriller where weapons and parts of spaceships are carried around frequently by characters. By using props like this the director is creating new pathways which the storyline could follow. Without props, there's only focus on the characters and nothing to maybe lead off into a more in depth storyline. Also within district 9 CGI technology is used to build up the look of the aliens, which is a technique widely used in thrillers. It also opens new windows into the effectiveness of characters on the audience, as CGI can make a character look more scary than maybe makeup would. 

Ideas for Costume, Makeup and Props Within Our Film

In our film we will be using plain costume. As we only have one character shown, the protagonist, we only have one outfit to consider. Our character will have on a black pair of leggings, some black shoes, a grey jumper and a scarf. The make-up and hairstyle of the protagonist will also be plain; with hardly any make up and hair that is simply brushed and not styled. This plain outfit and plain make up reflects that she is just a normal person, in order to help the audience relate to the character. It also shows that she is not concerned about her appearance; she has just lost her sister and her only worry is finding out what happened to her, not looking good for the camera.  She is nothing special, just a plain and normal person which highlights that these events could happen to anyone, which would hopefully build more tension and make the film more real and therefore more scary, making the film more popular and relatable.

We will only have one prop within our two minute film, which will be a silver bracelet which belonged to the protagonists sister. The focus on this prop will be key within the film, because it is a very important opportunity for the film to have a twist. The idea is that it gets the audience thinking and helps to build tension, and shows that the killer wants the protagonist to know she is being followed and he knew she was going to go back to where her sister was murdered.

Detailed Extensive, Creative and Analytical Research Into Characters - Characters That Have Inspired Our Choice

Protagonists

Teddy Daniels / Andrew Laeduss (Leonardo DiCaprio) - Shutter Island

The feature which interests us about this protagonist is that he doesn't know anything about his real self. He is living a lie which makes the audience doubt the entire film and leave everything in suspense. The twists to this character don't follow the usual requirements of a protagonist, making this character unique which is a feature we would like to portray in our main character.

Susie - The Lovely Bones

The vulnerability of Susie is something we would like to portray in our main character. She is easily led as she is a child, and her inexperience and immaturity gets her killed. This vulnerability is portrayed in a way where she thinks she is confident, when really she knows nothing about the dangers of the world. This carelessness is something we would also like to show in our main character, as it adds an element of surprise to the audience and depth to the character.

Sarah - The Descent

Although this character is portrayed to be weak at the start, she proves herself by staying alive in the caves with the blood-thirsty monsters. Her character development is something we would like our character to portray. Even though our film is a short trailer, we have thought about what would happen in the actual film and we would like our character to develop into a stronger character as she originally seems. The strong willed nature of Sarah is also something we have been looking at as inspiration for our main character.

Antagonists – Freddy Kruger

"In April 1941, a young girl was accidentally locked in the sanitarium of Westin Hills Psychiatric Institute in Springwood over the holidays. The inmates kept her hidden for days. She was raped... hundreds of times. When she was found, she was barely alive. That girl was Amanda Krueger, her child was Freddy - the bastard son of a hundred maniacs.

"Frederick Charles Krueger was born in February 1942 and was shifted from one foster home to another throughout his childhood, learning nothing but torment and hatred along the way.Called Freddy, he was constantly ridiculed for his infamous and brutal conception. It was then he started murdering small animals, and as he grew into adulthood, he turned his masochistic behavior on himself. After suffering abuse from his stepfather for many years, he brutally murdered him with a razor.Freddy finally returned to his hometown of Springwood and was disgusted to see the picture of a perfect town, full of happy families in their tidy homes. With that jealousy and disgust building up inside him Freddy became one of themost notorious child-killers alive. Finding employment maintaining the boilers at an old steam-plant on the outskirts of town, Freddy would settle down and have a family of his own, all the time plotting his revenge upon life itself.Whilst working in the plant he went on to construct the first of his imfamous 6 inch bladed gloves. Made from and old glove and four razor sharp blades that he attached to the glove with interlocking metal sections and rivets he began his killing spree, known as the Springfield Slasher. From 1975-1977 he kidnapped and murdered 23 children.Freddy's downfall came when his wife discovered the bladed glove and a multiple of newspaper clipping about the child murders in their basement. Despite her tearful assurances that she would not tell what she knew, the paranoid Freddy would go on to throttle his wife in front of his horrified daughter.Soon afterwards, Freddy was arrested and charged with the murders of his wife and the missing children of the town. However, in their haste, the bungling officers forgot to read Freddy his rights, he was unexpectedly freed on a technicality.Seeing the threat he posed, the court placed his daughter in an orphanage.The enraged parents of Springwood, OH then took the law into their own hands. They followed Krueger to a building where he took his victims and ignited it with gasoline into a raging inferno. However, no one expected the end result of this act. Freddy's soul was so corrupt that it was decided he could be of use to dream demons imprisoned in hell. When he was promised eternal life in the world of dreams, Freddy could hardly refuse. Ever since that night, Krueger has taken his revenge on the parents of Springwood by stalking their children through their dreams. Each time he is able to twist what would seem to be a normal dream into his own brutal imagination's delight of terror. Some children have escaped thinking they have defeated him, only to have him rise again sometime later. There is only one documented case of Krueger meeting his match. While in hell, he was able to awaken Jason Voorhees, of Camp Crystal Lake infamy. Freddy was then able to use Jason to strike fear into the kids of Elm Street. This plan backfired when the masked killer could not be shut down. This led to a big confrontation both in the dream and real world. Freddy still lingers in the pits of hell with no indication if or when he will return."

This back story is something that inspired our murderous antagonist. In the Nightmare on Elm Street films, the full back story of Freddy Kruger is hinted at but never fully explained. The fact that he has an unbelievable back story gives an insight on why he does what he does; almost trying to justify it. This is how we want our killer to be portrayed, as if they've been twisted by a horrific background.

Jigsaw – Saw

He is different from most serial killers as in the Saw films he does not kill his victims directly, but instead relies on various lethal traps in which he places his victims. In most cases, they must subject themselves to excrutiating pain or trauma to escape, and prove their will to live. We liked the idea of Jigsaw's motivs for killing, as there is always a reason for him putting them into traps and situations where they have to make a "choice", be it an insurance broker who wont give him life insurance or a drug user who's hit rock bottom. We will use similar back stories with our character, not just killing meaninglessly as this feature gives the characters more depth and makes them more interesting.

John Doe – Se7en

The pattern to John Doe's killing was of interest to us. On further analysis, John Doe's killing sequence links in with the biblical seven deadly sins, which the whole film is based on. The seven deadly sins are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. Each of the victims in the film have committed one of these sins, and killed in a way which reflects the particular sin they've committed. This complex way of killing inspired our character, and the link to the bible is of interest.