2. Location
Forest scene from ‘The Silence of the Lambs’,
this environment is the exact setting we
wanted replicate, the fog and low lighting
creates an eerie and anxious atmosphere.
A key feature of our thriller film was the location, as well as setting the scene it creates the
atmosphere and tone of the film. When choosing our location we took inspiration from various
films, but the film we were really inspired by was ‘The Silence of the Lambs’. This is because the
location of this film makes the character feel completely isolated and alone, which is the same
emotions we wanted our character to display. The location seen in ‘Torpidity’ is an isolated,
desolate and intimidating forest, which perfectly represents the atmosphere of our film. The
significance of location within our film is too amplify the characters feelings and make the
audience fearful of the surroundings. As well as our film’s location conforming with the thriller
genre we also challenge some general conventions, for example many psychological thrillers
take place within a dense city such as ‘Memento’ or ‘Fight Club’. This is due to the fact that the
packed city gives connotations of being watched and being trapped due to the amount of
people. However, we wanted to combat this and go against these conventions, rather than
using tall buildings to convey feelings of being trapped we used tall trees hanging in and making
the character feel enclosed. We used Danby Woods for one of our locations as it has large
overhanging trees and dense woodland. In addition the contrast of dense amount of trees and
open clearings displays the character as venerable and exposed. The deep forest acts as a maze
in the sense that everywhere looks the same and it seems to be never ending, this is perfect for
our psychological thriller as it shows Josh’s looping and insane mind whilst he tries to find his
way through the forest.
This is a picture of the woods in which our film is being shot in,
this picture was taken during the day, when shooting in this
scene we used much darker lighting. The dense forest is perfect
in portraying the lost and trapped feeling we want to convey.
3. Location & Lighting
Another location we used in our thriller was a garage, this was used to create a
claustrophobic feeling and create an intense and isolated environment. Furthermore, this
location is used as a metaphor to portray the confused, helpless and fearful mind of our
main character. Also, we used extremely minimal non diegetic lighting to create a sense of
uncertainty and ambiguity. In addition to this, the lack of lighting is used to create strong
and powerful shadows that adds to the tense atmosphere in the scene. In this location we
made sure there was no ambient light giving the feel that the character was disconnected
from the outside world.
This is a picture of the garage we used for
our piece, the run down door
complimented by the drawings adds to
the idea that something isn’t quite right
and gives connotations of insanity.
In our thriller we took inspiration from many great films
from the genre, in terms of lighting and location we drew
our ideas from ‘The Dark Knight’. In this scene where the
joker is in an interrogation room with the Batman, we see
a pitch black room only lit up by a tiny desk lamp. This
creates tension as the audience and the character are put
in the same position and don’t know what is going to
happen. We played around with the ideas of shadows
and low key lighting in our film to create suspense and
uncertainty. One reason we did this is because suspense
and tension are key general conventions of the thriller
genre and we wanted to show our knowledge of the
topic and display our skills.
This is a screenshot from Christopher Nolan’s ‘The
Dark Knight’ in which the Joker is sitting in a dark
room unsure of who’s in the room with him.
4. Camerawork
In our thriller we aimed to use a range of different camera angles and shots in order to portray various feelings and
emotions whilst maintaining a tense atmosphere. In our piece we included fantastic establishing shots which
enabled us to display the location we used and create an initial atmosphere. Another key shot we used was a close
up on the main character Josh, this close up accompanied by low key lighting created a desperate, scared and
intense atmosphere. Furthermore, the use of a close up creates ambiguity and enigma around the character. An
example of an extreme close up we use is my character, Tom, punches he camera, this shows his aggressive and
unpredictable nature. Furthermore, this camera shot supports the stereotype that society has for young people that
they are criminals and rude.
Within our thriller we use a range of shots to portray different images of the characters, a
key piece of camera work we use is the POV shot, in which my character, Tom Rush, is
seen following Josh. The significance of the POV shot is that it puts the audience in the
position of the antagonist Tom, you can hear his heavy breathing as he gets closer to his
target. This could be seen as portraying animalistic characteristics in Tom displaying his
violent and unpredictable nature; this also coincides with the stereotype that society has
for teenagers as criminal animals.
Throughout our thriller opening we include various tracking shots, for example in the
sequence where we see Josh sprinting. Tracking shots are used in our film to maintain a
fast pace and create a sense of tension. Especially in our clip where Connor’s character is
sprinting as it suggests that he is being followed or running away from something.
5. Title
We chose to name our film 'Torpidity' because it directly reflects the plot in our film. The main character, Josh,
under goes a mental battle in his mind where he is constantly questioning what is happening around him, this
then presents the idea that this could all be a dream. This is where the title and the plot of our film relate.
Torpidity, or torpid, literally means paralyzed. These are some of the feelings that Josh is experiencing, he feels
paralyzed and helpless, unable to escape the dark and unfortunate events in which he is a victim too. However,
the title of our thriller also raises questions with the audience as too why he feels torpid, we never truly answer
this question, creating an enigma.
The font that we used for our title sequence is 'Avenir Light', this font has simple typography with relatively large
kerning making it clearer to read. Furthermore, the large point size coincides perfectly with the reverse type we
use in our title sequence to catch the audiences eye and make them really digest the title and think about its
connotations.
Our title sequence can be seen as very typical of the thriller genre as we use
several different conventions. For example, we used a common method of
grabbing the audiences attention which is too use reverse type. As seen in the
film 'Se7en', the reverse type technique accompanied by the title relating to the
plot is used to create an atmosphere and get the reader thinking instantly.
Another way in which our film in typical of the genre is once again with the movie
'Se7en', the title of this film perfectly reflects the plot line which is about the
seven deadly sins. Immediately the reader knows this film has something to do
with this number, which gets you thinking. Much like our film where the title
'Torpidity' reflects the plot line.
6. Characters
When choosing our two characters we made sure we were either challenging, developing or using general conventions of the thriller
genre. Even though we had a relatively limited selection in terms of actors, it turned out perfectly, we managed to challenge and
comply with the general conventions and stereotypes.
Connors character, Josh, seemed to challenge the general conventions of a thriller film. Depicted as an everyday teenager on the
surface but underneath that he battles with his mind, there are possible questions as to whether he is insane or just short of it. Josh
as a character is extremely significant, he creates sympathy for himself due to his vulnerability, this goes against the stereotype of
teenagers as dangerous and hostile. In terms of costume for Josh's character we made sure to give the perception that he is a higher
class than Tom, from a different background. To do this we chose very everyday, normal so to speak, clothing which doesn't impose
any sort of intimidating atmosphere around them. In relation to motifs in our thriller, Josh’s character is constantly scratching his face
and wincing as if he has painful thoughts in his mind that he desperately wants to escape. Throughout our thriller this action is
repeated constantly showing Josh’s unstable mind.
Within our film we portray Josh as a victim, this instantly challenges general conventions as the victim is often a female character as
they are seen as more vulnerable. When filming our piece we really wanted to challenge this convention as we strongly follow the
general convention for our antagonist character, Tom.
In relation to my character, Tom, we aimed to follow the general conventions of the thriller genre. His
aggressive nature displayed when he is seen punching Josh, this aggression and violence is a stereotype
for teenagers and also antagonist characters in thriller films. We used general conventions in terms of
body language and costume by deciding that Tom should be wearing a Nike hoodie. The significance of
Tom wearing a hoodie is to fit in with the 'hoodie' stereotype that society has for the youth of today.
Tom's character is very similar to 'Cook' from the British TV Drama 'Skins'. Although not completely
basing this character off of Cook there are various similarities. For example, Cook is often shown to
have a violent side, we wanted to show this in our character Tom. As well as this, Cook is a largely
mysterious character, this makes the audience conjure up a large amount of questions, this is one thing
we very much wanted to incorporate.
7. Mise en Scene & Props
A huge factor in creating a successful thriller film is mise en scene. Whether it be props or background items mise en scene is crucial in
creating intense scenes and building up suspense, these are both general conventions of the thriller genre. We were adamant on
following the typical conventions of the genre, for example we chose to incorporate the classic 'breaking of the stick' to suggest the
character is being followed. Although this may be considered as cliche, I believe we executed it perfectly. This piece of mise en scene is
used to create tension and ambiguity, as it puts the character and the audience in a state of uncertainty raising several questions. In
addition to this, another piece of successful mise en scene we used, comes in the form of a candle, this prop was used in a very clever
way in my opinion as we made it the only light source in the shot. This candle was used in the garage scene to create an ominous and
uneasy atmosphere, as the antagonist Tom psychotically moves the candle dangerously close to Josh's face, this then implies to the
audience Tom is mentally and psychically going to torture the protagonist. At the end of the scene we see Tom blowing out the candle,
this accompanied by the fade to black editing leaves the audience on the edge of there seat pondering as to what is going to happen
next. Also, this scene complies with the psychological genre conventions and displays evidence of a motif in our film. Throughout the film
we aim to use the motif of a candle to instigate that a certain dark vent is going to take place.
