2. Here is my timetable of my schedule from
planning up to the deadline for coursework.
In order to this this I have filled in my
calendar with all my deadlines and plan for
the next few months. This is help me
organise my time well and helps me not be
overloaded with work or past deadlines.
3. Genre Conventions
• Roland Barthes
• Born on 12th November 1915, died at the age
of 64 on 25th March 1980
• French literary theorist, philosopher, critic
and semiotician (study of cultural signs and
symbols).
• He explored a diverse range of fields and he influence the development of
schools.
• Codes Theory – “a galaxy of signifiers, not a structure of signifieds; it has
no beginning; it is reversible; we gain access to it by several
entrances, none of which can be authoritatively declared to be the main
one; the codes it mobilizes extend as far as the eye can read, they are
indeterminable...the systems of meaning can take over this absolutely
plural text, but their number is never closed, based as it is on the infinity
of language…”
4. This means…
• There more than one way to understand the
meanings of text
• Start looking at a narrative in one way but can
also look at it at a different angle and create a
entirely different meaning
• Text are “open” or “closed”
• Open – loads of possibilities and meanings
• Closed – harder to think of possibilities
5. Codes
• The Hermeneutic Code (HER)
• The Enigma/Proairetic Code (ACT)
• The Semantic Code (SEM)
6. The Hermeneutic Code
• The voice of the truth
• The way the story avoids telling the truth or revealing all the facts
• Allowing to drop clues throughout to help create mystery
• Snares: deliberately avoiding the truth
• Equivocations: partial or incomplete answers
• Jammings: openly acknowledge that there is no answer to a
problem
• I am doing a thriller trailer which suggest this could be a good code
to imply this to my trailer
• Leaving clues in my trailer will intrigue my audience and help to
create the unstable atmosphere when they watch it, creating
mystery.
7. The Enigma/Proairetic Code
• Empirical voice
• Referring to any other action/event that indicates something else is going to
happen
• Which gets the audience guessing to what will happen next
• The hermeneutic code and proairetic codes work together to develop the story's
tension and keeps the audience interested.
• Barthes described them as:
• “...dependent on ... two sequential codes: the revelation of truth and the
coordination of the actions represented: there is the same constraint in the
gradual order of melody and in the equally gradual order of the narrative
sequence.”
• This is a good code to imply into my trailer,
leaving the audience hanging and keeping
them guessing is not only good my thriller
but for any trailer.
• Keeping them right at the edge of a cliff build on
the excitement
8. The Semantic Code
• The voice of the person
• Points to any element that suggest a
particular meaning through connotations
• Gives additional meaning
• These signs describe characters, settings and events.
• The semantic codes allows to ‘show’ instead of ‘tell’ by
describing material things
• I will imply this code into my trailer because this will
put my trailer on a higher level of understanding and
will make the audience think. This also give further
meaning.
9. Storyboard
First
• Now that I have researching, I have a much clearer idea of what is draft
typically in a thriller genre. i can start to plan what I would like to do in
terms of my storyboard. Drafting is essential to planning so it is
important that I do this thoroughly.
• In my storyboard I have drafted each scene establishing what shot I am
using, the duration of my scenes and describing what happens in my
scenes. This is important to do this because it will become much easier
for my production. Now that I have planned it I know what shots to do
and what scenes I need to take, this will save a lot of filming. It will also
help me find potential problems before I even being to film.
• I’ve decided to use post it notes to draw my storyboard, this is a creative
way of designing a storyboard and helped me into many ways. For
example, benefits of using post it notes are:
• Easy to arrange my scenes
• Add in more scenes in appropriate places
• Take out scenes
• Easy to start again
• All of these points above have helped me in the process of designing my
storyboard.
• On the first draft of my storyboard, you can see it only consists of
pictures and it hasn’t got much detail in the scenes. If I kept it as this, it
would have no benefit as much as if I added duration, camera angle and
information about the scenes. On my improved storyboard, it shows all
of these features.
Last draft
10. Costumes
• I asked my actress to wear
something she would wear
everyday life because my
character in the film is the same
age as us (17-18). This is
beneficial for me because I know
the trends.
• The mystery man will not be
shown in the trailer to hold the
mystery into the trailer. However
I might have the man stroking
the girl so I would have him to
wear black gloves because black
connotes anonymous and
darkness.
11. Props
• I will be using a car to get to place to
place, so I can film at various location. This
will save plenty of time instead of using
public transport because times for
transport may be inconvenient and it will
be tiring to create my camera and other
things.
• i will be using a simple wooden chair for
when I capture her. Wooden chair are
sturdy and would not move easily
• I am using fake blood to emphasise her
torture in the trailer and I will be using
make up to create bruises and dirtiness for
when she has been kidnapped.
• I will use knives to create the messing
around with tools ready to torture my
actress however if this doesn’t succeed I
will use a sound effect to add in Premiere
Pro.
12. Location
• I am going to use various location to
shoot my actress.
• She will be doing her daily errands
e.g going shops, walking
home, getting food etc so I will
need to film her going to various
location with various shots
• Also need to use a place where its
dark, abandon and unknown. I
suggested to use a garage because
it dark and echoes which creates
mysterious and suspense.
• If a garage doesn’t work, I would
use just an empty room but use
torches around the room so it has
dim lighting which creates scariness
but still shows my actress.
13. Communicating with my actress
• Now technology has be
advanced, I can now
communicate with her through
mobile phone and because of
the Web 2.0, I can also
communicate with social
networks such a Email, Twitter
and Facebook.
• Mobile phones are more faster
to communicate because I can
always ring if plans are changed
and always cancel and let that
person know straight away.
14. Narrative - Vladimir Yakovlevich
Propp
• Was a Russian and Soviet scholar who analysed the basic plot workings of Russian folks tales to find
their simplest irreducible narrative elements
• He conclude that al the characters could be resolved into 8 board character types in the 100 tales
he analysed:
• The hero – usually man, who restores the narrative equilibrium and is on question
• The villain – creates the narrative disruption
• The donor – gives the hero something (object, information or advice) which helps in resolution of
the narrative
• The dispatcher – sends the hero on his way
• The false hero – who tempts the hero away from his quest
• The helper – helps the hero in the task of restoring equilibrium
• The princess – the victim. Most threatened by the villain and has to be saved
• The father – usually gives the princess away to the hero at the narrative conclusion and rewards the
hero
• Propp’s theory is quite difficult to link to the films I have research which are on thrillers.
• I have researched there is a ‘hero’ and ‘villain’ but isn't
a ‘princess’ or the ‘father’.
• His films are much related to James Bond films
• I am going to challenge this theory because my ‘hero’ would
be female. Stereotypically the hero is male
15. Levi-Strauss Binary Oppositions
• Was a French anthropologist who lived in the early 1900s
• Believe that the way we understand certain world depends not so much on the
meaning but much more by our difference between the word
• Looked at narrative structure in terms of binary oppositions
• Binary oppositions are sets of opposite values which as good and evil
• People say the concept of good will be the opposite of evil
• Levi-Strauss was not interested in looking at the order in which events were
arranged but was interested in the arrangements of themes.
• For example: a science film we can identity the binary opposites which are created
by the narrative:
• Good vs. evil
• Humans vs. aliens
• Past vs. present
• Normal vs. strange
• Earth vs. space
• I am going to put this theory into my trailer, because binary oppositions are a good
way of narrative
16. Character Development
• Sophie Cooper playing Tracy Johnson
• Student – second year of college
• 17 years old
• Potential – she’s studies hard, cares
about her education
• Motivated – she’s wants to get into
Cambridge university
• Ambitious – looking forward to go to
university to study Law
• Popular – has a lot of friends and enjoys
going out
• Loving Family – mum, dad and brother
• Mum is her best friend, they go
shopping together and spend girly days
out
• Dad – protective, supports daughter
17. Character Development
• Mystery Man
• 45 years old
• Suspicious –
untrustworthy, doubtful
• Alone – always on his own, prefer
to live on his own
• Personal – very private man, keeps
things hidden
• Unseen – invisible, doesn’t like
been seen around
• Quiet – silence man, doesn’t talk
much
18. Todorov Narrative Theory
• Bulgarian structuralist linguist publishing influential work on narrative
• Suggested that sorties being with an equilibrium or status quo where any
potentially opposing force are in balance. Then disrupted by some event, problems
are solved so that order can be resorted
• 1. Equilibrium: will be shown throughout the first few scenes, creates a sense of
normality especially for viewer.
• 2. Dis-equilibrium where something will happen such a disruption from where the
normality will change and cause narrative to move forward
• Realisation: where everything will become together of how the characters and
event will suddenly connect
• Attempt of Resolve: tension build up and everything needs to be sorted out
• Resolution: thing become sorted in some sense, everything comes together and
audience are able to understand what is going on
• 6. Re-equilibrium: things have changed from where they can be huge difference to
the good, where it is back to normality and can establish a new equilibrium
19. This is going to help me in a lot of ways
because this will make me have a more
successful production. I now have an idea
what scenes I am using in my trailer which
will make it easier for me.
