Practice Shots

 This is an example of a tilt shot which creates a distortion that suggests a lot visually about the subjects life. In our thriller, our main character is a homeless man and the effect of this angle then shows how his life is not so straightforward.

 This is an example of a close up which is essential to tell the audience of the emotions of the main subject. It is particularly key for our Thriller as he is meant to witness a murder and therefore the facial expression is crucial in order to make it believable and more suspenseful. The other close up of the brick shows in detail all the key features of the person that tells the audience what sort of person they are. For example, in 'Kill Bill', where we only see Bill's watch and handkerchief in which, without revealing too much about himself, already suggests that he is bold and confident. This can be linked to themes of misogyny, like Eminem who displays many flashy jewelry which along with his explicit lyrics, suggests his hatred of women.

 This is an example of a vanishing point which can connote detachment from society or emotion. It also highlights the surroundings which is effective for our Thriller by presenting an unglamorous and dull setting which is a thriller convention and can be seen in films such as 'Essex Boys' and 'Jackie Brown'.

 This is an intertextual reference to 'Jackie Brown' and is an example of a worms eye view. Like Melanie, our character displays signs of vulnerability - with Melanie being inferior to Ordell and Louis, and with our character having no food or shelter therefore making him weaker due to deprivations. The worms eye view therefore has many connotations by it being nearly level with the subject suggesting that he is at a low point in his life.

Developed Research of Kill Bill // Use of Misogyny

Misogynistic themes are displayed throughout films such as 'Kill Bill', with Bill's treatment of the Bride, and in 'Jackie Brown', with Ordell and Louis' treatment of Melanie, thereby showing similar characteristics between these male characters. However these characters can also be likened to rap artists such as Eminem who has strongly showed hatred and anger to the opposite sex. Most being from personal experience which can be shown in songs such as ' 97' Bonnie and Clyde' and 'Kim', which all refer to Eminem's ex-wife Kim who were publicly involved in an abusive relationship. He explicitly raps about the murder of his now ex-wife, in which he commits the crime. He continuously uses derogatory words such as 'bitch' and is threatening much like Ordell and Louis are to Melanie. For example Louis says '...before I knock you out...' to Melanie which immediately identifies authority between characters.

Much like Eminem, we see hatred and anger to the opposite sex in both 'Kill Bill' and 'Jackie Brown' in which the recipient are those who are partners of the male characters. Ordell bosses Melanie around like a personal slave and the use of over the shoulder connotes insignificance thus emphasising Ordell's opinion of Melanie as her "identity" appears unimportant. From the perspective of the audience, Melanie appears unclothed which then creates a sense of vulnerability as if she is exposed and defenceless. The composition of this scene, with Ordell and Louis being the audience, and Melanie and the woman on the t.v. in the background then suggest superiority of men as like Melanie, the women in the programme is exposed too creating a sense of weakness and vulnerability. The men are the viewers, making the women appear inferior due to the male identities being foregrounded in this shot. Along with the programme on the t.v., appearance is the predominant aspect which furthermore presents the views of Ordell and Louis by suggesting they care more for appearance and are unappreciative of the opposite sex. Stereotypical gender roles of women include;  'midwife, teacher, accountant, data entry clerk, cashier, salesperson, receptionist, housekeeper, cook, maid, social worker, and nurse'. Some of these may appear outdated, however Ordell and Louis display signs of expectation particularly on Melanie's behalf in which she is expected to get a drink when asked to.

Soundtrack

The first clip is from 'Kill Bill Volume 1' which features a whistling tune and is an inter-textual reference to the second clip, 'Twisted Nerve'.

'Twisted Nerve' is a film based on a man called Martin who retreats into an alternate personality of a six year old called Georgie. He befriends Susan Harper and then friendship turns into a obsession, seeing Susan distancing herself, causing Georgie to embark on a killing spree with Susan as one of his targets.

This psychotic individual then resembles the female character in 'Kill Bill'. They both use a slow-paced walk to suggest their detachment from emotion due to not panicking or rushing. They are staying calm and showing no empathy and compassion which is why the whistling tune is much more effective than a soundtrack that would have already hinted to the audience something is going to happen due to the change in pace. The whistling tune stays the same tempo which adds more suspense by making the next move more unexpected which appears more chilling and cold.

The costume is also key in these two clips as the female character is wearing an eye-patch which adds mystery and suggests a life of danger where an incident occurred, causing her to lose her eye. Other characters in different films who wear an eye-patch are Snake Plissken from 'Escape from New York' and 'Escape from L.A.' whose best friend is war buddy Bill. This is similar to the female character as she is loyal to the character Bill in 'Kill Bill'. Both characters where an eye-patch due to a life of crime and danger which is linked to breaking the law in some form. The associations therefore imply to the audience that they are the villainous characters.

Georgie in 'Twisted Nerve' however wears casual clothes that disguises himself amongst others so as to not stand out. This then makes the villain more unexpected as clothing is a key visual part that hints to the audience of their life. Therefore the soundtrack of whistling helps for the audience to understand who he is by making it simple but creepy to suggest his psychotic tendencies.

For my Thriller, my group and I discussed a soundtrack and felt whistling is a simple but scary way to create a chilling atmosphere. A song for a soundtrack would lose that atmosphere that creates suspense and therefore whistling would be subtle but tense. It would begin from earlier on in the opening but would then be revealed that the murderer is actually the one whistling, much like these two characters in both clips. This would be revealed nearer the end of the opening. This would then be an example of a sound-bridge which can be seen in films such as 'Once upon a time in America'. This then links two scenes together, providing a story that the audience can understand.

Shooting Schedule

DATE:	TIME:	LOCATION:
Tuesday 14th January Thursday 16th January	11:00am-1:20pm 9:00am-11:00am	City Centre City Centre
Sunday 19th January	1:00pm-4:30pm	Shed area

Location ideas

 This place looks dirty and grim which suggests the poor lifestyle of our main character as he is homeless.

 The planks can symbolise the bars of a jail cell in which the homeless man witnesses a murder through showing how the murderer lives a life of criminality.

 The non-ambient lighting provides limited lighting which then makes the scene more dark and dull which ties in with the murder as it is a dark act of violence.

 The graffiti and dirty walls and floors yet again show the poor lifestyle of the homeless man visually and without the use of dialogue. The tunnel soon vanishes making it seem never-ending and the walls make you feel claustrophobic which suggests a life of entrapment and he cannot escape his situation.

This is similar to 'A Clockwork Orange' with the scene where a drunk man is singing under a bridge and cannot escape when he is about to be murdered as there is nowhere to run due to enclosed space. The lighting limits the view for the audience as a shadow is fore-casted  thus creating a mystery.

Storyboard

Shot List

Shot:	Character:	Location:	Camera Angle:	Lighting	Type of shot:
1.	Sam (Homeless person who is the witness)	City Centre	high angle, low-angle	Ambient and natural	Tracking shot
2.	Sam	Underpass	Distorted/ tilt, low-angle	Non-ambient, with some daylight added	Close-up (medium)
3.	Sam	Street (in city)	Birds eye, high angle	Ambient	Extreme close-up
4.	Sam	(Ellipsis) Shed area – with wooden planks to create an inter-textual reference to ‘Essex Boys’ with the barred lighting	Close-ups with shots being shown through the wooden planks	Non-ambient	Panning/ close-up, point of view.
5.	Norma (female killer) and Sam and murder victim	Shed area	Rule of thirds, Sam – Wooden planks – Norma and murder victim	Non-ambient	Over the shoulder, point of view (Sam)
6.	Norma	Shed area	Worms eye	Non-ambient	Tracking shot
7.	Norma and victim	Shed area	High angle	Non-ambient	Point of view (Norma), close-up
8.	Sam	Shed area		Non-ambient	Extreme close-up (face)
9.	Norma	Shed area		Non-ambient	Close-up (face)
10.	Sam	Shed area	Rule of thirds	Non-ambient

       Action

1. We will film Sam walking around the streets in the city in an isolated area to suggest his daily life and that he is unsettled.

2. We will then alternate to him sitting in an underpass where there is graffiti and litter which suggests that he is then homeless. This will then familiarise the audience with his situation. A sound bridge will begin of a female whistling which then turns out to be the murderer later on.

3. We then alternate back to Sam walking.

4. Then an ellipsis will occur where it is now night time and Sam is settling in an isolated shed area.

5. Norma – the murderer – will then walk in near to where Sam is and a low angle will be used at her feet whilst she is walking like in the opening to ‘Kill Bill’ to suggest how ruthless and powerful she is.

6. We then use the shadows to imply that she is murdering someone and a scream will be heard.

7. Norma is about to drag away the body to hide them.

8. Sam then makes a gasp sound which alerts Norma, exposing where Sam is.

9. A close-up of Norma’s face will be used to suggest that she is looking directly at Sam.

10.  A rule of thirds shot will be used to show Sam in front of the wooden planks with his back to Norma, and Norma behind the wooden planks looking directly at Sam. The cliff-hanger is then whether or not Sam escapes.

Preliminary Task - Finished

Thriller Research: Kill Bill Opening

The use of black and white visually tells the audience that is is a Noir Thriller which then sets a grim and dull atmosphere thus emphasising the emotion of the character the camera is focused on. The birds eye view then makes the woman more vulnerable and powerless as she lays defensively on the floor. This then establishes character types by suggesting that she is the weaker one in this scene. Black and white is also significant as the woman appears to be dressed in a bridal costume and a white wedding dress signifies purity which is then contrasting to the harshness of the black. Along with the blood on her face, this is then the opposite of pure which is significant as it then suggests a lot about both characters in the scene by suggesting that they are involved with a criminal life.

The use of diegetic sound is then very effective as you hear slow footsteps which then - without knowing anything about this character - establishes that he is a brash, emotionless person who is the antagonist. A low angle shot is used in order to portray this to the audience as it suggests that he is powerful and detached from emotion through his slow walk suggesting he does not care and is in no hurry while he tortures the female character. The audience are then shown more about the male character when a close up is used suggesting furthermore that he is brash and bold by wearing gold jewelry. This is similar to Ordell Robbie in 'Jackie Brown' as both characters wear flashy jewelry which could be a representation of money as the history of jewelry show that it was a representation of nobility and only certain ranks could wear gold jewelry. This is then significant to this male character in the clip and Robbie as it suggests their wealth and how people may view them. They may fear them because they are of a 'higher rank' due to their costume which then shows their money through materialistic items. Tarantino then establishes thriller conventions by hinting to the audience that his hostile ways and flashy jewelry suggest a life of criminality by earning money through corrupt means.

The cliffhanger then appeals to the audience as this is the first sentence the woman speaks and it then leaves the audience asking more questions as it reveals the connection between the two characters. It also adds to the pre-conceptions of the male character as it suggests that he is ruthless by not caring about the female character and shooting her without any compassion.