Research into similar films.        Scream

We have been looking at various films that are like our genre or like our storyline plot. Some of the films we have found are quite similar are below:

Scream: 

Genre: The genre of scream is more horror than thriller, therefore it differs from ours in that aspect. Scream contains quite a lot of gory horror and violence, however our film will be very thrilling and exciting appose to scary.

Plot: The plot of scream is more similar to our film than the genre is. Scream's opening scene is about a young woman been stalked by a strange masked man who is trying to kill her. This idea is pretty similar to ours, however it differs in the way that we are having a more realistic school boy crush stalker as appose to a grown man dressed up hiding his identity. Although i feel that Scream is a good film, and i think that the fact that the stalker's identity is hidden i feel that by ours been based on a slightly younger stalker who's identity is revealed it is more of a thriller than a horror, so that is where they differ once more.

Reviews of scream:

Rotten Tomatoes:

• Add to Netflix
• 
  • GBP5.99 to buy
  • GBP2.49 to rent

Scream (1996)

tomatometer

• All Critics
• Top Critics

83

Average Rating: 7.1/10
Reviews Counted: 59
Fresh: 49 | Rotten: 10

A great mixed of bone chilling suspense and witty dialogues.

 

audience

70

liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 440,198

27

My Rating

Movie Info

Scream is at once a slasher film and a tongue-in-cheek position paper on the "dead teenagers" movies of the late 1970s/early 1980s that plays as half-parody, half-tribute. Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is having a rough time lately: she's still getting over the brutal rape and murder of her mother a year ago, and now one of her friends (Drew Barrymore) has been killed by a lunatic who harassed her with terrifying phone calls, then stabbed her to death while wearing a Halloween costume. Soon ... More

R, 1 hr. 50 min.
Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Comedy

Directed By: Wes Craven

Written By: Kevin Williamson

This is the trailer for Scream, as you can see, the woman is been stalked by a man who hs hidden his identity behind a mask. Although the plot is different to mine, the idea of stalking makes our films very similar to each others, also both of our main charters a women/girls who are been stalked for some reason by a male.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTWf9QGdJCQ

This is the official website for scream, you can but various merchandise, visit different sections of the page to view things about Scream, Scream 1, Scream 2, Scream 3, Scream 4. Also, there is a fan area for fans to discuss the film and share their thoughts as well as a link page, so that people can find their best bits and watch them online.

This is the official website. The link for this site is:  http://www.scream-movie.net/

Research into similar film: Prom Night.        

Prom Night again contains the theme of stalking, like our film. The stalking in this film varies slightly from Scream, as the plot is a little more similar to ours, the girl been stalked in this film is probably more of a similar age to our main character, also this film is a lot more recent than scream, therefore it will look a lot more modern in compartment  to it. Also, like our film the stalker is very much obsessed with the main charter Donna, who is a strong character trying to survive her prom night and get away from this terrifying man who is fascinated by her.

Prom Night

Review found on Metacritic

Link below:

http://www.metacritic.com/movie/prom-night

 

See the trailer

Metascore

17 out of 100

Overwhelming dislike based on 12 Critics What's this?

User Score

4.3 out of 10

Mixed or average reviewsbased on 194 Ratings

Your Score

0

• Starring: Brittany Snow
• Summary: Donna's senior prom is supposed to be t
• he best night of her life. After surviving a horrible tragedy, she has finally moved on and is enjoying her last year of high school. Surrounded by her best friends, she should be safe from the horrors of her past. But when the night turns deadly, there is only one person who could be responsible...a man she thought was gone forever. Now, Donna and her friends must find a way to escape the sadistic rampage of an obsessed killer, and survive a night "to die for." (Sony Pictures) Collapse                                                                                                                                                                                                          The link below is for the official trailer for Prom Night on YouTube:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVIPIgE3Fnc
•  
• Overall, the reviews of the film wasn't very good, in fact they where quite disappointing, i spent a while looking through the reviews and the majority of them sided with the  review above slighting the film, and giving it low ratings. Obviously our plots are very different even though stalking is the theme in both, our film is going to be a thriller which keeps viewers on their toes, whereas this film was in my opinion  a little predictable and boring at times.
• 
  

certificate of film research

• strong violence: our film contains strong violence towards the end of our film. The scene in which Liam (The stalker) is trying to suffocate Beth (The protagonist) with a plastic bag, while he is doing this Beth pick up the cricket bat she has beside her bed and begins to beat him with it. this scene may effect anyone younger than 15 when watched as it is very graphic 

• frequent strong language (eg 'f**k'): Words such as f**k and S**t will be used throughout the film to show the protagonists distress and panic. Parents may have  problem with children at the age of 12 watching this.
• brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence: sexual references will be made through out the film. Finding a spare key in a plant pot Liam brakes into Beth's house. he goes into her room and lays in her bed, starts smelling and applying her perfume and smelling her clothes. Buy having this scene it suggests that Liam wants to have sex with Beth.

Due to the factors shown above our film would be rated 15. this would mean the target age rang of our audience would be 15 and up.

different distributors that could distribute our thriller film

Different distributors for a thriller film 

- Universal Pictures 
- Hammer Pictures 
- Hammer Film Productions 
- Associated Artists Production
- Hammer Universal 
- Hammer Horror
- BAV Film
- United Producers 
- American International Pictures 
- Astral Films 
- United Produces Releasing Organization
- Bent Walker Film Distributing 
- Synapse Films 
- Veston Video 
- Sony Music Video Enterprise 
- Sony BMG Music Entertainment 
- National Broadcasting Company 
- Image Entertainment 
- MAC Universal Home Video 
- A&E Home Video 
- Umbrella Entertainment 
- DreamWorks Animation 
- Nintendo Of America 
- Turner Class Movies 

The most heard of:

- Hammer Universal
This is a British film distributor Enrique Carreras, shown on the right, moved to England and opened up his first cinema in Hammersmith, London in 1913. The theatre, named the Blue Halls, seated 2000 people and was divided into two theatres, each showing different movies. This theatre is considered by many to be the first multi-plex. Carreras expanded his company into a chain of theatres. In 1928, he formed Exclusive Films to serve as a distribution company. 

- Sony BMG Music Entertainment

New York, NY – January 13, 2009 – Sony Music Entertainment and Wind-up Records have expanded their exclusive distribution agreement to include full digital rights, it was announced today by Thomas Hesse, President, Global Digital Business, U.S. Sales, and Corporate Strategy, Sony Music Entertainment and Ed Vetri, President, Wind-up Records.

Under the terms of this multi-year agreement, Sony Music Entertainment will deliver digital content from Wind-up’s extensive artist roster across all commercial channels and on a variety of digital platforms, including online and mobile.

- Umbrella Entertainment

Introducing the little yellow man behind the big brand: What’s with the

 Umbrella man? His 

name is David, a creative evolution of the acronym DVD, bringing to life the eponymous

 cinéaste David and his many genre-inspired incarnations!

Why the name Umbrella? An avid fan of the Beatles, Managing Director Jeff Harrison

 ceremoniously named the company after his favourite Beatles album, BEATLES ’65 – 

featuring The Fab Four propping up umbrellas for the classic album cover shot.

From such auspicious beginnings, Umbrella Entertainment was founded in 2001

 as an independent, Australian-owned all-rights distribution company driven by

 expert, hands-on 

staff with a true passion for feature film, television and music content.

- DreamWorks Animation

DreamWorks Animation has closed a five-year distribution deal with 20th Century Fox.

The pact will allow the Jeffrey Katzenberg-led studio to release its films via Fox from 2013 through 2017 and calls for Fox to market and distribute DreamWorks Animation's features domestically and internationally, in domestic and international markets.

DWA's deal with Paramount expires after this year.

Thriller analysis

Genre: Thriller

The aim of a thriller is to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seat. The main character (protagonist) is set against a problem- to escape, a mission or a mystery. The sub-genre does not affect the emphasized danger that the protagonist faces.  Tension the main problem causes is built up throughout the film and leads to a stressful climax.

The primary elements of the thriller genre:

      The protagonist(s) faces death, either their own or somebody else's.

      The force(s) of antagonism must initially be cleverer and/or stronger than the protagonist's.

      The main storyline for the protagonist is either a quest or a character who cannot be put down.

      The main plotline focuses on a mystery that must be solved.

      The film's narrative construction is dominated by the protagonist's point of view.

      All action and characters must be credibly realistic/natural in their representation on screen.

      The two major themes that underpin the thriller genre are the desire for justice and the morality of individuals.

      One small, but significant, aspect of a thriller is the presence of innocence in what is seen as an essentially corrupt world.

      The protagonist(s) and antagonist(s) may battle, themselves and each other, not just on a physical level, but on a mental one as well.

      Either by accident or their own curiousness, characters are dragged into a dangerous conflict or situation that they are not prepared to resolve.

Thriller filming techniques

·         Frame for Emotion:

Emotion (in the form of fear, laughter, surprise, sadness, anger, boredom) is the ultimate goal of each scene.  The first consideration of where to place the camera should involve knowing what emotion you want the audience to experience at that particular time.  Emotion comes directly from the actor's eyes.  You can control the intensity of that emotion by placing the camera close or far away from those eyes.  A close-up will fill the screen with emotion, and pulling away to a wide angle shot will dissipate that emotion.  A sudden cut from wide to close-up will give the audience a sudden surprise.  Sometimes a strange angle above an actor will heighten the dramatic meaning.  (Truffaut)

 

·         Camera is Not a Camera

The camera should take on human qualities and roam around playfully looking for something suspicious in a room.  This allows the audience to feel like they are involved in uncovering the story.  Scenes can often begin by panning a room showing close-ups of objects that explain plot elements.

 

·         Keep the Story Simple

If your story is confusing or requires a lot of memorization, you're never going to get suspense out of it.  The key to creating that raw Hitchcock energy is by using simplistic, linear stories that the audience can easily follow.  Everything in your screenplay must be streamlined to offer maximum dramatic impact.  Remove all extraneous material and keep it crisp.  Each scene should include only those essential ingredients that make things gripping for the audience