Synopsis

SYNOPSIS – a brief summary or general survey of something ;

an outline of the plot of a book, play, movie, or episode of a television show.

Examples of synopses for thriller films:

28 days later- A powerful virus is unleashed. Transmitted in a drop of blood and devastating in seconds, the virus locks those infected into a permanent state of murderous rage. Within 28 days the country is overwhelmed and a handful of survivors begin their attempts to salvage a future, little realizing that the deadly virus is not the only thing that threatens them.

Saw - Awakening from a drugged stupor, Dr. Lawrence Gordon finds himself chained to a pipe in a dingy bathroom, with another man in the same situation across the room. The men are the latest victims of the Jigsaw Killer, a maniac who uses elaborate traps to test his victims’ dedication to life. Given 6 hours, a hacksaw, and a bullet, doctor Gordan tries to figure out a way to freedom, hoping his kidnapped family can survive the nightmare as well. Hot on the Jigsaw’s trail is Detective David Tapp, an equally as insane cop who was once the victim of the Jigsaw’s evil scheme.

Psycho- Alfred Hitchcock’s landmark masterpiece of the macabre stars Anthony Perkins as troubled Norman Bates, whose old dark house and adjoining motel are not the place to spend a quiet evening. No one knows that better than Marion Crane, the ill-fated traveler whose journey ends in the notorious “shower scene”. First a private detective, then Marion’s sister searches for her, the horror and the suspense mount to a terrifying climax where the mysterious killer is finally revealed. It took 7 days to shoot the shower and scene, 70 camera set ups for the 45 seconds of this now famous footage- and not an actual bare breast or plunging knife is to be found in the final cut, just illusion through montage.

SYNOPSIS FOR OUR FILM- Troubled sixteen year olds ‘Dee’ (Dominic Junior) and ‘Aj’ (Aaron Joseph) find their lives turned completely upside down after they ride into trouble on a winters evening. They had been terrorizing their local neighborhood in West London when they find themselves on the run from the police in a desperate attempt to escape being framed for a murder they didn’t do. As Dee and Aj, alone and confused, move around London aimlessly with no one to rely on but each other, they begin to unfold the terrifying truth behind the murder they are being wrongfully accused of committing and these horrifying realities will change their lives forever. The boys start to reassess their own lives and reach a new level of strength in their friendship.

Audience

The suitable audience for us to target is the BBFC 15 certificate however this does not necessarily suggest that our film is aimed at 15 year olds but they are in the main age group that we are intending to target which is teenagers from around 15-20. We aim our film towards them because it is a British film that includes British actors in a local London park which therefore will attract many youngsters as they will recognise the area where the filming took place and will be able to understand and empathise with the actors interests and the way in which they speak. 

When making our film, we have to take in to careful consideration the guidelines set by BBFC (British Board of Film Classification). As we are planning to classify our film as 15 certificate, we are able to use strong language however not an extensive amount. Also violent scenes can be shown however, there’s a certain degree of violence that would not be acceptable if we want to keep within a 15 certificate. Although, wewould not have the facilities or skills to create violent, realistic scenes that would be classed as a 18 certificate. 

The audiences that may be drawn to watch thriller films are those that enjoy tense and suspenseful atmospheres. Audiences who enjoy thrillers like to be on the edge of their seat anticipating the next scene of the film and be feeling suspense and excitement. However, people who enjoy thrillers may have a preference to a certain subgenre of thriller, such as psychological, crime or disaster thrillers. For example, complex psychological thrillers with a restricted narrative will appeal to audiences that are relatively older than 20. Whereas, action thrillers would appeal to a young, male demographic audience that enjoy elaborate action scenes with guns, explosions, car chases etc. The Bourne Ultimatum and the modern James Bond films are examples of action thrillers that involve theatrical, expensive action scenes are intensify the excitement of the audience.

 

BBFC

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is the organisation legally responsible for film classification within the United Kingdom. It has been classifying cinema films since it was set up in 1912 and is an independent, non-governmental body.. It has also been classing videos since the passing of the Video Recordings Act in 1984. It was set up by the film industry as an independent body to bring a level of consistency to the classification of film nationally.

U- UNIVERSAL- all ages admitted, there is nothing unsuitable for children

PG- PARENTAL GUIDANCE- general viewing, but certain scenes may be unsuitable for children under the age of 8

12- Suitable for those aged 12 and over. Those aged under 12 are only admitted if accompanied by an adult at all times during the performance. (Replaced the standard 12 certificate for cinema releases in 2002.)

12A- Suitable only for those aged 12 and over. Nobody younger than 12 can rent or buy a 12 rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game. (Used for cinema as well before getting replaced by 12A in 2002)

 

15- Suitable only for those aged 15 and over. Nobody younger than 15 can see a 15 film in a cinema. No-one younger than 15 can rent or buy a 15 rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game.

18-  Suitable only for adults. Nobody younger than 18 may see an 18 film in a cinema.
No-one younger than 18 can rent or buy an 18 rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game.

Analysis of Relevant Opening Sequences

The purpose of an opening sequence is to introduce the characters to the audience to let them know who the main characters are and to then give the audience some ideas of what the key plot to the film is. The common technique for a thriller genre movie opening is the enigma code which presents the audience with a mystery and then the audience’s curiosity of the main plot and why things are happening is stimulated trying to explain it and then retaining interest in the narrative to then find out what the outcome is. The conventions of a thriller genre normally include some sort of secret to the main plot or as to why something is happening which like mentioned already gives the audience the urge to carry on watching to find out the outcome as a common convention of the thriller genre is mysterious and has a huge plot. Different approaches to different opening scenes do have different effects because if the opening sequence is not very revealing then the audience will then want to read on however if the opening sequence just introduces the characters then this has a different outcome on the audience which then just introduces the main characters and their personalities and then the audience know what to expect from each character and how they would react to certain situations.

For example in London to Brighton the film is not in chronological order as it starts of with a scene from hours later and then introduces a flashback which goes back to several hours before therefore this makes the audience question what happened to result into the situation which they just saw along with the characters appearance as the mother has a black eye and loads of scratches on her face however the audience are not aware on how she got the bruising or swelling on her face. The women is accompanied by her daughter who also looks like she has been through a rough time and away from home for a long time which also leaves the audience in suspense and leaves them questioning why all this has happened which then makes them want to watch on and discover what has happened to the mother and daughter which shows the normal techniques of a thriller genre opening.

Conventions of the Thriller Genre.

The following is a list of thriller conventions. Use it to both to create your own sequence and analyse existing ones, remembering that different films will use different conventions in different ways:

A genuine thriller is a film that rentlessly pursues a single-minded goal - to provide thrills and keep the audience cliff-hanging at the 'edge of their seats' as the plot builds towards a climax. The tension usually arises when the main character(s) is placed in a menacing situation or mystery, or an escape or dangerous mission from which escape seems impossible. Life itself is threatened, usually because the principal character is unsuspecting or unknowingly involved in a dangerous or potentially deadly situation. Plots of thrillers involve characters which come into conflict with each other or with outside forces - the menace is sometimes abstract or shadowy.

Thriller Conventions

-A crime at the core of the narrative (often murder, but not necessarily).

-A complex narrative structure, with false paths, clues and resolutions.

-A narrative pattern of establishing enigmas which the viewer expects to be resolved.

A protagonist who is systematically dis-empowered and drawn into a complex web of intrigue by the antagonist.

-Extraordinary events happening in ordinary situations.

-Themes of identity.

-Themes of mirroring.

-Themes of voyeurism (a person who enjoys seeing the pain or distress of others)

-Protagonist with a ‘flaw’ which is exploited by the antagonist.

-Titles often reflect an aspect of the pro/antagonist’s psychological state.

-There is often a scene near the end of the film in which the protagonist is in peril.

-Mise en scene which echoes/ mirrors the protagonist’s plight.

Some of these can be identified in the opening sequence of the film 'saw 2':

Link to 'saw 2' opening scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXkiaZbM9MM

.Film opens with a man sitting on a chair with a device strapped to his head. poses the questions; Who is he? Why is he there? What is that device strapped to his head?

. A video comes up on the screen of somebody talking on a screen wearing a mask describing what is going on. poses the question; who is he? why is he doing it?

By : Azzari 

Subgenres

Spy thrillers (also a subgenre of spy fiction), in which the hero is generally a government agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government or (in recent years) terrorists. Exa

mples include From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming, The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum, and television series such as Mission: Impossible and 24 (the second demons

trating a break from the norm by Robert Ludlum, as it is as much a psychological thriller as a spy thriller.)

Conspiracy thrillers, in which the hero confronts a large, powerful group of enemies whose true extent only he recognizes. Three Days of the Condor, for example, falls into this category.

Erotic Thrillers, Film sub-genre which consists of erotica and thriller and had become popular since the 1980s and the rise of VCR market penetration. The genre includes films such as Basic Instinct.

Legal Thrillers, in which the lawyer-heroes confront enemies outside, as well as inside, the courtroom and are in danger of losing not only their cases but their lives. The Pelican Brief by John Grisham is a well known example of the this subgenre.

Psychological thrillers, in which (until the often violent resolution) conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional 

rather than physical. Alfred Hitchcock’s film Shadow of a Doubt.

Horror thriller, in which conflict between the main characters is mental, emotional, and physical. Two recent examples of this include the Saw series of films and the Danny Boyle film 28 Days Later. What sets the Horror Thriller apart is the main element of fear throughout the story. The main characters are not only up against a superior force in the form of a monster or monsters, but they are or will soon become the victims themselves and directly feel the fear that comes by attracting the monster's attention.

Disaster thriller, in which the main conflict is due to some sort of natural or artificial disaster such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes.

Analyses of Relevant Key Texts

Thrillers are a distinguished by the fast-pacing, recurring action and a protagonist confronting an antagonist. The villain is generally punished and the weaker, maybe better looking character wins the female or remains the last person alive. Thrillers often take place wholly or partly in exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts or high seas. The heroes in most thrillers are frequently "hard men" accustomed to danger: law enforcement officers, spies, soldiers or aviators. However, they may also be ordinary citizens drawn into danger by accident. While such heroes have traditionally been men, women lead characters have become increasingly common.

House hold names for thriller films are films such as: The Godfather, Pulp Fiction, The Dark Knight, The Matrix, Alien, Clockwork Orange and Sin City. What these all have in common are that there is a good side and bad one also there is there is a lot of action throughout which appeals to all thriller genre lovers, there is also a sense of mystery between them.

Techniques of a thriller consist of the enigma code, which is mostly followed by the director in this code it is action throughout, mysterious scores, suspense and tension. The plotlines have a good character, a bad character and a resolution of what happens in a thriller situation, the good person always wins and the bad characters defeated, but are they?

The relevance to the films above to our opening scene is the fact of mystery and also we’re taking into account Alfred Hitchcocks idea of making the innocent character involved in something very big, in this case a murder.

By: Azzari

History of Thrillers

Thriller and Suspense Films are types of films known to promote intense excitement, suspense, a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, and nerve-wracking tension.

Thriller and suspense films are virtually identical and interchangeable categorisations, with similar characteristics and features.

A thrillers single-minded goal is to provide thrills and keep the audience cliff-hanging at the 'edge of their seats' as the plot builds towards a climax. Tension is normally caused when the main character is placed in a menacing situation or mystery, or an escape or dangerous mission from which escape seems impossible. The principal character is unsuspecting or unknowingly involved in a dangerous or potentially deadly situation putting them in a life threatening situation. Plots of thrillers involve characters which come into conflict with each other or with outside forces - the antagonist is sometimes abstract or shadowy.

Another closely-related genre is the horror film genre; they take the viewer through agony and fear designed to bring out tension and suspense. Murder mysteries, private eye tales, chase thrillers, women-in-danger films, courtroom and legal thrillers and erotic thrillers. Suspense-thrillers in many different shapes and forms. Thrillers focus more on the suspense and danger that is generated and keep the emphasis away from the gangster, crime, or the detective in the crime-related plot.