Our Opening Sequence - Finished product

 

Construction Post #5

Construction Post #4

Construction Post #3 - First Draft Opening Sequence Analysis

Having completed our first draft, there is both some aspects of it that we are happy with and some which we feel need to be improved, in order for our second draft to be of a higher quality. One of the main parts of our opening sequence which we are satisfied with is the overall collection of shots which we have. The shots of the protagonist flow well, and include all of the necessary actions and facial expressions that we needed to include in our sequence. For this reason, it is unlikely that we will need to re-shoot any of these, and can therefore focus more towards editing, which is the current weakness in our opening sequence. Whilst the editing for the majority of the shots is fairly smooth, we feel that the dream sequence is not yet distinguished well enough from the 'real life' scenes, and that we therefore may need to edit or colour them in a way which makes it clear they are inside the protagonist's head. To do this, we are planning on speeding up the pace of editing, and testing out some different effects on shots. We may also, although the majority of our shots are satisfactory, record some more shots for the dream sequence in order to prolong the length of it and have more shots for the fast-paced editing to flicker between. In addition to this, we are also considering changing the font of the credits, due to the fact we feel it does not look very professional or fitting for our opening sequence, and as a result we would like to find a higher quality font. Finally, the last aspect of our opening sequence which needs to be addressed is our title screen. It is fairly simple at the moment, and for this reason we would like to improve the quality of it by animating it in some way. This will hopefully work to make the title stand out more, and increase the dramatic atmosphere of the sequence.

Construction Post #2

Evaluation 1: In what ways does your media sequence develop or challenge forms and conventions of real life media products?

Evaluation 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups? - Presentation in real media texts

Mental Illness in the Media

When framing our main protagonist ‘Billy’ it is immediately apparent that he is someone who suffers from mental illness, due to the first shot of the opening sequence displaying the prop of the tablets

skewed across the coffee table. This may highlight Billy’s over use of drugs, and general substance abuse, as he feels it will lift him from his depressive state. Whilst this is a fairly stereotypical representation of mentally ill characters, as they are commonly presented to have substance abuse problems, it is also atypical in the fact that our protagonist is being treated for his mental illness, whereas in media texts the mentally ill character is often used as the villain and therefore is often not undergoing treatment, in order for them to be presented as mentally unstable as possible. The isolation of the tablets within this shot creates a representation on how people who grieve from mental illness are seen as abnormal in comparison to regular societal norms that everyone follows. Harmonising this shot with aspects of low-key lighting allows the audience to depict the character as weak and vulnerable in his state, making him unable to see the fear and danger of the mysterious figure lurking within his home. This is also an atypical representation of a mentally ill person, as media texts often present mentally ill characters to be dangerous and unstable, whereas we have instead presented our protagonist in a sympathetic light -- showing how vulnerable his illness has made him, rather than the 'dangers' he could bring. At the same time, the essence of mental illness or ‘abnormality of mental health’ can be seen in the brothers driven ambition to receive revenge for past events. Using the costume, specifically in hiding the face of ‘Steven’, allows the mystery of the character to evolve over the time of the sequence.

It also allows the audience to believe that something may have happened to him in order to cause him to go on this psychotic path of revenge. This could therefore be considered a stereotypical representation, as he is displaying the dangerous side of severe mental illness and external suffering that is often seen in media texts, which is a contrast to Billy's internal and 'safer' suffering.

The representation of mental illness in thriller movies is typically a negative one, often being used to explain away the reasons behind the antagonist's killings by depicting them to be 'crazy' or 'deranged', in order to create a villain that acts in ways that are not typical human behaviours and therefore make the audience uneasy. Mental illness is often used to be a source of apprehension in thrillers, as characters who suffer from it are displayed as unpredictable and dangerous. One of the most iconic examples of this is the Joker in the Batman series as, though it is never explicitly said that he is mentally ill, it is clear from both his behaviour, costume and the reoccurring mention of his childhood trauma ("You wanna' know how I got these scars?") that he is not mentally stable. The Joker is a character which kills ruthlessly, and often laughs whilst doing it, presenting him to be a cold-blooded killer and, consequently, presenting mentally ill people to be the same.

However, the Joker is not the only character that is a representation of mental illness in thriller movies. There are also several other films which feature mentally ill characters in the role of the villain -- such as 'John Doe' in Se7en, who goes on a mass murder spree that follows the seven deadly sins. This is another common trope of mentally ill characters, as they are often presented to be obsessive, often over niche things or topics. For example, John Doe with the seven sins, or the Joker with his scars. These strange obsessions are used to cause the audience to feel uneasy, as they are often strange obsessions that many people do not have, and therefore contribute to the character's strange behaviour. Although having an obsession alone is not necessarily dangerous behaviours, thrillers often turn these obsessions into it -- an example being, once again, John Doe.

In addition to these examples, another common issue with the presentation of mentally ill characters is that they are often very two-dimensional when it concerns their mental illness. It is rarely explained what they have, how it was caused, or anything that could be used to allow the audience to understand the character's motives. Whilst understanding the character's motives would not necessarily make them a sympathetic character, and they should not be one, this absence of explanation translates badly on the representation of mentally ill people, as it causes them to be seen in a similar two-dimensional light. They are often defined by their illness, and many people are uneasy around those with mental illness because of the violent mentally ill characters found in movies. However, one example that challenges this in some ways is Kevin Katchadourian from We Need To Talk About Kevin, which closely follows his childhood and relationship with his mother and therefore what caused his issues later in life. However, this challenging of conventions does not extend throughout the whole film as, at the end, he commits a mass murder at his school.

Finally, one last example of the representation of mental illness is Vincent Grey in The Sixth Sense, who is a past patient of Dr. Malcolm Crowe. Unlike the Joker, John Doe and Kevin Katchadourian, Vincent Grey is presented in a less stoic, cold-blooded way, instead being presented as both mentally and emotionally unstable. This therefore presents him in a more sympathetic light, due to the fact he is sobbing and apologising, but it does not change the stereotypical representation of him in the fact that he shoots Crowe. Much like the other characters, Grey is also a dangerous mentally ill person and, regardless of whether he is reluctantly dangerous or not, he still remains an antagonist of the movie. This therefore contributes to the on going theme in the presentation of mentally ill people, especially due to the fact that although he is not stoic or cold-blooded he still behaves in an unusual manner -- such as the fact he is not wearing clothes, and that he broke into Crowe's house.

In conclusion, thriller movies predominately present mentally ill characters to be dangerous, unstable people who are often placed into the roles of antagonists and villains. They are used as plot devices to cause the audience to feel uneasy, and often to provide an unpredictability to scenes, all whilst not properly explaining what is wrong with them or what caused them to be that way. Our opening sequence is, as a result, challenging of this convention -- as the protagonist of our film is mentally ill and is not presented to be violent or unpredictable.

Working Class Males in our film

Our opening sequence to the thriller film 'Forsaken' represents the young, working class male as having poor punctuality, being messy and disorganised. However, the character is not portrayed in a particularly bad light, and Billy's behaviour is relatable and typical of a young male his age. 

Through the use of this shot, we start to construct the representation of a young, working class male as being somewhat uncontrollable and sporadic. This is because he is shown sleeping on the couch, even though by the appearance of the house, it would be expected for him to have a bed. He is also shown holding alcohol in this shot, suggesting that he passed out, possibly late at night, after drinking. This, along with the close-up of the pills, adds to the construction of Billy having various problems in his life. When comparing this to the typical representation of a working class male, which is often that they are hard working and sociable, our representation is prominently atypical -- due to the fact that our protagonist is the complete opposite of these two characteristics. However, the fact that this behaviour highlights our protagonists stress is therefore typical to a working class male, as they are often presented in media texts to have some form of underlying problem due to stress.

Another representation constructed of white, working class males in our film is that they are lazy and procrastinate, which is once again a contrast to the representation of working class men in thriller movies. This can be seen in this shot as there are many dirty dishes visible that Billy seems to have neglected and not taken any interest in washing up. This may show his distraction in his work and how his monotonous lifestyle has taken up any free time he may want when coming home. This way of life may have caused Billy to become depressed with himself and the amount of work and pressure on his shoulders that he always seems to put before his social life away from work. Once again, where comparing this to the typical social life that is seen for working class men in thriller movies, it can be seen that our representation is a contrast to the usual representation, due to the fact that Billy lacks a social life. 

Another representation constructed of white, working class males is that they are routine and live normal or average lives. To develop this idea that our character is average and doesn't live a special or privileged life, as shown through the morning routine of our character getting ready. He does this in a normal manner and his clothes are not over extravagant. This helps with the aspect of the audience being able to relate to the character, and how he is just a seemingly ordinary person, but these events still occur. This is therefore stereotypical to the representation of white, working class males in the thriller genre, as they are often presented to live average, and even monotonous lives -- in order to create a more dramatic effect when things begin to turn abnormal in their lives.

Young working class men in media texts

Young working class men are typically represented in thrillers as following a usual routine which they stick to doing throughout the movie scenes. These types of people are usually social and charming towards work colleagues or friends who are around them, and would be social with work colleagues at bars or clubs after work or during a work break. They are also seen to be busy and have not much time to themselves, which in thriller genres will usually leave the character becoming distressed, leading them into depression. This is often used due to the fact that thriller films typically have a convention which includes a character who is abnormal compared to other characters in the film, in order to give the movie an edge to it.

An example of a young working class man in a thriller movie would be Patrick Bateman in the film American Psycho. The reason this film relates to the stereotypical young working class men is because the main character is a sophisticated man who has a well paid job in New York during the day but in the night he turns into a serial killer who murders random people that anger him either at work or during the day. This reflects the frustration that high end jobs create for people and as you are lead to believe that he is a normal man due to the suit and appearance of him, it can soon be found that the film takes an alternative view which makes the thriller more shocking