Story Type

The story type I am using is The Quest in which the character is set a task to find someone or something. He accepts the challenge, searches for and finds someone or something. He is then rewarded, or not, for his success in the quest.

Aims and Context

For my FM3 Creative Project, my aim is to produce a short sequence from my fictional film called ‘Quantum Dream’. The genre of my film is psychological thriller, and I hope to use the codes and conventions of this genre. I’m looking to attract the mainstream audience of both genders, at the age 16-24.

The aim is to keep the audience guessing throughout the sequence and to constantly increase the enigma using the film language skills like cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound, and editing. I also want to aid the audience in sharing the same emotions of the main protagonist. Additionally, I want the audience to sympathise with the lead protagonist, this will be achieved through the use of sound/music as slow paced editing, as well as the use of POV shots, extreme close-ups, and extreme long-shots. Dubbing heart beat sounds, or heavy breathing will also help in creating tension. I have looked at films that have some relation to my film, such as Black Swan, Fight Club and Shutter Island, because these films all share the theme of a character losing their identity. Therefore, I will take inspiration from these three films in order to achieve my set goal. I will try to have the audience not takes sides to characters, I want to expose the horrors of everyman’s crime, and show that not everyone is innocent but try and do so without the audience condemning them. The story type I am using is The Quest in which the character is set a task to find someone or something. He accepts the challenge, searches for and finds someone or something. He is then rewarded, or not, for his success in the quest.

I intend to write, direct and edit the sequence myself.

Codes and Conventions of a Psychological Thriller

Psychological thrillers tend to open on a blank white or black screen, with title text over layered on top. However, some films start without a title at all. A psychological thriller is a subgenre of the horror/thriller genre. However, it incorporates other elements that would be seen in a mystery drama. They tend to focus deep on the stability of a characters mind, therefore having this character have to overcome disruptions mentally, rather than physically. The archetype usually involves a character finding ‘the devil inside’ themselves - the loss of innocence.

Themes of a psychological thriller include: reality, perception, the mind, existence, identity, and death. Reality is all about the quality of being real. Within the film, characters often try to determine what is true, and what is not, within this narrative. Perception is a character’s own interpretation of the world around him through his senses. Often characters misperceive the world around them, or their perceptions are altered by outside factors within the narrative. American Psycho is quite different to a lot of other psychological thrillers as the ending to the film depends on one’s own interpretation of it. However, the way in which I view it is that Patrick Bateman does actually murder the people he thinks he has, he is so fixated in the idea of it that he loses his mind. Many audiences interpret Bateman as just insane because of a scene in which he is drawing a victim. This leads on to the theme of the mind. The mind is the human consciousness; the location for personality, thought, reason, memory, intelligence and emotion. The mind is often used as a location for narrative conflict, where characters battle their own minds to reach a new level of understanding or perception. Existence is the object for which something exists; an aim or a goal humans strive towards to understand their reason for existence. Characters often try to discover what their purpose is in their lives and the narrative’s conflict often is a way for the characters to discover this purpose. The identity theme is the definition of one’s self. Characters often are confused about or doubt who they are, and try to discover their true identity. And finally, death is obviously the cessation of life. Characters tend to either fear or have a fascination with death. The perfect example of this is Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island. Shutter Island features all the above themes, for instance, the main protagonist, Teddy Daniels, is having a constant battle throughout the film about his sanity. The reason for this is because of the death of his wife that is seen through a flashback as well as a dream eerie sequence. The narrative is all about Teddy discovering who he really is.

The narrative is usually told through a first-person literary technique, in which the story is narrated by one or more of the characters. This technique is used to make the audience more involved with the characters themselves, and thus able to understand how this character’s mind works. The film Fight Club, makes perfect use of a voiceover to tell a story and give the audience and insight on The Narrator’s, the protagonist’s, feelings. But more importantly, within this film, the point of view of The Narrator is used in a way to mislead the audience, for he really doesn’t understand his identity. Additionally, there is an editing technique in which there is a flash of the character Tyler Durden in the scene. He is shown in the The Narrator’s POV before these two characters have even met, suggesting it’s just a figment of The Narrator’s imagination (leading to the conclusion of his split personality). A back story is also often used; this is the history behind the situation right at the start of the plot. This deepens the psychological aspect of the story since the read is able to more fully understand the character; more specifically, what the character’s motivations are and how his past has shaped his current cognitive perceptions. The narrative can also be non-linear. Donnie Darko shows a narrative that isn’t quite linear as it involves a lot of time travel. Additionally, David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. is clear to fit this convention of a non-linear narrative. This film actually, in my opinion, covers all the codes and conventions for its genre, it really goes out its way to confuse and entertain the audience.

Camera angles are vital in a psychological thriller. There are many close-ups used. Mirrors are used to portray a reflection of a character’s inner self, and addition can be used to represent the ‘dark side’ of some characters. Shadows and low key lighting are used in order to add tension to a scene. These also represent a character’s inner darkness. Quick cuts, obtrusive and montage editing are all frequently used in psychological thrillers to highlight the feeling of suspense and tension; these are mainly used during important and key scenes. This is blatant in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. There are many scenes within Black Swan in which the lead protagonist, Nina, finds herself looking into mirrors where her reflection isn’t quite a reflection but more like a person on the other side. This represents Nina’s darker side, or to link with the title, her ‘black swan’. Flashbacks are also a typical convention of a thriller. These can show the audience what has happened previously, thus aiding in the audience’s insight of the character’s past. Again, Shutter Island is an example of a use of flashbacks. There’s a flashback when Teddy finally discovers his true self. This also helps give the audience the backstory of the film. The location of a psychological thriller tends to be in a very urban city or in a small town. 

So through review, it is clear that one of the critical themes that psychological thrillers feature is the theme of identity and discovering one’s true self. Moreover, they are always darkly set and tend to get the audience thinking about the situation, usually leaving them confused for their first time viewing of the film. On repeated views, people start to notice bits they haven’t seen before in the film, this is what makes psychological thrillers so entertaining.

Main Inspiration: Bag of Bones

The main inspiration for my imaginary film comes from Stephen King's novel Bag of Bones, which was adapted for the television. I took great interest from the scene at 9:10 and on wards 'til 10:55. I want to try and recreate this look and feel for my own sequence.

Central Characters

Anti-hero - Nathan Rouse, a photojournalist. Throughout the film, Nathan becomes more and more noticeably sleep deprived. He has long brushed back hair, and a stubble. His outfits usually consist of checked shirts, dusty jeans and work boots.

The princess - Jennifer Lipman, fiancee of Nate. As well as Nate, she dresses quite casual, but still has a hint of formality to her. Her day to day outfit is commonly a turtle neck sweater, blue jeans, and small heeled shoes.

Antagonist - Victor Briceson, town sheriff. Clad in biker leather, not the usual British sheriff. He isn't usually seen in his blue dress code, and usually goes around wearing whatever he likes. A powerful man in the town that people are usually scared to stand up to.

Chosen Sequence

The sequence I have chosen to film is the point in which Nate discovers the photograph of his girlfriend for the final time before knowing what to do to get her back. He has experienced this location twice before and now pretty much knows his route off by heart, but he is still a bit drowsy.

Synopsis of my Fictional Film

Quantum Dream

Nate, a famous journalist, and his fiancée go on holiday to a small town and away from the city in order to get away from the pressure of Nate’s business deadline. However, Nate’s obsession about finding the ‘perfect’ photograph for his work leads to a disruption in his relationship. During an argument with Jen, Nate leaves and heads to the nearest pub to get drunk. After having too many drinks, he becomes involved in a fight. He wakes up covered in mud, lying next to a shovel, in the middle of a forest.

He is clueless about the loss of time and has no idea where he is. When he gets to his lodgings, he finds no sign of Jen but instead traces of blood on the floor. As he searches for Jen, he continues to come in and out of consciousness. As he loses his mind, he begins to accept he may have murdered Jen. He wakes up back in the forest; he grabs the shovel and digs. At the bottom of the ditch is a photograph. The photo is of the town’s sheriff, Victor Briceson, sexually assaulting a young woman; it’s too distorted to identify the woman. On the underside reads ‘the perfect photograph’. His memory comes back to him, it was his wife; instead of protecting Jen, he stood back in secret in order to capture the photo. He searches Briceson’s house, making a discovery that this is not Briceson’s first victim. When the moment comes, Nate murders the sheriff, and goes to bury him within the hole in the woods. However, this hole has already been filled with the corpse of Jen. The shock knocks him cold. In a dream he asks for Jen’s forgiveness.

He wakes up back in his apartment in the city. TV on. Curtains open. A normal day. He rolls over to find a photograph of him and Jen at a wedding. On the underside it reads ‘the perfect photograph’.  Jen comes into the bedroom as though nothing ever happened. Nate questions her but she doesn’t understand a word he is saying. She suggests that he’s worked up about work and they should take a vacation. It’s a moment he had almost lived before.

He sighs with relief and looks to his hands, the photo has vanished. He tells her that he’s quitting his job, and they should save the holiday for their honeymoon. After leaving the room, the news comes on air. Famous journalist, Nate Rouse, hangs himself after the death of his wife during his time in prison for the convicted murder of Sheriff Victor Briceson.

Title of film

Quantum - In physics, a quantum is the minimum amount of any physical entity involved in an interaction. Normally, quanta (plural) are considered to be discrete packets with energy stored within them. These quanta are considered to be particles that can change their form (meaning that they can be absorbed and released).

Dream - Dreams are a succession of images, ideas, emotions and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitely understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, as well as a subject of philosophical and religious interest, throughout recorded history.

Examples of Psychological Thrillers

This scene from Black Swan is a great example of the use of mirrors in a psychological thriller. The mirror shows the main character's 'inner demon'. It also gives an examples of how music can be used to increase the shock value of what is being seen on screen.


I'm using this sequence from Shutter Island as a way to help me with my dream sequence. This sequence is really strong when it comes to the colours of the mise-en-scene helping to show that it is a dream sequence as it highly contrasts with the original locations of the film.


This clip from American Psycho shows a way in which violence can quite really be a metaphor for someone's personality. The blood on the characters face is also a very nice touch, how it only covers half of his face. The again is a reference to a split personality/devil within theme.


The opening to Donnie Darko is a great example of how the narrative and mise-en-scene can create a lot of enigmatic features to a film.

Psychological Thriller (genre)

A psychological thriller is a subgenre of the horror/thriller genre. However, it incorporates other elements that would be seen in a mystery drama. They tend to focus deep on the stability of a characters mind, therefore having this character have to overcome disruptions mentally, rather than physically. The archetype usually involves a character finding 'the devil inside' themselves - the loss of innocence.

 

 

Themes of a psychological thriller include:

Reality - The quality of being real. Characters often try to determine what is true, and what is not, within the narrative.

Perception - A person's own interpretation of the world around him through his senses. Often characters misperceive the world around them, or their perceptions are altered by outside factors within the narrative (see Unreliable narrator).

Mind - The human consciousness; the location for personality, thought, reason, memory, intelligence and emotion. The mind is often used as a location for narrative conflict, where characters battle their own minds to reach a new level of understanding or perception.

Existence - The object for which something exists; an aim or a goal humans strive towards to understand their reason for existence. Characters often try to discover what their purpose is in their lives and the narrative's conflict often is a way for the characters to discover this purpose.

Identity - The definition of one's self. Characters often are confused about or doubt who they are and try to discover their true identity.

Death - The cessation of life. Characters either fear or have a fascination with death.

Creative Project (brief)

I must create a imaginary film for which I can film as a complete short film or as a film extract. The extract/film must be between three to five minutes long, and it must engage the audience through the use of key concepts, sytlystics and conventions of a specific genre.

I have chosen to film a sequence from a fictional film.