Group Analysis

Group Analysis

My aim within this analysis is to convey the different types of narratives that have been created by my group and to determine which narrative is most suitable for our final opening thriller scene. Not one is one idea chosen but a variety of stylistic qualities and elements are extracted from each members narratives. By doing so this allows us to expand upon our ideas and explore ideas that may not have been brought to our attention. My group is made up of three girls, Ella (myself), Rishika and Jemimah; our over all goal as a group is to create a 2-3 minute long, opening thriller scene. 

Group Member 1- Rishika Sohal 

Rishika's narrative is based around a girl who is left home alone by her parents, whilst they go out for the evening. However, she is not as alone as we, as the audience and the girl, had once thought; a trapped soul within the very walls that encapsulate and trap the young girl. Progressive creaking and scratching noises alarm the girl of a more sinister presence. The noises are paired with unnaturally questionable events such as, flickering lights, objects clattering or falling from where they once were. These series of events are dramatically concluded as the young girl tentatively walks into the kitchen, only to be met by a supposed demonic presence that immediately snaps her next. Rishika's possible film titles include- Trapped, You're not alone, He's Here

This narrative contains many Advantages such as, the prevalent diegetic and non-diegetic, such as sounds of objects falling or a soundtrack helps to build suspense and shock conventional of a typical thriller. A female protagonist is used and made to appear innocent and vulnerable, whilst the antagonist is conveyed through a hidden identity, these are two elements extremely conventional of a thriller. This is because they help to create tension as the audience can witness how vulnerable the young girl is and conclude the inevitable in their heads, as the antagonist is introduced. Thus meaning the viewer is riddled with suspense as they scrutinise the action to witness if the inevitable is going to happen. Also, the hidden identity of antagonist intensifies the ambiguity and tension of the atmosphere the audience are encapsulated in. The setting of a typical house hold also follows the typical thriller conventions as it presents how the protagonist is isolated and therefore a perfect target.
The disadvantages of this narrative include the complexity of successfully portraying an unseen entity effectively. The time consuming element of building a well portrayed, realistic home like setting, whilst producing a variety of sound effects and suspicious events within the home may prove difficult due to the lack of advanced technology or time we have.

Group Member 2- Jemimah Ali

Jemimah's narrative is based upon an extremely disturbed boy, who is presented laying on the floor with a mask placed beside him. Whilst spread lifeless in the road, the boy is revisiting memories and moments of his life, in the style of a flash back. As this is taking place, two girls travel towards the direction of the boy after a night out. Suddenly one of the girls notices the boy on the road and walks up to him, ensuring he is not hurt or injured in any way. However, little does she know that this boy is psychotic and so far from being mentally stable. When she reaches the boy, he abruptly awakes from his flash backs and attacks her, although this event would not be captured on camera, simply implied. The other girl hears her friends shrill scream and when she swiftly turns back to see what has happened, she finds her friend, on the ground dead. In an intense panic the girl begins to run from the scene, but in the haze of her desperation she is lead through a ill lit forest, where a figure, identified as the boy in a mask stands in her way. Jemimah's possible film titles were- humanity off, switched off, emotions off

Advantages of this narrative include, the simplicity of the concept, meaning its easily accessible even for a group such as our selves with little knowledge of film making and basic technology to capture our vision. The Forrest setting is highly conventional of a thriller film because of the isolation it inhabits, especially during the night time. The mask creates a basic iconography, easily obtained and highly effective in masking the identity of the antagonist, a trait typical to most thriller films. As well as these the use of female protagonists also follows what is expected of a thriller film, as they are presented as weak and fragile, thus producing a widespread tension in the audience as they fear for the lives of the protagonist/s. I feel their are unique breaks from conventional thriller elements such as, abrupt change in eye colour and an initial introduction into a compilation of memories obtained by the boy. These may be included to shock the reader by breaking from what is initially assumed of the film.
The disadvantages of this narrative are that it may been seen as a supernatural style of film, through the swift changed in eye colour for example. A supernatural film would not be as accessible to our group, due to the basic technology. The narrative provides a lot of action within each scene, therefore this may cause a lack of enigma as the audience is already provided with a vast quantity of action. As well as this, the portrayal of the mask, if not done in a stylistic manner may be perceived as very amateur and unexplained.

Group Member 3- Ella Hutchins (Myself)

The thriller opening begins in the bedroom of a girl. This is because there will be a variety of camera angles watching and focusing upon the girl sleeping. She then begins to wake, as she does there is a figure standing over her, watching her sleep. In a husky, fatigued voice she calls out to her mum, questioning her presence. She then lazily closes her heavy eyelids only to open them and find that the person watching her sleep was not in fact her mother, but a stranger. Once the girl has finally absorbed the seriousness of the situation, through her sheer drowsiness and the dim light of the evening, she begins a prolonged struggle to get away from the stranger. Her struggle is futile and the stranger begins to drag her towards the forest. As he drags her deeper into the canopy of trees, the girls becomes closer to a pond. In an attempt to escape his grip she edges towards the pond and falls in. However, the killer falls in also and slowly swims whilst the protagonist frantically splashes. This underwater pond scene will feature a jump cut from the characters being on the edge of the pond, into an underwater struggle. Whilst in the pond the female victim will experience flash backs of happier times, whether it be the happy memories of the same forest she is being pursued in etc. This will create the idea of her life flashing before her eyes without providing the audience anything more of the opening.

The advantages of my narrative include, the hidden identity of the antagonist, an element that follows the conventions of a typical thriller film. The inclusion of a female protagonist is also extremely typical of this genre, as it make it easy to portray an innocent and vulnerable protagonist. The pond scene I believe creates a great sense of suspense, as the audience are not aware of what will happen to the protagonist. The viewer is then left with a lingering enigma when the opening scene does not show the fate of the protagonist.
The disadvantages are that the pond scene may prove challenging to successfully capture, also it may not be possible that we could film in the school pool. As well as this, their is a lot happening within the opening scene which could lead to a highly time consuming project, and risk giving too much away, thus meaning its sense of enigma would be lost slightly.

Final Group Narrative

As a collective we decided that Jemimah's narrative would be the most appropriate thriller opening. The reasons behind our decision are mainly based upon its simplicity; the narrative is extremely accessible in terms of setting, props etc. As well as this, the variety of conventional thriller elements are included, thus ensuring a portrayal of suspense, shock and tension, essential to this genre of film. To summarise, the opening will begin with a disturbed boy, laying in the road. When two girls returning from a drunken night out, one girl discovers the boy and is immediately killed. The second girl turns to find her friend, murdered. In sheer horror and panic she begins running through a forest, only to be met by the antagonist, wearing a mask. Personally I feel as though our final narrative follows many of the conventions of a typical thriller film. The low key lighting provokes an element of fear and works in conjunction with the ambiguous hidden identity of the antagonist. The forest setting helps to join all of the action together, whilst emphasising the vulnerability of the protagonist how isolated she is.

Narrative Theory

The narrative theory of Aristotle demonstrates a clear reliability to our groups final narrative. Aristotle believes that a narrative should include: a protagonist/antagonist, exciting incident, character goal, stakes, empathy/sympathy, resolution and dramatic question. The murder that takes place within the initial moments of the opening works as a significantly exciting incident for the viewer, whilst providing many dramatic questions. For example, why is the boy laying in the road in the first place? What made the boy feel the need to kill an innocent victim? A growing sense of sympathy is created in our opening scene, especially once the audience view the emotional pain inflicted, when the girl finds her friend brutally murdered. In addition, the flash backs of the boy may provoke a feeling of sympathy in the viewer, as his memories are exposed, thus making him appear vulnerable. The character goal, in regards to the antagonist will not be featured i our opening, merely left to the imagination of the viewer; the ambiguity around the boys goals enhancing the prevailing theme of an enigma our group intends to capture.

As for resolution, Aristotle is applying his theory to a complete film, as my group are only producing an opening we are not going to be including a resolution. By doing so it will increase the sense of enigma and leave the audience questioning whether there will be a resolution. Aristotle's theory provides an excellent reference and structural over view that myself and my group members can refer back to, in order to create a successful and effective opening thriller film.