Treatment - Alexis

My Contribution to our films 'Treatment':

This film will include the following conventions of thriller films:

• Weapon. Thriller films will always have a weapon as they create a sense of danger and ambiguity in the audience. Our weapon of choice was is a knife. Knives represent danger and uncertainty and in our case, it is used to represent a ‘cut’ between sane and insanity of our main character, Kieran, who we eventually see growing tired of his girlfriend’s anger and mistreatment of him.
• Close up shots: These are essential in any thriller film as it is confrontational and will cause them to be pulled into the scene. An example of a close up shot is this one of Madelene.
  It is used to create anxiety and dismay as she is confronted by her boyfriend who is now standing over her. The close up shots are going to be used for showing detail and emphasizing certain aspects of the film. E.g reactions, emotions
• Gender Roles - In many thriller films, we have a dominant male lead. Michelle Rodriguez a Hollywood actress has explained that the ‘masculine’ alpha male is becoming extinct and we tend to agree. This is why we chose to create a male lead who was a little on the geeky side. Kieran wears glasses and in the beginning of the film, acts a little off. His nerd like persona means audience members who aren’t exactly the most athletic or popular can align with him. The way he is controlled and bossed around by his girlfriend will be relatable to some. Many believe that the male has the dominant role in a relationship. They’re the one with authority and Kieran begins as the weakest link. After all the emotional abuse, his feelings seem to change and instead of removing himself he flips the tables and the emotional abuse he heads becomes physically and he throws it back at her.
• Night Setting with low key lighting: Most thriller films are filmed at night or are for the most part. The darkness is a representative of lurking fair and uncertainty which was key for our film. In one way, it refers to the encompassing darkness that surrounds the doomed relationship.
  Another reason the darkness will be relative in our film is because it is an external representative of the darkness that is inside Kieran.

• Open setting: The open setting in the middle sequence will subvert from the typical opening sequences of thriller films. Most thriller openings will show confinement and lack of space which shows a character having a direct fate. They will often be in cities, dense forests and/or places where action can take place. However, we will use an open area - a flat field. This is to leave the characters with nowhere to run or hide but also to show that though their relationship is very open, there is hardly anywhere for them to go without each other. This leaves the audience in a state of ambiguity as they will never see what is beyond the open field.
• Jump Cuts: In a majority of thriller films, the antagonist of the film is often only seen for a few seconds. Each shot is quick with no significant transition. We will use these cuts to hide their identities for later on in the film. In the eyes of the audience, there is conflict between who the antagonist and protagonist is in our film. The switching of roles will be significant to the plot and wanting to play with the theme of identity. There will be a number of jump cuts in our film but both characters are almost always in plain view.
• High and low angle shots: High angle shots are used to make objects seem small. In the beginning of the sequence, Kieran will be seen in a series of high angle shots. The best example of this is when he is actually on the ground to grab the knife he dropped. Low angle shots are used to show power and this will be seen as Kieran and Madalene switch roles and Kieran ends up towering over Madalene as she lays helpless on the ground.

After watching a variety of thriller films there were many different techniques Brooke and I have been inspired by. I particularly enjoyed the opening sequence of the film ‘Gone Girl’. There was an effect overlay that covered the entire movie. It was faded and pale, it created a very cold atmosphere. The flashback sequence will have an overlay that is similar. In many films, there is an altering of colour in post-production that changes the atmosphere of the film. After watching clips of the Psychological Thriller ‘The Machinist’, I noticed that the characters were often dressed very plainly. This is why our characters are to have  plain costumes. No prints or patterns. Instead, they will wear plain grey and black. But never white. This is because in many thriller films, white was symbolic of purity which neither character are.

Another thriller film we’ve been influenced by is ‘Vertigo’. Something Brooke and I liked from this film, was the open setting. There is at one point an open field that Scottie and Madeline meet in before she runs into the church. The female character had direction and the male followed her. The reason Scottie seems to be going insane is because of the way he has been treated by Madeline. We intend to bring this into our film. The woman’s actions taking a toll on our male character.

Ideology: The main message of our film is that abusive relationships are not necessarily men taking charge. Today, when the idea of an abusive relationship is presented many will immediately jump to the conclusion it is the male figure at fault. In our film, we want to show audiences that this is not always the case and though it may result in the male becoming physically violent, emotional abuse is just as bad as physical. Our audiences are put into a conflicting position. Who is really at fault? Though Madalene seems to pay no attention to Kieran unless he is doing something that causes her to be put out of place, Madalene ends up being the one in grave danger. Her emotional abuse toward her boyfriend may well be the reason he snapped and became someone new. At first, the audience will want to align with Kieran because he is the one being looked down on. However, they may change who they side with when Kieran’s abusive side is shown. Seeing as this is only the first 2 minutes of the film, the audience cannot strongly align with either character as their true colours are revealed - Kieran’s just comes a little after Madelene’s.

Mood and Tone: Throughout our film we want our audience to feel uncertain about the results. It is slow in the beginning, to set an atmosphere of homeliness. We want there to be a certain sense of domesticated life. Madalene and Kieran are obviously living together however the tension in the kitchen area will be obvious. Tension is necessary to produce a film that leaves an audience on edge and at times, make them cringe. I believe by having no music in the beginning will create a few awkward silences that show how closed off from each other the couple is. The only time the silence will be broken is when Madalene either yells at Kieran or when Kieran seems to mess up. This changes toward the end of this scene as Kieran raises his voice at Madelene. This is where there will be a shift in atmosphere, Kieran’s dominant side is about to be seen and music begins showing what could be a 180 degree change in Kieran’s character.

Themes and Motifs: One of the major themes we are going for is identity. Madalene’s identity stays consistent however, her dominance is tested with the identity switching of Kieran. Our male lead, Kieran is your typical anti-masculine alpha male. As Hollywood actress Michelle Rodriguez puts it, the masculine alpha male is a dying trend. Kieran is an example of this. “Hello geek.” Says Rodriguez. His identity in some way lies in the glasses he wears. Glasses often represent intelligence and geeks. We will have him remove his glasses and this will be a tipping point for Kieran. His expression and demeanor will change and rather than run to help his girlfriend, he will lurch forward to hurt her.

Another theme we want to portray is relationships. Far from a romance movie, incorporating the romance aspect of film into our project, we want to show how abusive relationships can be. Madalene being emotionally abusive toward her boyfriend isn’t very common. It is often seen that the male is highly dominated over his partner but Madalene’s hoarding of insults toward Kieran shows differently. This broken convention seems to fall slowly back into place as the film progresses, the emotional abuse that Kieran receives is then taken and turned into physical abuse by him toward her.

One motif that we want to use is the colour red. Only subtly though. To us, the colour red represents love, seductiveness and danger. The theorist Laura Mulvey speaks about the male gaze and how women are always presented in a sexual manner. We do not want to do this with Madalene because we don’t believe it will add anything to the film but we do want to take the male gaze into consideration by having having the gaze always aligning to the female character. The colour red is a perfect way to ensure she is noticed. Her red scarf and red nail polish will be used to subtly show that Madalene is seductive and dangerous. There will also be irony as the only danger involving Madalene is the danger she creates for herself by pushing her boyfriend to the edge.

Mise-en-scene/setting: In the kitchen shots, Alexis and I focused on every small detail of the scene. As we were filming in our second location (our school house) we had to take out things to make it look more homely. For example, school certificated and a child's medical report were not apart of the background we wanted for our shots. We analysed each shot to make sure it was exactly how we wanted it -within reason- and made sure each object in the shot suited the shot and helped build it. Outside, we again made sure the setting and the objects and positioning inside the frame made sense to the scene and each object has a specific place. For example, the large rubbish bin and children's playground were excluded from the shot, as these aren't seen in your everyday couple's home.

Symbolism: One of the most important symbols in our film will be the knife. Recognised in thriller films as a weapon and sign of danger, the knife will show how Kieran will eventually become someone the audience and Madalene should be scared of. Though he begins using it because he is doing something domestic like chopping vegetables, the role reversal of the male cooking is important and Madalene’s assertive control that is shown by her voice will prove to be no match for Kieran. The fact that he is in control of the knife foreshadows its importance in the future of the film.

Another symbol that is going to hold a great significance are the glasses that Kieran wears. Through the early part of the sequence, Kieran is wearing glasses. This will be to tie in with the idea of him being the weakest link. He can’t see without his glasses but the world would be an entirely new place if he has no glasses on. Eventually, Kieran will pull his glasses off and what looks like his true self is revealed. His expression changes and he becomes much darker. Then the sequence shows what looks like him pushing Madalene over but.. The audience won’t be entirely sure yet.

Sound and Music: In the early part of the sequence, there will be a lot of diegetic sound. The most significant will be the sound of Kieran cutting. The cutting noise is going to be what upsets Madalene and leads to her going off at him. This will create a chain of events that flip Madalene and Kieran’s lives upside down. The main source of sound in the early part of the film is going to be dialogue between the two characters, a majority of which will belong Madalene. Again, showing that she is the voice of the relationship. Any lines belonging to Kieran will be short and apologetic which changes in the next scene. The middle section of our sequence is to be dominated by non-diegetic voice over belonging to Kieran. This is contrasts with the dialogue he had in the first scene. The reason he has dialogue here will be to show the audience that though he is quiet on the outside, on the inside his thoughts are constantly racing as he thinks about all the ways his girlfriend seems to despise. The music we will use is suspense building and will help to create the desired atmosphere of danger and uncertainty. In many thriller films, soundtracks will often start off somber and grow into something much more intense. This is what we plan to do with the music tracks chosen for our film.

Editing: In the post-production phase the shots will be arranged to include a number of jump cuts. The jump cuts are important as they set the pace for the film. There are no major transitions in the first part of the film, the fast paced jump cuts come in the latter third of the sequence. This is the daydream sequence in which we will repeat events that as just happened to get an idea of what really went on. We intend to create a clip where there is a shadow on the wall and while Kieran continues to cut. In the editing phase, we will have to crop and overlay one clip while the other continues to play. The two shots will show a separation of two sides of Kieran, the domestic ‘housewife’ side and his dark side that comes from within. During the dream sequence, I also intend to add a colour overlay to ensure the audience knows the shots are a repeat/flashback of the past. The overlay will more than likely take some colour and clarity away from the film which goes along with Kieran removing his glasses, taking away his clarity and reason.