Character Profile - John

Character Name: John
Actor Name: Sol Goss
Character Type: Antagonist

John is an adolescent who has been caught up in dodgy dealings with an organisation. He is simply the messenger; his only purpose being to deliver the black bag that contains unknown items to an ambiguous young woman that goes by the name of Hanna. The bag that John wears acts an enigma, creating a sense of mystery amongst the audience as the events that take place within the opening revolve around the contents of the bag.

John is the antagonist as the audience follow him through the labyrinth of the deserted car park; therefore the audience are able to begin to engage with the character. John appears confident but is also portrayed as vulnerable due to the inexperience of being in this kind of situation as well as being the youngest out of the three characters. His vulnerability can be shown by the insignificance he poses when compared to the massive structure of the car park, being a claustrophobic location and a generic convention it also creates the impression that the character is going into a place that he may well never come back out of. The body language that John shows could be interpreted to connote that he is street smart and is independent, although his isolation adds to the vulnerability.

When thinking about the character of John we looked at several British Dramas that depicted the lives of youths living in similar locations to that of Anglia Square. We found that the character of 'Sam' from 'KiDULTHOOD' and 'AdULTHOOD' had a similar personality and appearance to John. This is because he does what he can (including crime, which applies directly to John as he is involved in shady dealings) in order to make a name for himself and to get enough money to live comfortably, but in doing so gets himself into trouble and realises that he is way in over his head. The UK TV drama Top Boy was also another link for John, as each of the characters are dressed similarly to John. Some of the characters also end up in trouble with higher up organisations/gangs and have to fight their way out of trouble, this could be linked with the trouble that John ends up in with the larger powers of Bill and whoever Hanna is linked to.

'Sam' from "KiDULTHOOD" and "AdULTHOOD", shown wearing a hoody, similar to that of John.

"Top Boy"

'Top Boy"

Transit - Possible Soundtracks (to be added to)

Possible Soundtracks

This song is Angel by Massive Attack and is already one of our intertextual references because of the location in which the video is shot. This particular track has been used in several thriller films and TV series because of its deep dark undertones. For example, in the film 'Snatch' the soundtrack is used alongside the image of a burning caravan, containing a mother of one of the characters.  The video takes place in a sinister, grimy looking car park that is quite similar to Anglia Square, the lighting also helps to create suspense as there are a lot of shadows. The track itself contains some very deep bass, this helps to create a dark mood that is important to some thrillers. I liked the sinister tones of the track and so I tried to find songs/sounds that used similar instruments and conveyed the same kind of dark mood by slowly building up the volume and tension.



The song helps to convey some of the emotion during this scene and shows the dark mood associated with the events happening and also the possibility of a reaction from Mickey.

3 Possible Soundtracks (one will be used for the final production)

http://www.audionetwork.com/production-music/dangerous-knowledge_36824.aspx - Titled: Dangerous Knowledge 3

http://www.audionetwork.com/production-music/crisis-matter_58005.aspx - Titled: Crisis Matter 2

http://www.audionetwork.com/production-music/for-whom-the-bell-tolls_57088.aspx - Titled: For Whom the Bell Tolls 3

Transit - Mood board (to be added to)

Type of Thriller

What Type of Thriller is our Film?

I would say that because of the events that occur in our opening it would be fair to say that the film crosses over two sub-genres, these being crime thriller and psychological thriller. 

The film fits the crime thriller genre because of the fixation around the crime that is committed (murder) and also the shady meet up that revolves around the contents of the bag. As crime thrillers often focus on the villains instead of the police, it seems relevant as we focus on the killer (Bill) and also the two characters meeting up over the contents of the bag (John and Hanna). The claustrophobic city location is also reminiscent of crime thriller locations such as the city in 'The Killing' and 'Se7en'.

Copenhagen, the city used for 'The Killing'

The film also slightly crosses over into the psychological thriller genre because of the character Bill. He has a fixation with the bag that John carries and will not stop at anything to retrieve it, this sort of mental/emotional aspect does fit with the genre. The way Bill pray's on the other characters could be linked with others like Travis Bickle from 'Taxi Driver' and David from 'Shallow Grave'. Much like Travis Bickle, Bill also relies a lot on his vehicle.

Travis Bickle from 'Taxi Driver', a mentally unstable character that could be linked to Bill.

David from 'Shallow Grave'

Thriller Film - Plot Synopsis

Thriller Film Title - Transit

Plot - John is making his way into the multi-story car park with a bag on his back. He intends to meet with Hanna to hand over the contents of the bag, but unknown to both of them John is followed in by a suspicious van driver (Bill). Bill has a captivation with what’s inside the bag and will do anything to retrieve it, causing things to go awry for John. As John nears the meeting point things seem to be not as expected.

Thriller Film Opening - Shot List

Shot list:

- High angle shot of Jon walking up the stairs with the rucksack.

- Close-up/ Tracking shot of a leaf falling down and landing on the windscreen of the white van.

- Shot from within the van, camera focused on the leaf and windscreen, shift in focus to Jon at the top of the stairs walking around to the right.

- Extreme close-up of Bill's eyes (angry or emotionless expression), diegetic sound of the van starting up.

- Mid-tilt of Jon entering the car park stairwell.

- Tracking shot of the van going round the corner.

- Long shot through broken window of the van going into the car park (test shot on previous post).

- High-angle of Jon walking up stairs.

- Mid-shot of the third person checking their watch, Match on Action close up of the watch (Maybe pan to white van in the background).

- Close-up of Jon's feet as he turns the stairwell.

- Low angle/ Tilt of Jon walking up the final set of stairs.

- Mid-shot to Close-up of Jon walking through the door.

- Point of view, Jon looking around (Spots van, shot holds for a second).

- Long shot of Jon looking around.

- Over the Shoulder/ Tracking of Jon walking up to the van with one door open, gets to the van see's third persons watch on the floor.

- Close-up of the watch getting picked up by Jon, has a smashed clock face.

- Close-up of Jon's worried face.

- Mid-shot/Tracking shot of Jon running towards stairwell doors and throwing them open, camera movement shaking to symbolize running/ add to the action. 

- Mid-shot from other side of the doors of Jon busting through and getting to the lift.

- Extreme close-up of Jon's finger repeatedly pressing the down button.

- Medium close-up of Jon impatiently waiting for lift.

- Point of view shot of lift doors opening, third person slumped dead on the lift floor with a business card placed on her.

- Worms-eye shot from third person's perspective of Jon walking in an crouching down in front of her.

- Close-up on the business card whilst Jon picks it up.

- Diegetic sound of lift doors closing, shot from the back of the lift of Jon turning around.

- Just before the lift doors close, close-up of a foot stopping the door from shutting.

Upon arriving at Anglia Square car park to practice some filming it was apparent that it had been closed. This meant we had to look around other locations to see if they would have the same effect and opportunities. We are communicating with the manager of the car park in order to see if it is possible to still use the car park, but if this is not the case then the shot list may be subject to change.

Case Study - Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (Opening Scene)

Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Release Date: 2003
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Genre: Thriller, action, crime
Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine and Daryl Hannah

Plot: The lead character, known as 'The Bride' was part of an assassination squad, lead by 'Bill' who is also consequently her lover. Upon realising that she is pregnant, 'The Bride' tries to free herself from her life of killing and finds a new lover who she intends to marry. On her wedding rehearsal 'Bill' arrives and guns down 'The Bride' due to his jealousy and anger. 'The Bride' awakens four years later to the fact that her baby is gone and she sets out to get revenge on 'Bill' and his assassination squad.

The group that rated Kill Bill Vol. 1 highest was males under 18/aged under 18, this could be because of the frequent stylised violence that could appeal to the teenage audience. Kill Bill Vol. 1 could also be considered to belong to the action genre, therefore this could appeal to adolescents as this is the target audience for most action films. Another group that rated the film highly were females aged 18-29, this is most likely due to the role of The Bride, played by Uma Thurman. This character is a strong woman and goes against the usual misogynist representation of women within film and in particular the action/thriller genres.



Kill Bill Vol. 1 - Opening Scene Analysis