Pre-Production - The script

INDIVIDUALITY

DRAFT 1

FADE IN

1.  EXT. FOREST- NIGHT

(The forest is dark and damp, it’s about 10 at night and the light is slowly being drained as the shadows loom and grow covering the small narrow pathway that winds through the forest floor. The forest is thick with no open space for miles you can only assume she is a long way from a road.)

WIDE SHOT to show her running through the forest

Miah (V.O)

My name is Miah Ann Sheer. Everything around me is so silent its strange because inside I’m screaming at the top of my lungs but no one can hear me no one will help me … [BEAT]

CLOSE UP of Fraya’s lifeless face

Frayyyaaaaa… Fraayyyaaa… (Whispered in a low voice)

Miah (V.O)

I can hear him getting closer, I can feel him watching me. I can hardly breathe, I must stop. I’m no longer afraid of him, I know I must face him I know I must face the truth [BEAT]

CLOSE UP as Miah slowly closes her eyes

2.  INT. KITCHEN- DAY- *FLASHBACK*

(There is a large Pantry and a small frightened girl cuddling a teddy bear sat cross legged inside. The pantry door slowly closes and the little girl (Miah) is submerged into darkness)

Miah (V.O)

Four years old … I was four when my sister locked me in there. I was finally found 14 hours later after my mother finally got home from work and followed my muffled cries. It’s funny how something so little can damage you for life, damage a friendship, a connection between two sisters, I can certainly say we were never the same again.

3.  INT. CAFÉ- DAY-*FLASHBACK*

(The café is almost empty apart from a man sat by the window; you never see his face only his figure looking out. Miah takes him his coffee.)

Miah (V.O)

I work part time at the café down the road he’s always there on my shift, the table by the window, he’s almost become a part of the furniture but no one else notices him only me. I’ve never actually seen his eyes, but I know he watches me. This is the last day I worked; he touched my hand gently as I gave him his coffee. The touch of his skin against mine was what I’d always feared, it made him real. I couldn’t move, my feet frozen to the ground by the dead weight of fear.

I closed my eyes as I saw him slowly beginning to turn his head towards me. I didn’t want to see his eyes, I opened mine and he was gone…

VARIOUS SHOTS to show their hands touch and her eyes closing

4.  INT- STUDIO- DAY-*FLASHBACK*

(The studio is a wide open space, one of the walls is covered in long mirrors. Miah and her sister practice their ballet here every night)

CLOSE UP as the music is turned on

VARIOUS SHOTS as they both dance around each other silently showing their feet and body’s twisting and turning but never touching

Miah (V.O)

Ballet is everything to me, my future, and my chance to be free to leave the harshness of the world around me. It’s the one time I can get away from him to stop his steer. Me and Fraya dance here every night, so close together yet so far apart without a single word being said or a reassuring glance towards each other. The silence is normal.

MID SHOT of fraya’s lifeless face and someone’s legs walking slowly up behind her from out of a car

Frayyyaaaa… Fraya I’m sorry.

MEDIUM/ CLOSE UP as Miah stops dancing and looks up crying, Fraya continues to dance around her. (music gets louder and then suddenly stops)

5.  INT. THE HOUSE- NGIHT *FLASHBACK*

VARIOUS SHOTS as Miah carries out her normal evening, takes her ballet shoes off, washing her hair, closing the curtains, looking in the mirror and climbing into bed.

CLOSE UP as she closed her eyes

(The phone rings)

CLOSE UP as her eyes opens quickly

Miah (V.O)

I got the call around 11, your sisters ill, you have to come get her. Yet again Fraya is off partying trying to drown her sorrows of our useless parents showing no interest into our lives by downing alcohol and wishing her life away, the usual.

6.  EXT. THE ROAD- NIGHT *FLASHBACK*

WIDE SHOT as head lights of the car are turned on

Miah (V.O)

I went to find her, I was coming to get you Fraya …

7.  EXT. FOREST- NIGHT

CLOSE UP of her eyes they are fully closed until you hear the scream and then they tears roll down her cheek she never opens her eyes

Miah (V.O)

I could see him, in front of me in the middle of the road. He started to turn his head very slowly I was about to see his eyes, they were deep brown, I was captivated in his steer but then I realised those eyes… they were mine.

CLOSE UP of Miah’s eyes opening

Miah (V.O)

I swerved, BANG, I hit him. But I heard a scream, a girls scream… Fraya’s scream.

8.  EXT. ROAD- NGIHT *FLASHBACK*

(the empty road is near a forest, there is a single car and Miah is slowly climbing out. Fraya is lying lifeless on the floor, Miah walks towards her)

LONG SHOT as Miah climbs out the car and walks slowly towards Fraya

Miah- Fraya? … Fraya? (gasps as she sees her and runs towards her cradling her body)

MID SHOT as Miah cries, cradling her sisters lifeless body

Miah (V.O)

There never was a him, only me. I realise that now, but it’s too late, I’m so sorry Fraya I thought you were him… I thought you were me.

9.  EXT. FOREST. NIGHT *FLASHBACK*

CLOSE UP of her face she smiles

Miah (V.O)

You’re wondering why i’m alone in this forest? … I ran, and I didn’t stop I couldn’t stop, I’m dangerous, there coming to get me, the demons are closing in.

FADE OUT.

Similar Products- Research- Thriller Character Creation (Part B)

Nina Sayers (The Black Swan)- 

Nina's character in the black swan reminds me a lot of my character Miah. Nina's hobbies are doing ballet and her compassion and dedication for her dancing is what drives her crazy. Like Nina, Miah is a ballet dancer who uses her dancing to escape from the outside world and let herself go and be herself. Miah's main emotions are nervous and fragile which is very similar to Nina when she is the white swan, who appears innocent and very vulnerable. However when Nina is the black swan she becomes aggressive, intense and very sexual when she dancers which is completely different to Miah who never gains that sort of attention and her dancing is always perfect which is what Nina always strives to have. It's also questioned that my character Miah is having hallucinations which is causing her to believe she is being followed, which is similar to Nina who is fighting another side to her personality. Nina doesn't have a sister and seems very middle class however Miah is very upper class and has a sister who is closely linked to the main plot of the story.

Moll (Inception)- 

Moll played the wife of a man who travels into the subconscious through peoples dreams. She is dead in the film but subconsciously takes over and entrances him into making him believe she is real. I mainly took how Moll looks to help create my character. She is beautiful yet seems to be effortlessly pretty rather than making a huge effort. Miah is like this in the way of how she wears her hear of her face, flattering her features and making her skin seem almost flawless. Also the way she is desperate for routine, which is key in my character's life. However the difference is shown in their emotions Moll can be incredibly aggressive at points to others where as Miah would never usually hurt a fly.

Maggie Grace ( Taken)- 

Maggie plays the daughter in Taken when she is kidnapped when on holiday with her friend. Maggie appears very vulnerable in the film and through out relies on someone to help save her. Miah is very similar needing someone to rescue her as she is very fragile however their is no one their to help her. Also Maggie plays a girl who is at a very similar age to Miah although their interests are very different and so are their morals. Maggie's are very outgoing and careless where as Miah doesn't go out much or experience much of an 18 year olds usual lifestyle. Miah's dress sense is very similar to Maggies character though very simple and child like. The main difference between the two is that Taken's character has a lot of caring family behind her, hence her dad sets of to save her from the kidnappers. My character Miah doesn't have anyone to talk too.

Similar Products- Research- Thriller Character Creation (Part A)

Miah Sheer

Title- Miss

Full Name- Miah Ann Sheer

D.O.B.- 22nd February

Age- 18

Height- 5ft. 5

Weight- 8st

Shoe size- 5

Hair colour- Blonde

Eye colour- Dark Brown

Ethnicity- White, British

Occupation- A dancer

Sexual Orientation- Heterosexual

Marital Status- Single

Appearance-

She usually dress's well and always puts in a lot of effort in what she wears, often showing skin off appearing confident on the outside. She is effortlessly pretty and doesn't have to take a lot of time on materialistic things like makeup and expensive clothes. She has short blonde hair which is usually seen down apart from when she dances which is placed in a tight bun on top of her head sweeped away from her face showing how simplistic her style is.

Family, Friends and life-

Miah and her sister have mostly brought themselves up. Miah lives with her sister, mum and dad, they are very wealthy and to her parents life is all about money, meaning that there is little time for anything else. When Miah was younger she would spend time with various nanny's but none would stay for long, some would say Miah was possessed by a devil and that she was evil. Miah never has connected to anyone in her family and rarely sees her parents who make little time for her. Miah doesn't have many friends due to her being so uncomfortable and shy. People would describe her as the "Freak". She dances at the studio where she practices her ballet and then goes home before it gets dark. This is routine for Miah she rarely does anything differently.

Relationship with her sister, Fraya Sheer-

Miah and her 16 year old sister, Fraya are not the closest of sisters mainly due to an incident when Miah tried to push Fraya out of a top story window. Miah was only 8 and Fraya 6 but she swears she doesn't remember it and that something bad was trapped inside her. Fraya is said to be the party queen, holding house parties whenever their parents are away which is more than often. Fraya takes time in her appearance doing different styles with her hair, wearing makeup that makes her stand out and clothes that show off every curve. She's bigger than Miah and is frightened of the other side of Miah that comes out sometimes.

Fears-

Miah is petrified of this so called thing inside her and is scared of hurting her sister as the urges she gets sicken her.

Qualities-

Miah's best qualities is her kindness and compassion for dancing. She is also very beautiful but she doesn't know this. Miah's worst qualities would be how shy and nervous she can be, she sometimes appears to be very vulnerable and innocent but other times can appear careless and horrible. She had become very paranoid about the thing inside her who apparently trying to take over her. Miah and her sister have been learning ballet since they were 4 or 5, it’s the one thing Miah can do to escape her world.

Over the last few weeks i have developed a character that is very simplistic yet interesting. I wanted a character that i could develop a dramatic and complox storyline around without over powering the plot. Miah reminds me of 'Nina' in the black swan, i wanted her to appear different from other people yet normal with things that where happening in her life.

My character is built on the judgement that my thriller will be psychological with different opinions on whether Miah is actaully seeing the man at the window or if he is just a fragment of her imagination that is spirling out of control.

Similar Products- Misery Character Biography's

The film 'Misery' was produced in 1990 about a famous novelist (Paul Sheldon) who is rescued by an obsessed fan who keeps him to cure her overwhelming loneliness.

Paul Sheldon


Is a famous novelist of a book about Misery Chastain, however he decides that he wants to branch out more so creates a new manuscript of an unrelated novel. The opening scene shows him finishing this novel in a snowy cabin where he doing an almost ritual with a glass of champagne and a cigarette alone. He places his manuscript into a tattered manuscript and when he leaves here for Colorado he is caught in a blizzard and his car comes of the road and crashes. Paul is rescued by Annie Wilkes who takes him home where he is bedridden as he has broken his legs and has a dislocated shoulder.

As the film goes on we begin to find out what Annie is really like and Paul is shown in a very desperate and helpless state as he is completely incapacitated. The more he learns about Annie the more he wants to escape and get away but his injuries are holding him back so instead he realizes he must manipulate her instead. He does this by showing how grateful he is for saving him and giving her respect that she adores. He knows that Annie is helplessly in love with him and will not do anything to hurt him, until she realized he tried to escape. She breaks his legs so they have to re heal yet again meaning Annie is able to keep him bedridden and 'her's' for longer. He is normally however very good at keeping control of her anger and knowing the right things to say to her to keep her content.

Attributes-

Very patient 

Kind, warm hearted man

Respectful

Normal, middle aged novelist 

Famous

Wears formal clothing (before the crash)

very committed into his work

Morals and Ethics-

Pauls work should be rewarded how he commits his time and dedicates it to him novels shows what sort of man he is. He is very respectful and usually a cheerful man and would never hurt anyone unless he was in danger of them himself. He also enjoys his own company and being alone. He can also tell what makes people happy and therefore can manipulate them.

Annie Wilkes 


Annie is shown as a women in her 40's who lives in a small town in Colorado. She lives in a very isolated part which is often snowed in leaving her stranded and alone. She appears very sweet and genuine, she rescues the protagonist (paul) from a car wreck when he swerves of the road. She is shown 'nursing' him to health and seems determined to make him better. The two of them begin to connect and have a friendly relationship, paul is obviously very grateful for her hospitality and care. From the beginning she makes it known to paul and the audience that she is a huge fan of pauls novels which he has written over the years. She says at one point 'i'm your number one fan!'. As a person Annie dresses neatly and wears a cross round her neck which symbolizes her religious morals. Annie at first seems to have a desire to help people but as Paul begins to get suspicious when she declares that she was following him the day he crashed in the blizzard he begins to get desperate to get out.

Annie ties him to the bed to keep him in her immaculate house. However he escapes from his room that he has been kept in for months and realize's her worrying history. Her husband had died and this explained her desperate loneliness and need to be with someone. But even more worryingly, Paul found an article in a scrap book saying that she used to be a nurse and has killed many newborn babies. She had spent time in prison but with no real evidence was let free.

Annie's desire to keep Paul with her to cure her loneliness becomes incredibly desperate and begins to spiral out of control. From the beginning of simply helping him to the end where she very nearly murders him all so she can keep him to herself. When she read's Paul's novel that he has written she doesn't like the ending, showing how obsessed she is with the main character misery she burns the whole novel and demands he write another one. This shows a completely different, much darker side to her that is scary and very unnerving.

Attributes-

Hopelessly romantic

Incredibly lonely 

a very diverse personality 

Religious shown by the cross she wears

Large, 40 year old

Sometimes seen as joyful and smiley 

Other times is seen as menacing and frowning deeply

Loses her temper quickly with a very short fuse

Morals and ethics-

At the beginning of the film her morals are shown by how much she cares and gives her hospitality and time to Paul when he is injured and in need of help. This was obvious for her intention, however one thing that becomes very relevant is how lonely she is. This is shown by her isolated immaculate house and her neat yet dull clothes. With nothing left in her life due to her husband dying she wants to become someone else, to escape from her world. That's when she pick's Misery from pauls novels who is in a romantic relationship. This is were her desire for Paul comes in. I don't believe she wanted or expected it to get so out of control, however, she never truly thought it out due to her not having much in her life left to care about, which then leads to her caring for paul to get him back to health.
She also demands respect from paul, Paul plays on this to prolong his murder and keep her wanting him alive, so that he can plan an escape and get away from her.

Similar Products- Protagonist VS Antagonist

Protagonist and Antagonist help make up the complex story line that thriller films have. They are the basis for any character which are then built on to create unique yet conventional characters. Protagonist characters are always the main characters in a film. They have some traits that are usually always used such as brave, intelligent, daring and ambitious. The plot will be made around this character, and they are who the audience should most identify with. Protagonist's are often shown as normal people in very realistic life setting's for example the film the unborn where Casey is shown as an average teenager, she has a boyfriend, good friends and a part time job nothing seems out of the ordinary. The Unborn is about Casey Beldon who begins to suffer from horrendous hallucinations, she realizes that she is being haunted by the soul of her dead twin brother jumby. He wants to use her death as a way of entering the living world. It's common that something has happened to protagonist characters in the past either a troubled incident or something that is hidden and they do not yet no about. You usually get to know a lot about the protagonist characters life and the details that have happened to them. We find out that Casey's mother had committed suicide after becoming insane from the constant haunting of her son who wanted revenge. 

She is shown as brave yet frightened at some times however this helps the audience to identify to her as a character. She smashes mirrors to prevent herself from seeing him and instead of asking for help and putting others in danger she decides to try and put an end to it herself making her appear the 'hero'. Its also conventional for a protagonist to be a leader of some sort. This could be of a large group or maybe just of one individual they tend to take charge in order for the situation not to get out of control or out of hand. Casey does this by taking charge of the exorcism and preventing the ghost from killing her. Also its very common for their to be a lot of people focusing on helping the Protagonist as shown in the exorcism scene the focus point is always on the protagonist.

An antagonist is generally a group or an individual who is against or causing obstacles for the protagonist character. One obsticle created in the unborn film was when Casey tries to seek help a man in a wheel chair twists his body into a pose and runs after her trying to kill her. They can also be known as the rival or competitor. They don't Nesselrode have to be an actual person they can be an object or even a ghost as shown in unborn. Jumby the unborn twin is haunting Casey and he seeks revenge on his family. He has already taken his mother's life by sending her insane to the brink that she ended up killing herself. Its common for antagonists to do everything in their power to prevent a goal or something from happening which in tern prevent the other character from moving forward and succeeding. Sometimes the protagonist is manipulated so much that they begin to become the antagonist, and pick up some of their traits however this is quickly recovered and they become the heroic main character once again. However most of the time the distinction between the two is clearly seen this is often used by mise en scene. The protagonist will often be situated in a much nicer environment than the antagonist such as the film box, the main characters are a couple the women played by Cameron Diaz live in a lovely area full or green and nice grand houses however the antagonist's home is most dark and not very homey. Protagonist and Antagonist always confront each other when they do this in the box the lighting on each of them will be completely different, low key for the antagonist also the antagonist will be more to the right of the camera and the protagonist will have much more variety in camera shots as they are the main character. As shown in the trailer below it becomes clear that the antagonist will always get in the way of something cause huge obstacles for people to try to over come. Such as in the film the box they were a happy family who seemed perfect however as the antagonist introduces the box everything begins to go wrong and gets out of hand.

Also the distinction is shown more clearly through their costumes that they wear, As in the film the box, a psychological thriller which is about a couple who are having financial difficulties when a man turns up with a box. On the box is a button and they are told that if they press the button then they will receive $1,000,000 dollars however someone somewhere will die. This could be anyone either someone they know or a complete stranger, an old person or a baby. The man who delivers it (the antagonist) is dressed in a black suit and black hat and appears to have half his face missing. He is wearing all dark colours which in contrast to the couple who wear colourful and very realistic, everyday clothes which illustrates that they are the protagonists and allows the audience to relate to them much easier by how they dress and appear to be as individuals.

Similar Products- Character Analysis 1

Nina- Black Swan

Black Swan is a psychological thriller based in New york. Nina Sayers, played by Natalie Portman is a ballet dancer who strives for perfection and will push herself to the extreme to achieve this. To reach the level of flawlessness she seeks so much comes a great deal of sacrifice. Her greatest desire is to play swan queen and she realizes she must transform herself from an innocent girl into a sensual women. At the beginning of the film she is shown to be very obedient, never goes against the rules and is incredibly innocent. She is often referred to as the 'good girl' by her mother, she works hard but rarely achieves anything. She allows people to push her around and will take a great deal of unfair criticism without a single word. You feel how unhappy she is and how she appears to be helpless and childlike especially when she comes home to her mother where she is treated as if she is a baby who is fragile and unready for the harsh reality of the outside world. As the white swan Nina's morals are clear with strict boundaries on anything to do with lust and desire. She has never been with a man before and she has no intention to do so until she begins to transform herself and allow the darker side to her mind out.

When Nina is awarded the part of the swan queen she is still unable to channel the part of the Black swan out of her. Thomas tells her she needs to lose the sense of perfection and must learn to 'lose herself'. Its these moments with Thomas that Nina realizes the darker side to her nature, she realizes she is no longer a little girl like her mother tells her but she is a women with her own sensual desires and needs. They make it appear that the black swan has been locked up inside Nina all along and as her passion and lust begins to appear she begins to lose herself and her morals are clouded. She no longer has boundaries in her life as shown when Nina decides she wants to break away from her mother, but as her mum tries to protect her. Nina becomes angry and aggressive fighting her mother and acting like a completely different person. That night Nina tries ecstasy influencing the darker side of her to emerge, she fantasies and appears older to the audience. It sometimes appears as if she is fighting a double personality as she has scratches on her back that she has done herself yet she is completely unaware she does it. She is often seen as emotionally unstable and constantly fighting herself in order to get perfection. As the black swan she is bad and misbehaving, she now takes risks and doesn't mind what the consequences will be. Nina suffers from hallucinations of herself transforming into the black swan one is when her knee's break and her eyes turn red showing how violent the changes in her life are effecting her. As the audience we can constantly questioning Nina's sanity, from a girl to a women or from good to evil.

Similar Products- Silence Of The Lambs Analysis

A thriller has 3 main elements that create the genre, tension, suspense and excitement. Along with these the conventions hold an heightened level of anticipation and uncertainty. So does Silence of the lambs follow these general conventions?
The film falls into a psychological thriller which includes themes such as mind games however it is a hybrid genre as it also has elements of crime throughout the film. Silence of the lambs is about an FBI cadet who is sent to observe and find out information from a highly dangerous and manipulative killer. He has an incredible ability to get into peoples heads and thoughts unraveling their life's even if he has only met them once. Clarice uses his skills to find out where a serial killer is who skins his victims is hiding. It's a race against time which matches the thrillers main elements.

Silence of the lambs has a very complex story line one way it does this is doesn't clearly explain everything to the audience which means they have to concentrate and figure it out for themselves. It never clearly explains who the real villain is in the film, they are hunting Buffalo Bill however Hannibal Lecter is shown as a monster and his deviance and emotionless approach to life makes him appear more dangerous but he is helping them solve an important case which will save a young girls life. These mixed emotions portrayed to the audience, of is he good or bad, is also shown by the complex relationship him and Clarice have. They have an agreement that if he helps he will be allowed to live in a better environment, however Clarice and him at times seem almost friendly and understanding of each other. Also is not conventional for the main villain to not be a main character in the film, Buffalo Bill is only shown twice. Clarice is the main character, its very uncommon to have a hero as a women. She is brave and enjoys her job and completely committed to it however when Hannibal Lecter gets into her mind and talks about her fathers death it shows the audience a different side to her and how she opens up the Hannibal shows her weaker side.

The story is fiction however they have gone with a very realistic approach when shooting the film, which is shown by the lighting. Normally in a thriller genre they will have very low key lighting which adds to the suspense and the mood of what is happening in the scene. It follows the genre of thriller in the area's that they have shot for different scenes for example. When shooting the scenes in the prison its shown with high security with vicious and disturbed prisoners which heightens the anticipation of what Hannibal Lecter is saying to Clarice.The end scene is also shown in a dark basement which is set out into a mase of rooms with very little light. 

The film does lack suspense sometimes as it is constantly moving however they have continued to add a sense of what will happen next by not uncovering the whole story line. This keeps the audience engaged and interested in the film. Theirs no action or stunts that have been added to the film however this is not needed as the films pace is kept up dues to how the story has been constructed and the lack of romance has been masked by the complex relationships between the characters. The eerie music that is played throughout is very convention it matches what is happening in the scene and makes it very mysterious and makes the situation seem much more dangerous such as when Clarice is on her own in the basement. When Clarice shoots Buffalo Bill is shows how heroic and brave she is and the sudden change from her being completely alone and helpless in the dark to her being fully in control and killing him represents that a women can be just as good a main character then men.

The psychological issues in this film relate perfectly to the thriller conventions as well as the troubled protagonist characters. There aren't always moments of shock however when the lights are turned of and Clarice is left alone with Buffalo Bill we automatically feel the tension and suspense, or when she gets closer than she should do to Hannibal Lecter's cell adds an element of the thriller genre.
Although Silence of the lambs does break some major conventions of the genre and creates some new one's too its still a great example of an iconic psychological thriller.