As for production companies, there are a few other dramatic thrillers that I would like to mention as well as their production companies. The 2014 dramatic thriller “Gone Girl”, directed by Karyn Kusama, was produced by the 20th Century Studios company. Another dramatic thriller, “Nightcrawler”, also released in 2014 and directed by Dan Gilroy, was produced by Bold Films. One last dramatic thriller, “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”, released in 2009 and directed by Niels Arden Oplev, was produced by Yellow Bird. One of the most popular companies I found through research was the 20th Century Studios production company. For the movie, “The Call”, that I did my case study on, they were produced by WWE Studios. Because my partner and I have so much inspiration from this film, WWE would be our ideal choice in producing “The Vanished”.
For our film, we plan to produce with a larger studio just because they are more well-known. If I had to choose between two movies that had different production companies, I would personally choose the one which is more well-known due to the fact that I know how the movies are made and the overall quality content of them. If we have a larger production company, our audience will most likely want to watch our film knowing that it has been produced by a popular production company. As for convincing WWE Studios that our film is worth financing, we would write them a thorough letter explaining in great detail on what our film is about, what we plan on doing with our film, and have the ability to provide positive feedback from our film in order to impress this company. By doing so, hard work and time will have to really be put into this project in order to receive desired results.
This is the logo of WWE Studios which is the production company we would choose
I decided to create my case study on the 2013 crime/thriller “The Call”, directed by Brad Anderson. This film falls along the lines of “The Vanished” due to the fact that they both have to do with a child/teenager being kidnapped by a middle-aged man. We were inspired by this movie so much that we decided to base our genre and some ideas off of it. This film is about a former 911 operator who chooses to take a life-altering call from a young teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) who had just been abducted. The 911 operator, Jordan, who is played by Halle Berry must confront the kidnapper/killer in order to save this girls life.
History/Intended Audience: This 2013 film does not have a novel that it was based off of so there really is not much history on it. It is pretty much based off of true events of kidnappings that can happen in our world today. The characters were made up, however the events and ideas that took place in this film are things that can actually happen in real life. As for audience, “The Call” is rated R which means it is intended for viewers nineteen and up. This is mainly due to the fact that there are many violent scenes along with strong language throughout the movie.
Production: “The Call” was produced by Bradley Gallo, Jeffrey Graup, Michael A. Helfant, Michael J. Luisi, and Robert Stein. In this process, the initial story was created, which I stated at the top for the summary of the movie. The screenwriting was also created which played out everything that would take place in the film. The characters were also created, along with the selection of actors who fit these roles the best. Sound recordings were made, along with the edits that had to be performed in order to perfect certain events and acting in the movie.
Distribution: This film was distributed by TriStar Pictures. “The Call” was released by this company into theaters on March 15, 2013. This film was given great reviews and was said to be a commercial success, from grossing over $68 million over a budget which was only $13 million.
Marketing: This movie was promoted on T.V. with commercials, persuading other people to come see it in theaters. Movie posters were also made to help the film get more popular and get out to the world. Theaters also advertised the cover of this film so when people went to see other movies in the cinema, they would hopefully see this film cover and want to watch it. Their estimated domestic DVD sales came out to be $10,921,604. The estimated domestic Blu-ray sales came out to be $3,855,998. Both of these amounts added up to a whopping number of $14,777,602.
Cross-Media Convergence & Synergy: “The Call” does not seem to have any cross-media convergence and synergy. However this is a great tactic filmmakers can use because better technology can be more useful in which the films quality will be higher. Synergy is also a great tactic because more profit would be able to be made.
Mission Statement: Our goal for this movie is to relay back to the audience to always pay attention to their surroundings as well as parents having their full attention on their kids. We want our audience to be attracted to this film and keep their attention so that can can fully grasp this message. Jackie and I plan to create this movie to show what can take place in our world today and how dangerous it can be. We hope that after our audience watches this movie, the will be more knowledgeable about child abduction that actually happens around the world.
Financing: Many dramatic thrillers have budgeting that ranges anywhere from $16 million to about $64 million. For example, the 2016 dramatic thriller “Arrival”, directed by Denis Villeneuve, had a worldwide total gross of $203.4 million against their production budget which was $47 million. The dramatic thriller “A Simple Favor”, directed by Paul Feig, had a worldwide gross of $97.6 million against the budget which was $20 million. It was evident through extensive research that almost all of these dramatic thrillers made more money than what they were actually worth from the start. The money that these films make mainly come from ticket sales in cinemas, streaming websites, or possibly video games that are made based on the movie. This allows them to make a bunch of money from producing their film. Most dramatic thrillers also have an older audience ranging from 18 and up mainly due to the fact that the films contain disturbing characters with some sort of psychological illness. There also is a lot of violence throughout these movies so it probably would not be suitable for the younger crowd. Therefore, most of the money the filmmakers collect from the film will mainly be coming from viewers 18 years old and up.
This is our screenplay for the opening sequence of our movie “The Vanished”. Jackie and I made each part of our script descriptive so the actors will know exactly what to do what what is going on. In most screenplays in dramatic thrillers, such as the 1959 thriller “Psycho”, there is a lot of descriptiveness in the scripts which makes it seem like you are reading a book because it is so specific.
‘The Sixth Sense’ is a 1999 dramatic thriller directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Film Analysis: In this 1999 dramatic thriller, a young boy, Cole Sear is haunted by an evil secret; he is dropped in on my ghosts. Cole is terrified by these multiple visits from dead people who supposedly have unsolved problems. He is too scared to tell anyone about his distress except his child psychologist, Dr. Malcom Crowe. Crowe tries hard to be able to understand the ‘supernatural abilities’ Cole has and tries his best to uncover these unknown secrets. Trouble awaits as Dr. Malcom Crowe follows this experience Cole is going through.
In this scene from ‘The Sixth Sense’, the main character, Cole, is talking with his therapist Dr. Malcom Crowe. The setting/location is in a room most likely at the center where Crowe works. Cole is laying in the bed listening to Dr. Malcom talk about someone. Their tone of voice establishes a sad mood. The two characters have normal clothing on, so this shows the audience that they are like normal everyday people. Coles tone of voice and sad look on his face shows how he is scared and is seeking for help from this doctor. Viewers can see how Cole is seeking for help and this establishes his role as this character who is worried about his supernatural ability to see ghosts or “dead people”.
This clip from the scene that was attached shows Cole and the sadness/worry is his face. His eyes look like they have tears in them which shows us that he is scared. This is his mood pretty much throughout the whole movie due to him seeing dead people all of the time. The distress in his face displays how he is feeling while Dr. Malcom Crowe is telling him a story about someone. Because Cole is so young, his facial expression also shows the audience how he is taking in the story that Crowe is telling him.
‘Black Swan’ is a 2010 dramatic thriller, directed by Darren Aronofsky
Film Analysis: This 2010 dramatic thriller is about a woman named Nina who is a ballerina. Her life pretty much consists of dance. The dance companies artistic director chooses to replace his head ballerina with Nina for the opening production of ‘Swan Lake’. However, there is a new ballerina who comes in, Lily, who becomes competition for Nina. Nina is perfect for the white swan role while Lily becomes to represent the role of the black swan. Competition between the two dancers becomes to take place along with a warped friendship. The dark side of Nina begins to make an appearance.
In the opening scene of this film, it introduces the main character who we know as Nina. It establishes the setting which is on a stage in a dance building. Her costume which is a white dress and pointe shoes shows us that she has to be a ballerina. The music that is playing is extremely intense which creates a serious and deep tone. The surroundings of Nina are black with the spotlight shining right on her. The white dress she is wearing seems to symbolize purity and youth and makes her really stand out in the darkness surrounding. The man who emerges while Nina is dancing on the stage is dressed in a black costume and begins to dance with her. His costume seems to represent death or terror which makes the audience wonder what is going to happen next. The change in costume for both characters creates a mysterious effect which grabs the audiences attention.
This clip from the opening scene is an example of what was explained above. Nina’s white costume appears to stand out from the darkness around her. The spotlight draws attention to just her. As the guy with the black costume emerges, he is visible but he still blends in with the black around them. Attention is still drawn on Nina who is the main character and focal point.
After extensive research on gender differences and stereotypes demonstrated in dramatic thrillers there was quite a bit of information that I found interesting. Most dramatic thrillers have a female as the main character who is generally weak and not as in power. The criminal or villain is usually a man who is more in power and stronger than pretty much everyone in the movie. This is how they are able to commit crimes with ease. Other movies also portray racial differences usually between the blacks and whites which is pretty evident.
‘Get Out’ is a 2017 mystery/thriller film directed by Jordan Peele
Film Analysis: The film ‘Get Out’ is a 2017 thriller that is about a black man who goes with his white girlfriend to meet her family in suburbia for the weekend. The movie shows how Chris picks up on the strange behavior this family is demonstrating. The parents of the girlfriend, Rose, are a little uneasy about her interracial relationship. Things start to get out of hand as the weekend goes on and disturbing events are taking place in the family.
In the film, the social group difference is really portrayed and obvious. The black character, Chris, is dating a white woman, Rose, who invites his to visit her family in suburbia. The film goes on to show how Chris sees this white family in his eyes and the strange things they are doing. The audience gets Chris’s point of view of his terror by the white society. The parents of Rose are also hesitant about the interracial relationship their daughter has which really represents the racism throughout the film. However, because Chris is revealed as the protagonist in the film, the audience gets used to him which creates the empathy we grow for him. In further research, I found how Peele signifies what black men have to do in order to survive in a white society.
Moving on to titles, in almost all dramatic thrillers the style of the letters are usually in bold or in some cases splashed with blood or faded out. This helps depict the fact that the movie will be a thriller. Some titles also have the letters looking almost distressed to add that messy look to the cover. The size in fonts of the titles varies for thrillers. However, most of the time the letters are big and bold. This creates that ‘in-your-face’ look or making it seem like the letters are popping out at you. In dramatic thriller films, the titles include the name of the movie, the main or famous actors that star in the film, maybe a little saying that can be catchy or spooky, the director, and the date it was released. As for our title, “The Vanished”, Jackie and I chose this because since the assumption will hopefully be made of the toddler getting abducted, we wanted to use the word “vanished”. Our opening scene never shows the audience Sawyer getting abducted but since she disappears along with the man at the same time, our viewers will then infer that she was taken by him.
This clip is a screenshot I took from the opening sequence of the film ‘A Quiet Place’. The letters in the title are all a light brown and uppercase, giving a larger and more dramatic look. The color brown is known to give a ‘dirty’ appearance which enhances the thrilling vibe. Also, the letters are distressed which again contributes to the spooky aspect. Many movie titles tend to have capitalized or bold letters to really emphasize the title.
The setting in the majority of dramatic thrillers is eerie or mysterious. Most of these types of films take place in woods or rural areas. Police stations are also well-known locations for thrillers to take place at. In ‘The Vanished’, the opening sequence will take place in the Zephyrhills park as well as the parking lot by the park. One thing that I found through researching was how houses are also a common setting in dramatic thrillers because it makes the characters feel safe from the sinister person or thing outside of their house. Danger is what is usually associated with being outside, in the open. The location and setting of these films links in with the tone. If the whereabouts are gloomy and dark, the tone can be defined as dreary or spooky. Thrillers can be shot at anytime, but they are often shot at night. In our opening scene, it will take place in a large park. The unease or creepiness will take place when the kidnapper shows up and is stalking the toddler.
As for audience, the intended viewers would be thirteen and up. The reason for this is because our movie is based off of events that can happen and have happened in real life. We want younger viewers to see what can take place in our world. After watching our movie, we expect our audience to learn the lesson of being aware of their surroundings. This movie is something that anyone could watch, however it would be ideal for the audience who has an interest in dramatic thrillers. For these people to be able to want to watch our film, we will advertise it in fast food restaurants and also in the movie theaters. This is because when people go to eat or see other movies in theaters, they will see our advertisement posters and hopefully be intrigued by them.
In most dramatic thrillers, the opening sequence of the film usually starts off with introducing the main character by showing their everyday lifestyle. For “The Vanished”, the scene will start off with Sawyer and her mother, Grace, going about their day and then the introduction of the problem will take place which is the kidnapping. Therefore, the audience will be left with suspense when the sequence ends. Doing so will most likely make them want to watch the rest of the film.
As for tone, usually the opening sequences of dramatic thrillers introduce the varying moods of the characters by showing their reactions to the certain events that take place. Filmmakers have a way of subtlety establishing the meaning of the film and the tones of the characters without giving away the rest of the movie. They want to establish the main character and have the audience get to know them better before they introduce the main problem that will lead to the chain of events in the film.
‘The Silence of the Lambs’
The Silence of the Lambs is a dramatic thriller, released in 1991 and directed by Jonathan Demme
Film Analysis: ‘The Silence of The Lambs’ takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is about a student from an FBI Academy, Clarice Starling, who is advised to interview a brilliant psychiatrist, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who is also a psychopath who is serving time in jail for cannibalism and numerous acts of murder. Special agent Crawford believes that Lecter knows information about a case and uses Clarice and her vulnerability to draw out details from him.
These clips are from the opening scene of the 1991 dramatic thriller ‘The Silence of the Lambs’. The first two minutes of the film reveals Clarice training in the woods, wearing a hoodie that reads “FBI Academy” as her costume which shows the audience that she is apart of the FBI. Her face looks pretty serious throughout the whole scene while she is running and even after when she is talking to the other FBI agent. Most FBI agents are very serious due to what their job entails so this helps the viewers understand what her personality could possibly be like in the rest of the movie. Just by Clarice and the other FBI agents costuming as well as their serious moods, the meaning is able to be subtlety conveyed without giving too much away in the first couple minutes.
A Quiet Place, a dramatic thriller, directed by John Krasinski
Film Analysis: ‘A Quiet Place’ takes place in Herkimer County, New York where a family is trying to protect themselves from these large man-eating creatures that have pretty much taken over the United States. However, the strange thing is, these creatures cannot see they can only hear. Because of this, it is extremely important to keep quiet and to not make any sort of sound. The film goes on to show how this husband and wife with their children try to survive and hide from these creatures.
These three clips are from the opening scene of the 2018 dramatic thriller ‘A Quiet Place’. The first two minutes of the film introduces the setting and location of where the story will take place. The main family is also shown so the audience can see who the main characters are. In the first screenshot, it is obvious that the family is living in a rural area due to the disasters caused by the creatures and them killing people. In the second shot, it shows the little boy playing with toys in a run-down store. The objects and items scattered all over the floor and the shelves shows the audience that it has been messed with. Lastly, for the third clip the family is walking in the woods which establishes the main setting and location. The costumes the are wearing lets the audience know it has to be pretty cold outside because they all have heavy jackets on.
The Vanished 