Thriller Opening Storyboard

This is my groups storyboard for our thriller opening called She's Back...

The storyline is set out which we will follow when it comes to filming the project and in post-production. 

Thriller Opening Ideas

This is my groups initial ideas for the opening of our Thriller film, ideas may change or develop but this is our main outline for the story we are trying to portray. 

Audience Theories

Uses and Gratification Theory - Blumler and Katz

This theory focuses on the reasons why people use to media as opposed to what affect the media has on people and how to have an impact on what people believe is socially acceptable. The uses and gratification theory decides to concentrate on what people do with the media and the reason why they use it, there are different aspects that the uses and gratifications theory identify as reasons for people to use the media.

Diversion: To escape from everyday life and enjoy the stories that are happening in the media, simply for enjoyment and relaxation.

Social Interaction: The public use the media to gain an insight to circumstances of others, help with carrying out social roles, it can identify with characters and gain a sense of belonging.

Personal Identity: Makes it so individuals are able to create their own identity from characters and can learn different behaviours and values. It can also reinforce own personal values which an individual may have forgot.

Surveillance: To seek/gain new knowledge and information. To find out about relevant events and conditions in their surroundings and society but also around the world. It can be used to satisfy curiosity and general interest.


Hypodermic Needle Theory

The hypodermic needle theory implies that the media can have a direct, immediate and powerful on the mass audience. The theory suggests that the mass media could influence a very large group of people directly and unofficially by  injecting them with appropriate messages designed to trigger a desired reaction.

The hypodermic needle theory suggest that it can put thoughts and ideas into an individual's head and encourage them to do what is not socially acceptable and will play along with these beliefs which can make them commit crimes and become a negative member of society.

Images of violence and deviance will be 'injected' into an audiences brain and through consistent promotion, it can have an influential effect on a large amount of individual who begin to believe that these acts were becoming the social norm and began to replicate the acts and practice them in society. This can result in people committing crimes and ending up in jail.

Media theorists have classified the "War of the Worlds" broadcast as the archetypal example of the Magic Bullet Theory. This is exactly how the theory worked, by injecting the message directly into the "bloodstream" of the public, attempting to create a uniform thinking. The effects of the broadcast suggested that the media could manipulate a passive and gullible public, leading theorists to believe this was one of the primary ways media authors shaped audience perception.

The cultivation theory can also link with the hypodermic needle theory as it also promotes that the media can have a powerful effect on an individual and over a long period of time it can change a persons perception of reality.


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These theories can link to our Thriller Opening because if we decide to include violent acts within our scenes then this can promote violence and can make the audience believe that committing crimes and being violent is a good thing for society and change their perception of the social norms.

British Board of Film Classification

"The British Board of Film Classification is an independent, non-government body which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912 and videos/DVD's since the Video Recordings Act was passed in 1984." - http://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-bbfc

To ensure that children are protected from inappropriate content within films and to give information regarding the content of a film, the BBFC examines the film and gives it an rating as to which age range is appropriate to view a particular type of film. This is to ensure the highest possible rate of protection to film viewers.

In the opening of our Thriller, we are aiming to reach the target audience of 15 year olds+ , therefore no-one under the age of 15 is allowed to view the film as its content may be inappropriate.

Any of the following are what you may view in a 15 rated film:

- strong violence
- frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***').
-  portrayals of sexual activity
-  strong verbal references to sex
-  sexual nudity
-  brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
-  discriminatory language or behaviour
-  drug taking


In our Thriller opening, there will be a scene of death and the hypodermic syringe model would argue that if younger people watch it will develop the idea that murder is normal and it puts ideas into their head. Also, the cultivation theory would argue that over time, the idea of murder is a norm and it becomes socially acceptable.

Editing - Kuleshov Effect

Kuleshov experimented with different pieces of footage which he cut up to see how it would achieve a different reaction from the audience depending on how the footage was edited and the sequence it was put in. It was used to see how the audience would react to the reaction of the male in the film that was shown to them and if the audience believed that the males expression had changed each time he was shown something different, when in a matter of fact, the same footage of the males expression was shown each time. This shows how powerful this technique is to influence the minds of the audience.
Political film makers used this technique for Propaganda purposes, to give a powerful influence on the public so it puts them at a higher advantage in the general election.





This can be an important aspect to be included in our Thriller Opening as we know how to use a cut away properly to cause an effect on the audience.

Representation of Disability

In film and television, you see many different types of characters that suffer from a disability and they can play a range of different roles, however only 2.5% of people that we see on our televisions are disabled. Disability is one of the least shown issues regarding television diversity next to things such as the role of women and age differences. In contrast, all three categories are still very under-represented. There is many differences when it comes to representing disability. For example, during the great war, newsreels were recorded of the rehabilitation of visually impaired and physically disabled servicemen on the front line that have been presented on the big screen.

 However, on the opposite hand, cinema's and film makers have failed to engage with genuine and experiences of individuals with such disabilities. Nevertheless, disability has provided us with the knowledge to positively develop our language and social attitudes towards disability. Many film and television programmes present disability in various different ways, under several stereotypes. They represent disabled individuals as pathetic or pitiable, sinister or evil, a burden, the super cripple, an object of curiosity or violence, an atmosphere, non-sexual, laughable, his or hers own worst enemy and unable to participate in daily life. These stereotypes come from a study, Paul Hunt conducted in 1991. The first disabled character was portrayed by a disabled actor on British television for the first time in 1992, in a BBC Soap. Amputee Donald Gray gained his successful acting career in the 1950's. In the 21st century, TV drama has made room for bold portraits of disabilities as diverse as motor neuron disease, obsessive-compulsive disorder and multiple personality conditions. But with most parts still played by able-bodied actors, disabled actors and film-makers continue to fight to tell their own stories.

 Unlimited features work made for and by people with disabilities to ensure that diversity is maintained throughout the film and television industry. For example, young actor Grace plays Janet Mitchell in EastEnders as Billy and Honey Mitchell daughter and she has down's syndrome. Janet's character is represented and causes different emotions between her parents. Honey cannot come to terms with her condition and finds it very difficult to cope with her down's syndrome making her as a stereotypical 'burden' to her mother. However, Billy loves his daughter and wants to care for her and is also very protective over her due to her condition. This destroys the stereotype of an individual suffering with a disability.

     - Janet Mitchell

Textual Analysis of 'Se7en'

This is my textual analysis of the opening to 'Se7en'.
I initially wanted to use a Prezi presentation to document my ideas but due to having issues using the Prezi software, I had to use PowerPoint again to note down my ideas.