Research - Common Challenges to Consider

    One of the biggest challenges I faced during planning was coming up with an idea that was both
original and realistic to film. At first, I had ideas that were too complicated or required locations
and effects that I realized I would not be able to achieve. My group also, had really high expectations for this assignment which was hard to manage. 

I had to simplify my idea while still keeping it interesting. This actually helped improve my concept because psychological thrillers don’t need big effects—they rely more on atmosphere and storytelling.

Another challenge was making sure my opening would actually engage the audience. Since it’s
only the beginning of a film, it needs to raise questions and make people want to keep watching. My group and I were very worried that our film would be boring and not interesting to either to grade. I had to constantly think about what information to include and what to leave out.

Overall, the planning process taught me that a strong foundation is really important. If the planning isn’t clear, the filming and editing will be much harder. 

Research - Sound & Editing

    Even though I hadn’t started editing yet, I still planned out how I wanted my film to sound and feel I planned to use non-diegetic sound like eerie background music to create suspense. I also wanted to include diegetic sounds like footsteps, breathing, and creaking doors to make everything feel more realistic and much more intense. Silence is also something I wanted to use. I learned sometimes having no sound at all in a scene can be even more effective than music because it makes the audience focus and feel uncomfortable. 

This an example of the type of music that we would edit in the background!

To break the silence, I incorporated the main character humming in the scene. Introducing humming allowed the scene to maintain the realistic feel since there was no loud, copyrighted music that might have made the scene feel embellished or produced and might have broken the tension or the focus of the audience.

For editing, I planned to use slower cuts at the beginning to establish the setting and then gradually make the cuts quicker as the tension increases. I also thought about using jump cuts or flashbacks to confuse the audience slightly, which fits the psychological thriller genre. Planning the sound and editing before filming helped me understand how everything connects.

It’s not just about what you film, but how you present it.. I thought a lot about the right sound for the scene. Sound is really important in psychological thrillers because it builds tension without the audience even realizing it. Thankfully I have Spotify premium and have sounds like this available to me always! 

Research - Mise-en-Scène & Location

    Next, I focused on mise-en-scène, which includes everything the audience sees on screen, for
instance, lighting, costume, props, and setting. This is really important in psychological thrillers
because it helps create the overall mood. For lighting, I decided to use low-key lighting in order to create shadows and make the scene feel darker and more mysterious. I realized using shadows in a scene can make the audience feel uneasy because the shadows could hide information and create uncertainty.

This is a picture is of the types of shadows that psychological thrillers utilize - I would love to recreate this image with our own shadow figure and the eerie feeling that this picture projects.

I chose simple and familiar settings such as the bathroom and bedroom, basic rooms found in
every house, to make the situation feel more realistic. I chose these familiar rooms knowing it is
actually more unsettling for the audience when something scary or strange happens in a normal
environment. 

I also thought about props and costume. I didn’t want anything too dramatic because
psychological thrillers are usually more realistic. Simple props like a phone, mirror, or notebook
can actually be really effective if used in the right way. For example, a mirror could be used to
show something unexpected or create a sense of confusion. A challenge for our group in particular regarding the mirror was the fact that the house we were going to film at, Santiago's, did not have a mirror so we had to improvise. 

Overall, this part of the planning made me realize that even the small details matter. I tried to focus on having everything onscreen serve a purpose and contribute to the mood and the story and not having useless information present. 

Research - Story Boarding

    After coming up with my initial idea, I moved on to developing the narrative in more detail. This
was honestly one of the hardest parts because I had to make sure my opening made sense but
also left enough mystery to hook the audience.

I decided that my opening would follow a main character going through a normal routine, but
with small and strange details that would hint something is wrong. For example, I planned shots
where the character notices things out of place or feels like they’re being watched. I felt this
would work to slowly build tension instead of giving everything away at once.

Then I created a storyboard to visualize how my film would look!! This helped me a lot because I
planned out specific shots like close-ups, point-of-view shots, and over-the-shoulder angles.
Close-ups are especially important in psychological thrillers because they show emotion and
make the audience feel more connected to the character. The only downside of this was that I am NOT by any means an artist. 

I also thought about camera movement. I wanted to use slow, steady movements to create a
creepy and tense atmosphere. I didn’t want the camera movement to be too fast or shaky
because I didn’t want it to feel like an action or horror scene. Planning the storyboard made me realize how important every single shot is. Even something as simple as where the camera is placed can have a significant effect on how the audience interprets the scene, and changing camera placement can completely change the interpretation.

Research - Initial Ideas

 When I first started planning my psychological thriller opening, I honestly had no idea how much detail goes into just the planning stage and I thought it would be SO much easier. At the beginning, I knew I wanted something that would mess with the audience’s mind rather than rely on obvious horror. I also knew that it was not smart to rely on my acting skills or those of my group members as that would probably not get a message across very well. Psychological thrillers are more about tension, confusion, and making the audience question what’s real and that is the main point I wanted to get across...but I am not totally sure how I will do that!

This week I have decided that it will be easier for me to take inspiration from movies and TV shows I already enjoy watching and can understand well. I took a lot of inspiration from the TV show You, especially how it uses narration and close-ups to make the audience feel uncomfortable and almost involved in the character’s thoughts. I also looked at some other thrillers that i also really enjoy. Both of these media pieces use dark lighting such as smile and black phone, slow pacing, and dialogue that builds suspense without giving away the plot twist too easily. 

My initial idea was to create a story about a character who is being watched or followed, but it’s unclear whether it’s real or just in their head. I wanted to play with the idea of paranoia because it’s something that fits really well in the psychological thriller genre, and I think would be the easiest to act out. I started brainstorming different locations and situations where this could happen, like a bedroom, a hallway, or even outside at night with my team and we all agreed pretty well on these locations.

Research - Script Research

     Writing a script will be one of the most challenging parts of this project. Today during class my partners and I researched  what goes into creating a good script in general, and specifically what questions do you have to ask yourself. 

My last blog post went into detail about what sets psychological thrillers apart from other movies and I am soooooo glad I did that basic research because it made this part of the process so much easier for myself! 

Psychological Core

Before we can start writing, we need to decide what internal conflict our character will have. Down bellow are examples of a few different types of specific psychological core themes that we could choose from: 

• Fear of being watched

• Guilt over a past decision

• Obsession with control

• Loss of identity or memory

• Distrust of one’s own mind

These themes are all very different and it seems overwhelming to have to pick a topic out of these options. To help myself and my group to focus while researching and not go down a rabbit hole, I asked myself these questions. 

• What fear, flaw, or trauma drives my main character?

• What does my character BELIEVE that might be wrong?

• What inner conflict will worsen as the story progresses?

Creating Characters

Although we have not written the script or actually brought characters to life yet, it is important that we built an IMPERFECT protagonist. The success of our psychological thriller relies on how imperfect our main character is, and how that can create suspensive within our audience. 

Here are a few examples of common imperfections of psychosocial thriller main characters:

• A secret or suppressed memory

• A reason the audience might doubt their perspective

• A strong desire that could become destructive

• A mental vulnerability (anxiety, paranoia, trauma, grief, denial)

It is important to note that characters usually have a mix of multiple of these imperfections which makes the character have more depth for the audience to experience. 

Opening Scene Notes 

Once I got home, I started watching the opening clips of some common psychological thrillers and I made small notes of what should be done or what is important to emphasize during the beginning of the clips. 

After watching these clips I did research to what a poor intro of a psychological thriller would be and also took the key points of what we should NOT do. 

During our opening we should avoid:

• Overexplaining backstory

• Starting with extreme action

• Clear answers too early

Location

The last thing I wanted to clearly talk about was the location and color theme of phycological thrillers 

Common choices of where the film takes place:

• Isolated homes or apartments 

• Hospitals, schools, or workplaces - usually abandoned 

• Small towns with hidden and scary histories 

• Everyday locations that feel “off” or "odd"

The setting should be sure to:

• Reflect the protagonist’s mental state

• Feel claustrophobic, controlled, or unreliably safe

Research - Psychological Thriller

     Hi friends!! If you read my last blog post about my choice in genres vs. my partners choices you would know I was not exactly fond of doing 1 particular genre....can you guess which one we decided on? 

And if you were not able to read my last blog post, although you should definitely go do that right now, my partners and I talked and after a long discussion I was convinced to say yes to doing a Psychological Thriller.....yay...! So far, I only associate psychological thrillers with "The Joker" which freaked me out as a kid. Hopefully this research expands my knowledge and changes my opinion!

Deep Dive:

In order to be able to produce our own psychologic thriller, I really wanted to understand what exactly I was getting myself into. Here is the deep dive of what I learned about these movies!!

Rather than focusing on a storyline or action like other genres would, these thrillers focus on the mind and mental or emotional conflicts. The main threat is not usually an antagonist or super evil villain, but internal such as guilt, obsession, memory and manipulation. The audience is than intrigued and drawn to the characters memory's and anxiety which makes them go through the story alongside the characters. (Kind of creepy if you ask me...)

Examples of Key Themes and Plot Structure:

These are a few main themes that present themselves in psychological thrillers:

Identity and self-perception – characters question who they are 

Madness vs. sanity – blurry lines between reality and delusion

Obsession and control – fixation on a person, idea, or outcome

Guilt, trauma, and memory – past events haunting the present can be reoccurring 

Power dynamics – manipulation, dominance, and psychological abuse

Besides common key themes, it is also important to describe the plot structure that is typical to this genre of thriller:

There is usually a slow-burn pacing while the tension builds gradually and not suddenly

Suspense comes from anticipation and uncertainty (audience constantly asking themselves WHY?) not constant action

Twists and reveals that reframe earlier events and show a different perspective (another example would be if the film shows multiple character POV's)

The climax often delivers a psychological revelation rather than a physical confrontation

Characters 

The characters of psychological thrillers are the most recognizable part of this whole genre so it is important to get them right from the beginning!!

-Complex protagonists who are mentally vulnerable, flawed, or unreliable

-Unreliable narrators whose perspective cannot be fully trusted

-Antagonists who may be subtle, manipulative, or psychologically dominant rather than physically threatening

-Characters often mirror or contrast each other to highlight inner conflict

 

Atmosphere and Tone

The atmosphere and tone are also important because it helps tell the audience how to feel and adds into the suspense and overall eerie feel of this genre. The atmosphere is usually dark and unsettling while making the protagonist and audience alike feel claustrophobic. There are usually also feelings of isolation and paranoia. Surprisingly, in most parts of psychological thrillers the mood of the film is more important than what is actually happening in each scene because these thrillers rely on feeling and tenseness. 

Research - Considering Genres

    Today, my group members, Santiago, Sam and I all began researching different topics for our short film. We all have very different tastes in movies so it has not been very easy to pick a genre that we would specialize in. It will take an extreme amount of cooperation and communication to land on a topic. 

Originally I had wanted to either do a Romcom (Romantic Comedy) such as “How to loose a guy high 10 days”, or an action movie such as “Top Gun: Maverick”. Both of these genres came from me personally enjoying those types of movies and wanted to replicate it in our own way. My partners however were both very interested in Horror and Thrillers.

Romcoms!

These movie types have always been super close to my heart as I grew up watching these and have found a comfort in movies like this because they show was I believe true romance is. The genre of romantic comedy’s focus on blending funny storylines with love and hope. This genre is projected with a lighthearted tone, smart or witty dialogue, and an ending that simulates growth and character development. This primarily makes the audience become super involved and focuses on the, will they or wont they date storyline. 

Action Movies

 

Contrasting to romcoms, action movies typically focus fast-paced, high-energy sequences. These movies have typical elements such as car crashes, illegal racing and fight scenes. Usually, these movies are centered around a clear hero or protagonist group that goes against a powerful and clever antagonist. Overall, the plot usually focuses more on revenge or justice rather than a deep character developmental storyline.

Great examples of this type of genre include "Fast and Furious", "Top Gun Maverick", and the whole "Marvel Universe" series. Another interesting thing about action movies that I found while researching is that typically the actors are similar. For example, actors, such as Dwayne Johnson and Tom Cruise, that usually star in an action movie will most likely do another movie in the same genre rather than switching to a different type of movie genre. This creates action lovers to have their favorite actors be in multiple movies that they watch and creates a love and attachment towards them. This is extremely typical of action movies and has become an key characteristic.

Psychological Thrillers

This was definitely NOT one of my choices but honestly after researching it could be interesting to complete, but it seems tricky to produce. Psychological thrillers narrow in on the inner workings of the mind, and have overall concepts of fear and uncertainty to develop the storyline rather than character development or action as seen in the other genres. Topics explored in this genre are often paranoia, guilt and identity crisis. 

One of the most typical yet interesting features of a psychological thriller to me is the very slow build of tension and suspense. Movies such as "Knives Out" or "Fall" both have unreliable narrators and place characters in very tense situations where they have to remain mentally aware, which leads both the characters and the audience to question everything. 

Next we will narrow down the genre topics and land on a final genre, but that will not be able to happen without a long discussion. Wish me luck!!