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Production Name-  'Incubus'
Production Company- 'Eclipse Studios'
Genre-Psychological Thriller
Production Team-Max Cooper, Natalie Brotherton, Gabe Shepperson
Synopsis- A male teenager who is a criminology student at school always found it hard to make friends, and socialise effectively so he spends most his time outside of school deeply researching into famous murderers and what causes them to inflict pain upon others. He usually stays awake playing detective based games and reading detective novels. Due to being very isolate and introverted, he often talks to himself as the protagonist daydreams unless he's in his criminology class studying the patterns and the various murderers' who've had their brain activity monitored.

In his dreams, he starts to witness a murder from the killer's POV and so in is dreams he starts to conform to his alter ego in his own bubble. As the days go on he contemplates whether what he saw was real. Then a news reports shows the the murder actually happened with the exact same logistics as the dreams he's been having for the the week prior.

He instinctively takes it upon himself to investigate the murder within his dreams as he adopts the theory of detective. (To demonstrate its a dreams its in black and white, and the attire worn by the main character is significantly different as he wears stereotypical detective wear). After the murders occur, the protagonist becomes familiar with another murder scene which suggests the protagonist only has a week in the dream world to solve the murder before it's actually happened. His parents start to become weary as they are concerned for his well being even though the rarely speak. One morning his mom wakes him up before he figured out a clue which would've allowed him to solve the murder scene but before his next dream sequence, the murder occurs. This causes an argument between the parents and the protagonist as he screams that he was so close at stopping the murder and saving the victim. Confused and lost his teacher start to debate the sanity of his student. A week after the initial nightmare, the dream becomes a reality as a murder of the same nature, he then has a week of nightmares consisting of a different murder scene which is somehow linked but the protagonist doesn't know how until he solves the murders. The pressure and time restraint he has in each dream to solve the connection which will in tale stop the murder in reality, he starts to become dedicated to sleeping, and when he's awake he's clearly become the binary opposite of himself from the start as he has become not focused as he can't stop thinking about the dream world, so his realities start merging and becoming unclear.

Detailed Narrative-
(Nightmare)
1) A boy who is introverted, lonely, who is obsessed with criminology.
2) Goes to school, year 13, (small montage of his school life and lessons)
3) He walks home after school, (Jump cut) to bedroom, covered in murder articles, and posters.
4) He stays up at night and plays games until early dawn ( playing games like LA Noire , Batman etc) Footage of him playing.
5) Cuts to watching true detective
6) A dream sequence first occurs (it's rapid, unclear,short, faced paced)( Calendar shows that the date is the 10th)
7)Protagonist wakes up also sweaty to signify that the audience know he had a bad dream as those are the common symptoms of a nightmare.
(Inter titles)
8) The protagonist is at school dwelling on the obscure dream he had and his friends all ask if he's okay and as he tells his friends they all question his sanity.
9) The same dream occurs but the dream includes the protagonist dressed as the detective, this signifies it's a completely different universe, he starts to investigate the murder that it's due to occur so he finds clues to help him stop the murder and to save the victims and finally fulfil his ambition to be a well remembered detective. Clues in which the detective could find can consist of pin pointing the location, finding the murder weapon, identifying the murderer etc.
(The victim is always the protagonist from the real world as the Nightmare sleep disorder's symptoms are that the protagonist feels threatened and at danger at all times)
10) A calendar shows it's exactly 7 days after the first encounter, this shows the audience that the narrative has progressed.
11) A news report identifies the body and the murder with the same analytics as his dream as the news report run through the details.(Voiceover)
12) His friends discuss how he's become isolated and his 'virgin' crush mentions how he has become cut off from the real world. The protagonist discourages their views as he views the dream world as reality.
13) As the murder has occurred in real life , his dream changes and shows him the events of the next murder which is set to take place in exactly 7 days.
14) The effects of the paranoia and constant split personality starts to become evident as he becomes stressed and overwhelmed at the time restraint, this is shown through his constant attention to the ticking clock, and always trying to sleep.
15)The protagonist enters the dream world and starts to do detective work and he see's his friends as characters in the split universe
16)He questions witnesses who consist of his crush(in real life) a prostitute who witnessed a murder.
17) He wakes, interrupted by his teacher in a lesson, an argument arises
18) A calendar is shown which is followed by a news article which will show the time restraint the protagonist has as he fears the time as he fails to save the victims.
19) The last shot is a slow pace panning shot which zooms out and shows the protagonist standing behind the antagonist silhouette. As he turns the murderer around he realises the murderer is himself.
20) A montage of the protagonist on the the night of the murders sleepwalking and committing those vile acts.

Mise en Scene-
The atmosphere will begin very neutral and monotone. The character’s life starts off uneventful therefore starting the atmosphere that way will be more effective as tension is built up during the process of events taking place in the narrative. The film starts off in a school/university, in the background or around the characters will be the features found in an educational environment; Backpacks, books, desks, equipment etc. All characters will be wearing their everyday choice of clothing, hair and makeup. Everyone will be bored due to the fact they are in school, but also fairly ordinary and monotone. The school lighting will be fairly in between light and dark to fit the bland atmosphere.

Eventually the main character’s mental state becomes more and more psychologically traumatised and tense, making him appear exceedingly ominous – which the mood of the film with then reflect with the use of sinister music, low-key lighting, gloomy facial expressions and body language. His voice will become deeper and the way he talks will be slightly slowed, making him appear less upbeat. He will wear darker clothing, behave bolder, and eventually start to resemble his other self; John Doe as he is mixed between the real world and the alternate dream world.

As for the dream world, the separate dimension will be filmed in black and white to make a clear distinction between dream and reality. The tone will constantly be dark and scary, due to the horrific goings on that happen there. All characters will be wearing the appropriate attire for their character’s profession, such as detective, prostitute etc. They will be mixed between old-time looking costumes and modernised attire, their hair and makeup will also correlate with this. Everyone in the world is more sinister and unwelcoming, whilst also being confident. Low-key lighting will also be used heavily here in order for the audience to interpret the character’s gloomy surroundings.

Due to the film being a psychological thriller, the audience will expect the film to be a good mix of eeriness and disorientation. They will predict the fact that they will be frightening or creeped out, but also that the film will make their brains think and ask questions. The expect to have gloomy, depressing characters who are situated in a dark environment, constantly giving off a discomforting mood. There are many signs and symbols that hint towards the genre, that are also included in our own film. Such as loud noises, eerie music, blood, weapons, frightening locations etc.

Characters-
Alex Jones is an 18-year-old criminology student. He is an introvert, meaning he is always quiet, timid and prefers being alone. He has a distinct obsession with crime, and spends a lot of time researching, watching shows and reading about crimes, murders, unsolved cases etc. He also suffers with what is diagnosed as Nightmare Disorder, this is a psychiatric disorder that causes the person to suffer frequent nightmares. During the dream, the person is alert and orientated with their surroundings, whilst showing symptoms of anxiety, including increased heartrate, sweating, or yelling aloud. On the average day, Max will dress casually in simple clothing – White T-shirt, Black Jacket, Black Jeans, and Black Trainers. In Propp’s theory of character types Max would be seen as ‘The Hero. This is because he is the Main protagonist, wants to solve the case and stop evil, find and seize the murderer.

In the dream world, Alex plays the part of John Doe – a detective working on the case of the murder. He is confident, outgoing, smart, calm and collected. He is devoted to his job and has an aim to help others. He is well dressed in a navy blue trench coat, black hat, white shirt, black tie, black trousers and black shoes. He would also play ‘The Hero’ in Propp’s theory for the same reasons, the main protagonist who is working to stop evil and solve the case.

Emma Martins is Alex’s friend at school, and who he has a crush on. She is an 18-year-old literature student who goes to the same school as Alex. She is kind, innocent and devoted to her family and religious beliefs. Her main focus in life is to do well in school and make her parents proud. She wears neutral, quaint clothing – green coat, grey top, red scarf, blue skinny jeans, white trainers. She also wears a cross necklace and all times and wears light, bright makeup. She would play the part of the princess in Propp’s character types, as she is wanted by the hero and is something to be won by him. She also relates to Mulvey’s Virgin/Whore Dichotomy, as she shows the stereotypes of a typical ‘Virgin’ character.

In the dream world, Emma is presented as the character of Tracy Mills, an 18-year-old prostitute. She is outgoing, crude and lustful, showing an interest in John Doe. She wears dark, tight, revealing clothing – a black crop top, leather jacket, fishnets, knee high socks, and heels. She is always seen wearing dark, heavy makeup. She plays the part of the ‘Whore’ character is Mulvey’s theory of the Virgin/Whore Dichotomy as well as the objectification of women. She also feeds into McRobbie’s feminist theory of gender stereotypes, as she is sexualised throughout.

Alex’s best friend is Adam Black, an 18-year-old computer science student also in the same school. He is nerdy and talkative, and whilst he is smart, he is also lazy and clumsy – embarrassing himself often. He is obsessed with video games, superheroes and other things of the sort, and loves talking about them at his friend Max. He will usually wear casual clothing or merchandise of the things he likes. For example, a graphic tee with a superhero symbol on it, coupled with black jeans, black trainers and glasses.

Within the dream world, Adam plays the role of Sam Spade, a detective who is cool, monotone and mysterious. He is John Doe’s partner, assisting with the investigation. Always being passive aggressive and giving witty remarks. He is well dressed wearing a grey trench coat, and black hat, suit and shoes. He plays the part of ‘The Helper’ in Propp’s theory, as he is John’s sidekick and is there to assist him on his journey.

Location-

The locations used for our film trailer will be fairly small and contained. This is due to the film mostly being focused on the characters rather than the setting, which is common for a psychological thriller as it mostly delves into the development of its characters and their troubles and conflict. The locations only really provide context for the character’s issues, personality and way of life. The locations used will be a bedroom/house for the protagonist’s room and where a lot of his conversations with his mother or research on his computer will take place, the scenes of the protagonist studying will take place at various locations within my school in order for these scenes to look genuine. There will also be shots/scenes filmed in both the forest in dark streets for the dreams of the murder that the protagonist has. These will need to be as empty as possible to create the sense of isolation and fantasy these sequences will need. So these films will be filmed at night but just bright enough so the audience can see what’s going on.

All the places that we will be filming in don’t require permission to film at. The only thing closest to that will be filming in class. This will most likely be done in either a free period or in a free room. As all that needs to be filmed is the protagonist on his computer doing research. The street and park scenes will be empty as well.

The only possible issues with these locations would be lighting and people. For the dream sequences we need no other people in frame as it is just the protagonist’s empty mindscape. The lighting at night too will have to be just right in order to actually see the setting and see what’s going on in the shots and scenes.

Target audience-
The intended audience for my trailer will be teenagers . This is due to the characters in the film are of a similar age to this and I think using characters of a similar age will make it more appealing to potential viewers as the characters will seem more relatable to them . As the drawing factor of most psychological thrillers is their characters so making them relatable will make them seem far more attractive to the audience .
The gender factor of the target audience is fairly balanced . The typical audience for psychological thrillers is balanced with a slightly higher amount of women watching . As they prefer films that are more cerebral and require the audience to think more.
The setting of the film will also help to add appeal . The setting of a school is a common way of life for teenagers and the film's characters . This will again help create a sense of relate ability as this will be a common experience that both the audience and the character shares.
The same can be said for the class and status of our target audience . Students are significantly low down on the social hierarchy so they will have quite relatable life struggles and psychological struggles so the characters status will sort of weave itself into the genre's common themes . Viewers will also see things in the characters like that they can relate to and make the characters seem more grounded and real . This is a vital aspect of psychological thrillers as the characters themes levels have to be real in order for their psychological conflict or struggle to seem real and believable .