Representation of the protagonist character

Our protagonist character is based on Jack The Ripper, we  chose to use the case-study of Jack The Ripper as he is a famous figure in British history as a serial killer, and has had a series of "copy-cat" killers since the 19th century using the same style as Jack The Ripper, such as the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe in 1981 (mentioned in the previous post). Our film follows the idea of Jack The Ripper "copy-cat" serial killers, as our protagonist character is one. 

Our main character is a representation of fear and mystery. A representation of the dark side of all of us, making him not someone, but a part of everyone. Jack The Ripper is an example of what anyone can be capable of, thus the amount of "copy-cats". As the identity of Jack The Ripper is unknown, we decided that the face and name of our protagonist character would not be shown, even in shots of him as a boy.  This removes the serial killers identity, which creates a fear among the audience.

Learning practical skills

Using You-Tube, we researched how to create a realistic wound using special effects. We want to use special affects for the wounds as we want the deaths of victims to be visual to the audience when watching our teaser trailer. The more realistic the the wounds are, the more engaged the audience will be towards our film trailer.

We then started to research where we could find the necessary ingredients to create these fake cuts and wounds.

We first need to buy liquid latex and found this website of which we can buy it from (click the image to the left):

We also need to buy fake blood, and know that t can be bought from any dress up store. Another thing of which we will need is black and red paint, which can be acquired anywhere.

Horror Film Poster Research

We then started to look into different horror film posters so that we could see the different conventions used and analysed them to understand what makes a successful movie poster. We created this mood board of different horror movie posters to influence us later on and then looked at individual posters to deconstruct more thoroughly.

 

From Hell movie poster deconstruction:

Trailer deconstruction

Deconstructing the trailer of 'From Hell' gave us a good indication of what will constitute a successful trailer of our chosen genre. As 'From Hell' is a film based on the story of Jack The Ripper, a factual part of history. Although 'From Hell' is set in the 1800's around the time Jack The Ripper was around., where as our teaser trailer will be set in current times due to funds and so it is differentiated from other 'Jack The Ripper' based films.

As Jack The Ripper is a known story, and 'From Hell' uses this aspect to make a successful trailer for the film. We intend to also use its famous story to our advantage.

Jack the Ripper copycat killers

Once we had decided that our main character would be a Jack the Ripper copycat, we decided to look into real cases of copycat killers so that we could get inspiration for details in our own film trailer.

Some of the most famous of these cases were:

The Yorkshire Ripper

Peter Sutcliffe, also known as 'The Yorkshire Ripper', was a british serial killer born on the 2nd June 1946 convicted to serve 20 years life imprisonment in Broadmoor high security hospital for murdering 13 women and attempting to murder 7 others in 1981. In the past Sutcliffe frequently used prostitutes, and a bad experience with one of the women where he was conned out of his money was thought to have created his violent hatred for women .  

Victims

Wilma McCann- Body found of 28 year old woman on the 30th October 1975 in a playing field in Leeds. she had been struck twice with a hammer and stabbed 15 times.

Emily Jackson- Body found of 42 year old in Leeds on the 20th January 1976. She had been stabbed 51 times with a sharpened screwdriver.

Irene Richardson- Body found of 28 year old prostitute on 5th February 1977 in Leeds. Her body had been bludgeoned to death with a hammer and then mutilated with a knife. 

Patricia Atkinson- Body found of 32 year old prostitute on 23rd April 1977 in Bradford.

Jayne Macdonald- Body found of 16 year old on 26th June 1977 in a playground in Leeds. She was the youngest of the victims and the public said that even though she was not a prostitute, they believe he killed her to show that anyone can be a victim. 

Jean Jordan- Body found of 20 year old prostitute on 1st October 1977 in a cemetery in Manchester. Her body was also mutilated.

Yvonne Pearson- Body found of 21 year old prostitute on 21st January 1978 in Bradford.

Helen Rytka- Body found of 18 year old prostitute on 31st January 1978 in Huddersfield.

Vera Millward- Body found of 40 year old prostitute on 16th May 1978 in Royal Infirmary in Manchester.

Josephine Whitaker- Body found of 19 year old on 4th April 1979 in Halifax.

Barbara Leach- Body found of 21 year old university student on 2nd September 1979 in Bradford.

Marguerite Walls- Body found of 47 year old civil servant on 20th August 1980 in Leeds.

Jacqueline Hill- Body found of 21 year old university student on 17th November 1980 in Leeds. 

Like Jack the Ripper, Sutcliffe also sent anonymous letters to the Police. Here is an example of his first letter:

Translation :Dear Sir

I am sorry I cannot give my name for obvious reasons. I am the Ripper. I've been dubbed a maniac by the Press but not by you, you call me clever and I am. You and your mates haven't a clue that photo in the paper gave me fits and that bit about killing myself. I've got things to do. My purpose to rid the streets of them sluts. My only regret is that young lassie McDonald, did not know cause changed routine that nite. up to a number 8 now you say 7 but remember Preston '75, get about you know.You were right I travel a bit. You probably look for me in Sunderland, don't bother, I am not daft, just posted a letter there on one of my trips.Not a bad place compared with Chapeltown and Manningham and other places. Warn whores to keep off streets cause I feel it coming on again.
Sorry about young Lassie.
yours respectively 
Jack the Ripper

P.S  Might write again later I not sure the last one really deserved it. Whores getting younger each time. Old slut next time I hope. Huddersfield never again, too small close call last one.

Throughout the Investigation there were many photos and pictures released using the characteristics descried by victims who had survived. Here are example of one of the photofits compared to a real photo of him. 

For more information on his arrest, trial, evidence and conspiracies go to the website http://www.execulink.com/~kbrannen/

The Blackout Ripper

Gordon Cummins, also known as the Blackout Ripper, got his name from murdering 4 women in London in 1942 during the night and attempting to murder another 2 women. Similar to Jack the Ripper, Gordon mutilated the body of some of his victims. 

Victims

Evelyn Hamilton- Body found of 40 year old On Sunday 9 February 1942 in an air raid shelter in in Marylebone. She had been strangled and her handbag stolen. 

Evelyn Oatley- Body foundOn Monday 10 February of 35 year old in her flat on Wardour Street. As well as having been strangled, her throat had been cut and she had also been mutilated with a can opener.

Margaret Lowe- Body found On Tuesday 11 February of 43 year old prostitute in her flat in Gosfield Street, Marylebone. She had been strangled with a silk stocking and her body mutilated with a variety of implements including a razor blade, a knife and a candlestick. 

Doris Jouannet- Body found On Wednesday 12 February 1942 of 32 year old in the ground floor flat that she shared with her husband. She had been strangled with a scarf and mutilated.

Greta Hayward- Body found On Friday 14 February 1942 in a doorway near Piccadilly Circus by a man in RAF uniform. She managed to escape as her attacker was interrupted by the arrival of a delivery boy making his rounds. 

Mrs. Mulcahy- Shortly after the attack on Greta Hayward there was another attack of prostitute in her flat near Paddington Railway Station. She managed to fight off her attacker, who gave her an extra £5 before running off leaving his belt behind.

Cummins was shortly arrested on the 16th February 1942 after 

accidently leaving behind his gas mask case while attacking Greta 

Hayward which showed a service number registered under his name. 

once found guilty he was sentenced to death and was executed on 

the 25th June 1942. Scotland Yard later found that he had also 

murdered two other women in October 1941. 

Twitter page style

This is the design of our twitter page. We made sure that both our Blog and Twitter page looked similar and so used the same background. We also used the same profile picture for both our Twitter and Facebook accounts for similarity.

Jack the Ripper Costume

As a group, we knew that we would want the person of whom was going to play the part of the Ripper's shadow, to wear an iconic Jack the Ripper costume. However we were unsure as to whether or not the style cf the costume shown in the picture below would fit the time period of which our trailer would be set.

We then wondered whether or not using a long dark trench coat would allow us to show the time period that our trailer is set. As currently, in the 21st century, trench coats are common so the protagonist would blend in as Jack The Ripper did in the 19th Century, whilst also having the same affect as a cape would have. The pictures below are possible examples of this.

In the end, we decided that the best option was the trench coat, as it fits the era that the film is set in, whilst also being able to be used with the top hat, which is what relates our protagonist character with the original serial killer, Jack The Ripper. The top hat is a key feature of this characters representation, as in our teaser trailer, we do not want the audience to see the face of the serial killer to create mystery to entice the audience, so the top hat is how the audience will recognise the protagonist character. We can purchase the top hat from many online retailers or at camden market, london. 

 

Film Distributers

Summit Entertainment

Summit Entertainment LLC is an American film studio and a subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment headquartered in Universal City, California with international offices in London.

The film Sinister and Gone are both films produced by the production company Summit Entertainment. Both films are from the horror genre which is the same as the film idea that we are creating.



Momentum Pictures

Momentum Pictures  is one of the leading independent motion picture distributors in the UK and Ireland and releases approximately 20 theatrical films a year.

 

Women In Black and A Night In The Woods are two films which are produced by Momentum Pictures. The two films are in the horror genre and we are interested in using this production company as it is the leading UK distributor.

Twisted Pictures

Twisted Pictures is an American independent production company, mainly creating films of the horror genre.

Twisted Pictures is known for the Saw sequels but has also produced the films such as Dead Silence. We have chosen Twisted Pictures as an idea for our film distributor as they are known for creating slasher horror films which is the genre of our film.

Final decision

We have decided to go with Summit Entertainment to produce our film as we feel that its the best production company as it relates to the genre of our teaser trailer that we are creating. The films which they have created relate to our film as they are from the slasher/psychological  genre.

Facebook account

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Narrative Theories

Aristotle's Unities:

Narrative should:

• Take place in same location
• Be in real time
• Have all action moving towards a logical conclusion 

A good example of this film narrative would be the film Phonebooth as it takes place in the same place throughout the film- in a phone booth in New York city- and everything takes place on the same day. All the action that takes place also leads to a logical ending.

Freytag's Dramatic Structure:

Narrative should be divided into 5 parts:

• Exposition - setting and characters set
• Rising Action- string of event begins to start main conflict and starts building an exciting story
• Climax- moment of greatest tension, uncertainity and audience involvement 
• Falling Action and Resolution- all action that happens after the climax and is usually solved by the end

Examples of how Freytag's pyramid is shown in the films Halloween and Psycho :

Levi-Strauss's Binary opposition:

Narrative should:

• Be based on opposition or conflict- have two opposite sides and characters. May often function on an ideological level for example; cowboys versus indians.

Examples of films with clear binary oppositions; Star Wars, Lord of the Rings etc.

Syd Field's Three Act Plot Structure:

Believed that a typical film could be separated into three different acts:

• First Act: Gives a sense of what the film is going to be about, who the main character is and what the audience can expect in terms of genre
• Second Act: This is the longest part of the film and shows the main character in a number of problems/situations normally independently 
• Third Act: The hero will finally take control of their problems (usually through confrontation) and will achieve a final victory

Barthes' Enigma Code:

Roland Barthes believed that their are narrative codes that occur in  every film, they are:

• The enigma code
• Symbols and signs
• Points of cultural references
• Simple description/reproduction

Todorov's theory:

Todorov said that their are five stages within a conventional narrative. These are:

• Equilibrium: all is as it should be
• Disruption: some sort of disruption occurs
• Recognition: it is recognised that this disruption has occured
• Repair (attempt): an attempt is made to fix this disruption
• Re-instatement of equilibrium

Vladimir Propp

Vladidmirr said that in conventional narratives, their are five significant characters that are always present, these being:

• Hero: usually male and is the person who restores the narrative equilibrium
• Heroine: usually the character most threatened by the villain and needs to be 'saved'
• Villain: creates the narrative disruption
• Mentor/Donor: gives the hero something such as advice or an object which helps in the resolution of the narrative
• Sidekick: aids the hero in the task of restoring equilibrium

Example:

Taken
Hero - The dad Bryan: he finds the girls
Villain - Peter (the man who meets the girls at the airport): he is the person who gets the girls abducted
Donor- Stepfather Stuart: pays for Bryan's expenses
Sidekick - Bryan's friend Sam: gives information on the situation
Heroine - his daughter Kim

Time Period to set our film in

As in our trailer and film, it is shown how most of the time is set in the past, and our main character is reflecting on his life, we needed to decide what time period we wanted to set the film in. As many things change over time we knew that we would have to consider the:

• costume/fashion
• location and buildings
• and historic events when choosing our time period

We decided to research different time periods, focusing our research on the fashion of this time period as this was the most important, and then based on that research make our mind up as to when we wanted our film to be set.


1980s

1990s

2000s

We have decided that it would be best to set our film in the 2000s for the following reasons:

• the fashion is easiest to replicate
• the locations of which we have filmed will have changed either not at all or minimally
• any historic events will be easy to include if necessary

 

Choosing location

What we want the location to be:

• -Dark 

• -Set in a city -influenced by Jack The Ripper

• -Set within isolated locations 

• -Easily accessible 

Ideas: 

• Camden
• We decided that Camden would be a good idea for the location of the film as the decor there has not changed drastically over time as our film is set in two time periods.  

• Whitechapel road
• We decided that Whitechapel Road would be an ideal location as the original Jack the Ripper story was set here. We found that it had a lot of areas, such as isolated streets, which would be perfect to shoot on. 

• Shad Thames 
• We decided that Shad Thames would be a good location as it included detailed arch ways which would be affective in our film. 

• Isolated area's
• We may use derelict areas which will create mystery and suspense to the audience during the trailer. These dark spaces could generate fear, which match the genre. 

Influences:
Our ideas were influenced by these images, such as the cobbled paving and the isolated areas, so our ideas meant that we found somewhere similar which would be ideal for shooting.  

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Title of our film

When deciding what to name the film that we are creating, we knew that part of the name 'Jack The Ripper' should be included in the title. This is because the film is related to him and would help to let the audience understand what the film is about. However, we also knew not to include the entire name as this would make it seem like the film is about Jack The Ripper. We decided to take the words 'The Ripper' and then merge it with 'shadow' to become 'The Ripper's Shadow'. The word 'the' creates a sense of it being the only one of its kind, and different to everyone/everything else. 'Ripper' is the key word that relates to Jack The Ripper and 'shadow' has two meanings. It is showing how the main character is going to be 'The Ripper's shadow', whilst we will also be using shadows frequently within our trailer as this creates a sense of mystery and suspense.

So, in conclusion the title of which we decided to use for our film is
'The Ripper's Shadow'

Jack The Ripper

Jack the Ripper was a serial killer in the 1800's, brutally murdering prostitutes for no personal gain apart from pleasure. Jack the Ripper wrote a series of letters to the police, newspapers and other high members of society teasing them about his whereabouts as no one could find him. In one particular letter 'From Hell' he sent a victims kidney, making him the most vile serial killer in history. Jack the ripper was never caught, and many people followed his example so there have been many "copycats" such as the yorkshire ripper. 

We used this website for accurate information on Jack The Ripper: 

Development of Ideas

Once we had decided that we wanted to create a horror film, we had to choose what sub-genre of horror we wanted to persue. The idea of creating a psychological horror mixed with a slasher horror appealed to us and so therefore chose to do this sub-genre.

We wanted to create a film around the idea of criminology and criminals and thought that the idea of a realistic or true crime would scare the audience more. 

We researched true crimes from the present day and the past, and from this research we created this list of crimes of which we thought we could turn into a film of our own:

• Ian Brady and Myra Hindley
• Soham murders (Ian Huntley)
• Jack The Ripper
• Dr Harold Shipman

After research into each of these crimes, we thought that Jack The Ripper would be the best of these crimes to create an extension story from.Although Jack The Ripper had not committed the most murders, unlike Luis Garavito in 1999, who confessed to raping and killing 147 young boys and thought to have murdered almost 400 people. However, the way in which he killed his victims in the dark streets of London and carefully removing particular body parts and  the victims were only female prostitutes, makes Jack The Ripper go down in history.

Conventions of a Teaser Trailer

We thought that by researching the conventions of a typical teaser trailer, it would give us a better idea of what our teaser trailer should be like when creating it.

We first looked at SOUND, finding out that little or no dialogue from the film was a common trait found in teaser trailers. Instead, music is used to set the genre of the film and to increase the intensity and speed of the trailer.

Secondly, we looked at the CONTENT of a trailer. We found that teaser trailers are usually quite short in length and contain little, if any, actual footage from the film.

We then looked at the EDITING, finding out that quick, short shots are used to ensure that little is given away. It is also seen how in most teaser trailers, the shots become quicker, which builds tension.

Lastly, we looked at the PURPOSE of a conventional teaser trailer. The purpose of a teaser trailer is less to tell the audience about a movie's content than simply to let them know that the movie is coming up in the near future, and to add to the hype of upcoming release.

Spiderman 3 Teaser Trailer

Paranormal Activity 2 Trailer