Final Propositions

Propositions are key to every film as they are classed as any article on scene except for costume and scenery and often used to define the possessor of the prop and gives the audience an idea of what that character is like, for example carrying a gun connotes a sense of danger surrounding the character. As I am creating a psychological crime thriller based around a serial killer and his helpless victims, propositions play a massive role in the narrative of the opening.

Weapons are key to establishing whether the character is the antagonist or protagonist of the story. In scene one of my opening, up until the point where the killer's knife is presented in a close up, the audience will be unsure on why this man has burst into this defenceless woman's room. By simply showing a close up of a knife, I have clearly told the audience that this man has the intention to kill the woman in cold blood without any clear reasoning other than a lust for blood. However other situations, this would depend on other elements of the film such as the narrative. An example of this would be a man aiming a gun at someone else, other elements of the film for example the costume would indicate the intentions of the character and the reasoning behind what they are doing. If this man were a police officer, the audience would assume they are trying to lay down the law and stop a dangerous situation whereas if it were a regular citizen, the audience would instantly assume that they are going to break the law in some way.

However weapons are not the only prop I plan to use in my thriller opening. I believe that theatrical blood will important in adding an element of realism to the murder scenes. Although there are ways to present murder without showing blood through the use of diegetic sound, I believe that the use of blood will make the audience feel uncomfortable about the two murder scenes and will give them more of an insight into the killer's life. This is typical of thrillers of a similar sub-genre to mine such as Se7en which rely on showing the sick nature of the killer who they cannot catch. Another proposition which I plan to use are cigarettes for the scene with the police detectives, cigarettes connote that an individual is suffering from a high level of stress which has led to them using this maladaptive behaviour to deal with the situation therefore the use of cigarettes will show the audience that these detectives have been looking for the killer for a while and are struggling to control the case. However cigarettes also carry connotations of relaxation therefore showing that these detectives are seasoned in dealing with corpses and killers, this may also act as a hint to the audience that the detective is the killer due to how comfortable around the body he is.

Propositions will also be used by minor characters such as the members of the press such as notepads and pens. These items do not serve a huge purpose to the story line but indicate their profession to the audience without having to blindly state that they are reporters. The small propositions work alongside the costume and dialogue to add to the audience's understanding that they are press reporters inquiring into why it is taking the police so long to catch the killer.