Pre - Production: FURTHER GENRE RESEARCH

I decided to look further into the mystery drama so I can develop my skills and knowledge on how to write and produce a great mystery drama film. I want to learn what other elements go into it which I may have not considered along with any sub genres of mystery drama.

Looking on http://hunterswritings.com/2012/10/12/elements-of-the-psychological-thriller-mystery-suspense-andor-crime-fiction-genres/ I wanted to research deeper into psychological thrillers as our film does have elements of this in it at the end. I wouldn't consider every single scene to be psychological due to the natural of the film, however, towards the end it definitely begins to spiral into this genre.

Common Elements to the Suspense, Mystery and/or Thriller Genres.

• Suspense, tension, raising of stakes for the protagonist. Typically the pace of this tension is faster in a thriller against a mystery.
• The protagonist must be proactive rather than reactive. He must make things happen, go into action, not sit around with events happening around him.
• As with most good fiction, the hero needs to have grown and learnt and ultimately changed by the end of the novel. This character growth is what leads to the main character’s ability to get through his darkest hour, and win during the climatic ending.

This is very interesting to read and I must make sure to always be raising the stakes of the film, what needs to happen to develop the story to make it interesting? I must consider the 'so what's?' of the film: what will happen if something doesn't happen? I do struggle a lot with this as I do forget to raise the stakes throughout and it is a very important part as not only does it make everything more intense, it pushes and changes the story in positive ways. I should also be developing my protagonists character in order to make sure that towards the end she is completely different and has grown as a character. 

• Typical structural elements to the plot – an inciting incident or turning point that makes the main character move from their everyday and go on their journey to solve the issue, conflict, pace, complications, a darkest hour where everything seems lost, a climatic battle and denouement.
• The ending should resolve all loose ends, but provide a satisfactory twist if possible. Good should prevail over bad. And the hero should have learnt something about himself or the human condition.

This article was very helpful in reminding me the crucial elements in mystery drama and definitely will help me when writing.

''Like any thriller the main character is put into a situation that threatens ‘normality’ so  they can be  trapped in their own head , haunted by memories, have a ‘different’ way of seeing the world or thinking about the world or are driven by an uncontrollable compulsion or need. So it can be more internal than the classic crime thriller.'' - https://wordznerd.wordpress.com/2013/07/31/writing-a-psychological-thriller/ 

This quote online is very helpful when looking into psychological thrillers. I need to remember to leave my protagonist in a situation where she can be sat to think to herself, therefor this will allow her to overthink and be trapped in her head and let all the bad thoughts in, making her go into an uncontrollable state. This should be after something crucial in the film has happened so it will have more of a believable effect. 

Looking at http://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/mystery-suspense I found some sub genres of mystery drama.

An example of a great and twisted psychological thriller is 'Shutter Island' directed by Martin Scorsese. It follows Leonardo DiCaprio playing Teddy Daniels, a U.S Marshal investigating a disappearance at an institution for the criminally insane. As we follow the story on it developed and is unfolded that Teddy himself is actually a criminal and killed his wife after she d
rowned their children. He has built this life and identity for himself to cover his guilt and make him cope with what he has done. The story is so thoughtfully written and constructed that when you watch it for a second time it can often be much better than the first. The film is an example of the protagonist having such a cover and disguise over themselves that even they have gone completely insane to believe their own lies. The character has been developed so much that the audience wouldn't consider Teddy as the bad guy. I want to make sure in our film that our protagonist does end up insane but we wouldn't consider it throughout the film, I want her to develop and change and be so vulnerable that what the stalker tells her and her passion for acting has made her believe one thing and pushed her to do certain things.

Sub-genres of Mystery/Suspense Film:

Closed-Mystery

A Closed-Mystery is a sub-genre of Mystery/Suspense Film that conceals the identity of the main perpetrator until the very end of the film. This kind of storyline adds an extra element of suspense to the plot, as the audience is not sure who has committed the crime. Often, there are a variety of characters that are possible suspects.

Examples: Clue, Murder of the Orient Express, Twelve Little Indians.

Open-Mystery

The Open-Mystery Film is the opposite of a Closed Mystery. In these movies, the main perpetrator is revealed at the beginning of the story. These films showcase “the prefect crime” scenarios. Suspense in these films come less from the “whodunit” aspect, and more from how the crime was committed.

Examples: Oceans 11, Thomas Crown Affair, The Italian Job.

At first, I did consider creating an open mystery film as I think it's interesting when the audience know who the perpetrator is and it can make them interested to see if the characters will eventually find out. However, on the other hand, it can also be boring as the audience do already know and you're basically just waiting for the others to find out. To create a suspenseful and twisted mystery drama, I don't want the identity to be revealed as I think it would work better for this particular story. Also, it is a psychological drama therefore there is going to be many twists and confusion in the end, and if the perpetrator is shown at the beginning it might make everything not make sense and fit into place.

Our film definitely fits into the Closed Mystery sub genre due to the identity of the stalker being concealed until the very end. Thus, making the film even more dramatic due the audience and characters not even knowing who it is.