Location 1:Brighton, small cosy cafe, just off the high street, window seat.
Props: bag, newspaper, slice of cake, hot chocolate, mobile phone, receipt, red origami swan.
Actors: Lizzy as Emily
Alex as the Waiter
Location 2: Brighton, private office, within large office building.
Props: Desk, computer, fax, phone, mobile phone, papers, filing system, notelets (reminder to meet Emily), Smashed photo frame (picture of Emily inside), white origami swan.
Actors: Jordan as Dad's dead body.
We are aware that there are factors we cannot control. Unfortunately as it is a long way for us to all travel, so we only really had one chance to film, so time was not on our side.
We had to make sure we got all the shots before it got too dark, which was sort of a race against time because by the time we got there it was about four and being the middle of winter it was getting darker and darker, which made it a struggle to keep continuity.
That was not our only continuity problem, we realised half way through that half the time the door in the background was open and half the door was shut. We quickly learnt our lesson as was keeping an extra watchful eye out for possible continuity indiscretions.
We were very pleased that it rained on the day as it created the atmosphere we were going for, as we were very much inspired by seven and thought the constant rain was very effective and appropriate.
Shot List Date Shot Description 30/11/08 Close-Up Shot of Clock fade 30/11/08 Close-Up Ask Tray with Half smoked cigarette fade 30/11/08 Close-Up Smashed photo frame of picture fade 30/11/08 Close-Up Papers mixed on desk fade 30/11/08 Tracking Tracks up mans body cut 30/11/08 P.O.V. Lift Doors open cut 30/11/08 Tracking Follows girls feet as she walks cut 30/11/08 Long Shot Girl walking in carpark
Note: We had to add on an ending bit because out piece wasn't long enough and so we came up with the idea that it shows the daughter who was on the phone, going to the cafe, the day before. This seems to work but at the end of the lesson, we were told that it still wasn't long enough, so we will have to change it next lesson.
Props Clock Ask Tray and Cigarette Photo and Frame Folders Phone
Throughout the whole scene, there is orchesteral music and an answer phone message plays, showing a youngish girl speaking and during the message she says something like 'Hi dad, haven't seen you for ages, just wondering why you didnt come to the cafe yesterday.... i waited for ages but you didn't show. Just making sure your ok?' etc.
The shot fades up on a clock which is hanging on a wall in a semi-dark room. There is a lamp on but the main source of light is coming from the window which is half covered by a striped blind, making the room have stripes of shadow. It then fades to a panning shot moving up a body from the legs. Another fade takes us to a cigarette burning out in an ash tray and then to some messed up papers on a desk. This is showing us evidence of a struggle. The next shot is the phone hanging off the hook. We here a grunt and it cuts to a mans hand, tied up on the arm of the chair. There is a masked man interrogating the tied up man and after a bit we here a gun shot.
This was our original idea but Ms Knott thought that having a gun shot would make it harder to be realistic so we took it out. We also thought that having an interrogater at all was hard because it was difficult to have dialogue and keep it looking proffesional. The last thing we changed at this stage was having the panning shot of the man at the beginning, so instead we moved it to the end.
In our lesson, we watched some of the last years thriller openings and i have chosen to give analytical feedback on 'Hysteria'.
The titles were presented in a standard font, in white, on a black background. this is done to make it look ordinary because the focus isn't really on the names. On the black background, there is out of focus lights moving across as though it is a torch searching for something, or someone! This is a good mood setter as it immediatly implies a dark, scary theme in the first few seconds.
I thought that the variety of shots used in this opening was very good and there are a few specific ones i'd like to analyse. They chose to use a high angled shot where the camera was in the top corner of the room, giving the impression that they are being watched or are on CCTV. The idea of never being alone or being watched is common in thriller films and this idea was used well. I think that this group may have over complicated things a bit when they used a watermarked extreme close up of the characters eyes on top of another shot. When she takes out the rubbish, there is a really nice low angle shot from in the bushes, used, again to give the idea of being watched or stalked.
As a whole piece, I wasn't certain that it was a thriller film, just because there seemed to be a lot of action happening and this is more a characteristic of a slasher or horror film. They did, however, use classic thriller techniques, as in there were a lot of still shots and this wasn't too complicated, but the storyline gave off the feeling of other genres. Something that added to the feeling of a thriller film, was the music. There was a lot of non-diajetic, orchestral music playing which set the atmosphere and made me feel tense. There was also diajetic bangs and crashes which made me jump and kept me engaged.
The last thing i noticed, was the mise-en-scene. I liked the use of lighting, especially when she went outside because the lights were from the house, making her sillhouted. The torch beam was also effective, but it seemed that she found it on a washing line which confused me! The fact that it was dark added to the atmosphere and made it feel 'thrillery' contrasting to the red costume, used to represent danger.
Overall, i enjoyed this opening, but thought that it could have been more thrillery and that if they were organised then they could have foun a way to pick up the torch before leaving the house, rather that finding it on a washing line!!
I like the opening titles sequence with the collage of black and white photos and the crossing out of credits, I thought that was a nice idea well put together with a very effective result. There were lots of low camera angles used which is very typical of thrillers, seeing feet but not faces gives a very mysterious, eery an uncomfortable atmosphere. The red light in the "the red room" where photos are developed, is immediately associated with blood. I also find the attention to detail with the washing blood off hands particularly impressive however the amount of tools dropped into the basin was slightly excessive yet they did make an effective noise in contrast to the sinister silence beforehand. The final image that flashes onto the screen is really quite surreal especially with the accompaniment of the drum and bass style music, To be honest it didnt personally work for me, in the classroom the general reaction was to laugh rather than feeling tense of afraid. I understand what they were trying to do and I think it was good that they tried something different and original but it didn't seem typical of a thriller opening. On the whole I think this is a great piece of work, i particularly liked the setting and titles. i I could change anything it would be the music accompanying the final shot.
I have researched the most well known thriller actors in the business and have found alot of information about them.
First on the list is Tom Cruise. He has apperead in many thiller films, incuding 'Collateral', 'Minority Report', 'War of the Worlds' and the 'Mission Impossible' trilogy. He was born on the 3rd of July, 1962, in New York and is a scientoligist. His most recent thriller film is the third 'Mission Impossible' film, which stars him. Here is the trailor for it...
In this trailor, the opening section is Tom Cruise's character, Ethan Hunt, being interrogated. This also opens the film and is very effective as the interogator is asking him questions that we don't understand about a 'Rabbitfoot'. This scene is repeated later on in the film and so, as an audience, we already know what is going to happen, the bit that we need to work out, is why it happened!
The next actor i am going to look at, is Matt Damon. Thriller films that he has appeared in, include 'The Departed', 'The Bourne Identity' series and 'The Oceans Eleven' series. He was born on the 8th of October, 1970, in Boston and now has 2 children. One of his most recen films is 'Ocean's Thirteen'. This is the trailor for it...
The last time we saw Danny Ocean's crew, they were paying back ruthless casino mogul Terry Benedict after stealing millions from him. However, it's been a while since they've come back together, which is all about to change. When one of their own, Reuben Tishkoff builds a hotel with known casino owner Willy Banks, the last thing he ever wanted was to get cut out of the deal personally by the loathsome Banks. Banks' attitude even goes so far as to finding the amusement in Tishkoff's misfortune when the double crossing lands Reuben in the hospital because of a heart attack. However, Danny and his crew won't stand for Banks and what he's done to a friend. Uniting with their old enemy Benedict, who himself has a vendetta against Banks, the crew is out to pull off a major plan. One that will unfold on the night Banks' newest hot spot opens up, when the crew is out to bankrupt one of the city's most despised businessmen. But they're not in this for the money, but for the revenge.
The final actor I am going to look at is Nicole Kidman. She is an australian actress and has appeared in such thriller films as 'To Die For', 'The Others', 'Eyes Wide Shut' and 'Dogville'. She was born on the 20th of June, 1967, in Honolulu and was once married to Tom Cruise.
A recent film that she has been in is 'The Others'. This is the trailor for it... A woman named Grace retires with her two children to a mansion on Jersey, towards the end of the Second World War, where she's waiting for her husband to come back from battle. The children have a disease which means they cannot be touched by direct sunlight without being hurt in some way. They will live alone there with oppressive, strange and almost religious rules, until she needs to hire a group of servants for them. Their arrival will accidentally begin to break the rules with unexpected consequences.
These are all modern actors and have been rated in the top ten thriller actors, at present.
In this blog, I have used information from: http://movies.toptenreviews.com/ http://www.imdb.com/ http://www.youtube.com/ http://www.google.co.uk/
Camera Angles are very important to a Thriller film, as this genre allows very diverse and unconventional angles. Camera angles can affect the audience to a certain degree, or portray a character of location in a specific way, it can change an atmosphere with a single change of shot. Bird’s-Eye view This is a shot, directly above the action, this is very unnatural and a very expensive angle to film from. Objects from an angle such as this may be unrecognisable at first. However this position puts the audience into an almost godlike position looking down on the characters. Hitchcock and his admirers such as Brian de Palma are fond of this particular shot. High Angle Not as extreme as a bird's eye view. The camera is elevated above the action using a crane to give a general overview however for our low budget film a simple ladder could be used to achieve this angle. The object or character often gets swallowed up by their setting - they become part of a wider picture. Eye Level This is a very good angle to capture an actors full facial expression, this could also be used for suspenseful moments. The camera is usually placed five or six feet from the ground to achieve this level. Low angle This is particularly good if you want your audience to feel overwhelmed by the camera on the screen, as they are looking down towards the camera, unlike the bird’s eye view where the audience are in the dominating position. This particular angle could be used to film a character running, with just the shot of his/her feet. Oblique/Canted Angle This is when the camera is held at tilt, i.e. not horizontal from the ground. This is usually used for the eye view of a character. This is common in thriller movies, where the animalistic character is watching its prey through a push. This angle is usually used with out a tri-pod so that the hand can get a realistic angle and movement.
My personal evaluation I feel that the preliminary task was very straight forward and challenge less; this was due to our planning and story boarding which allowed us to work with a very ‘step by step’ attitude. As I was an actor in our piece I felt that I contributed to the task immensely and I was able to focus on the task instead of having a good time with my friends. I also observed the continuity of our location and myself and my partners clothing; for example, the tags on my trainers were out at the beginning of the scene, it was mandatory that they stayed the same throughout the scene. I also took part in the filming process, to get to grips with the camera, but as I had used a camcorder for family and home video’s, I was not overwhelmed with what buttons to press and when. Finally, the editing process was probably the most challenging part of the task, as the software was very confusing and not very ‘user friendly’ for first time editors. But after a little bit of practice I was able to get used to the software. For our Thriller opening scene I will ensure that I include myself to an even greater deal, perhaps spending more time on the filming area, rather than laying a dominant part of the film. I feel that I have learnt some skills which I can then continue onto future projects.
Before filming it is essential that a checklist is created, this will consequently avoid mistakes and wastage of time on the filming day. Here a few subjects that my group will need to focus on before we actually start the filming process. Costume, what are the characters wearing and what will it bring to the thriller, also, how will it portray the characters personality and back ground, for example a business man would wear a suit whereas a homeless man may wear a rough old coat with some ripped tracksuit bottoms and sandals. Lighting/time of day, this is very important for filming and it can also affect the continuity of a film. We will need to decide on what time of day we should film, should it be daylight, to get away from the stereotype of a thriller opening and to allow a wider range of atmospheric techniques. Or night time, which would allow us to introduce animalistic characters and a higher degree of suspense and thrill. Props, what props will be used in the scene and how will it enhance the story and support the characters in the scene, are certain props necessary to help the scene progress, such as mobile phones of transport such as bicycles. The set, this could also be affected by the public, should we film in a busy area with the risk of losing our continuity, or should we film in an enclosed area where continuity is infrequently tested. In addition, a public place could affect the sound, for example, if you wanted a very quiet moment whilst filming, but wanted to include diegetic sound, then a busy high street such as Oxford Street would not be a good location, due to car noises etc.
In Thrillers less can most definitely be more and in ‘Memento’ this is certainly the case. It begins with a single shot towards a hand and a Polaroid picture. Automatically the audience are trying to work out what the picture is of but as the picture is being shaken you realise that the photo is fading away, relating to the loss of memory the main character suffers from. This is a very interesting technique that could be affective in our own Thriller scenes, but it would only work if it was slow and unrecognised straight away as it will include the audience making them question what is actually happening. The director also uses no dialogue in this scene, allowing the audience to focus on the event rewinding; also as dialogue may introduce the character too early into scene, as this section is very slow and reflective. In addition the director has also decided to prevent the audience from knowing where they are, this is due to very close shots to the characters face, the blood and the bullet. Consequently blocking out the set, which keeps the audience wanting to find out more, instead of the set being presented very elaborately like ‘The Dark Knight’.
Over the past term, we have expanded our knowledge on a variety of things, such as:
Thriller genres
Thriller directors
Thriller films
Typical thriller locations
Thriller protagonists and antagonists
How to use the filming equipment
How to use final cut pro
However, in this post, i have decided to re-cap on the terminolgy. We should all know have a fairly wide vocabulary of media terms:
Genre: A category of media texts characterized by a particular style, form or content.
Industry: The agencies and institutions involved with the production of media texts. The term is also used in a more narrow sense to describe the commercial production of media texts for the purpose of making a profit.
Film Noir: French for "black film" or "dark film". A term used describe a genre of film popular in America between 1940 and 1960.
Fade: A transition to or from "nothing". In audio, to or from silence. In video, to or from a colour such as black.
Focus: The process of adjusting the lens in order to obtain a sharp, clear picture
Pan: Horizontal camera movement.
180 degree rule: The 180° rule is a basic film editing guideline that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line. The new shot, from the opposite side, is known as a reverse angle.
Mise en scene: The arrangement of visual compositional elements and movements within a given space. In movies, it is defined by the frame that enclosed the images.
From the very beginning of this opening scene you are engrossed. I feel that this is due to the lack of suspense as the audience is expecting the shot to change to a different location, instead of a big glass smashing from an unpredicted area of the screen. The music holds a quick pulse which suggests that there is a mission ahead. The director has purposely decided to hide the faces of the bank robbers, leaving facial features and facial expressions out of the picture. This suggests that the robbers are worthless and their identity is not necessary, especially as they are each being killed one by one. From the middle of the opening scene a non-diegetic ticking sound begins to play a part in the scene, this sub consciously makes the audience feel that a saviour is on its way and the criminals must depart. But instead the criminals get away in a very smooth and unobvious manner, which frustrates the audience consequently ticking a box for a thriller characteristic, as it invites the audience into the movie with their own emotions
The opening scene of The Matrix is very dark and murky. It begins with a bright light shone directly into the camera as the camera slowly pans left, afterwards you see the police officers moving in towards their destination. This creates tension towards the audience as the criminal must be very dangerous. The director also uses torch light to highlight the character, which works well as it is a large contrast to the dark surroundings. The Director also uses music to heighten the action; however it is not continuous as there large pauses with diegetic sound such as breath and sudden crescendo music to intensify the moment. This is also being used with moments of slow motion as Trinity is running away from the police officers. Another idea I gathered from this opening scene is the way in which the agents crash the vehicle into the phone booth which trinity is standing in, but the director decided to avoid showing impact to her body. Consequently, allowing the audience to have a moment of suspense as they wait to find out if she is dead or alive.
I found the editing process quite challenging. I had never used final cut pro before and i came across quite a few difficulties. Thankfully, i had my group there to support me. I was given the task of doing the tittles. I managed, on my own, to find out what to do for this. I'm still not confident with using final cut pro However, I found this video, which could help:
When we were assigned to create a short preliminary scene I was excited to start using the cameras and editing equipment as soon as possible. But I was not aware of the preparation before the practical area. We began by going into our groups and brainstorming some ideas such as, where we will film the scene and what the story is behind the conversations exchanged. Straight away each of us were trying to be as creative as possible, with ideas such as filming in a public toilet, and out on the field. But we settled on the film studio which allowed us to prevent interruptions from other students, lighting and weather. We also decided to film an audition scene, in which I knock on the door, I come in and the casting director asks me what song I am going to sing. We had a clear idea of how the scene would work, so story boarding was straight forward. When we started filming the shots did not take very long at all, and we had finished filming the whole scene in about half an hour. When I used the camera I was comfortable with what buttons to press and how to zoom as I have previously filmed holiday breaks on my own camcorder at home, so angle changes and positioning was straight forward and trouble free. By the end of the lesson we had realised that our microphone hadn’t been on, so after we had discussed the matter we decided to film it again, the following week. We decided to change the set and film in a class room, as it provided the same benefits as the studio. Once again this was very straight forward and we were able to stick to the same story board we had prepared at an earlier date. We were finally aloud to start editing our preliminary scene. This was probably the most technical and mind challenging step that we had to take. Whilst watching the video over, we decided on the shots that we did not want to include in our text. But the hard bit was the exact second that you wanted to ‘cut in’ and where to ‘cut out’ and how to drag them and sequence them together, but after a little while we were able to get used to the buttons that needed to be pressed and how to put the scene together.
As you can see from the video below our scene came to an acceptable standard. I personally liked the establishing shot which was smooth and followed on to the actual scene, instead of just an establishing shot and a cut. I also liked the way in which the door opened and there was an unfocused shot of Lizzy at her desk. However their was a fault with the continuity of sound in the scene, but due to some editing we were able to make it sound natural as the sound continued onto another shot and faded out. In addition, the final area of the scene where the camera zooms into my face, it would have been more professional if we used a non-Diegetic sound instead of Alex singing the tune in the background.
I have been asking people a series of questions about what they think thrillers are and most people aren't clear on this.
What is a Thriller film?
People thought that thriller films would be scary and contain alot of jumps. They would be contain alot of adreneline and car chases and would thrill you. It would include alot of danger and somebody trying to solve the mystery. They are constantly thinking 'Will they, Won't they...?' and keep your pulse beating.
This is the general public's view on what a thriller film is and it I think it is pretty closet. Wikipedia's definition of a thriller film is:
'Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action, and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more-powerful and better-equipped villains. Literary devices such as suspense, red herringsand cliffhangers are used extensively.'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_films#Film 4th November 2008
Which of the Following films would you describe as a thriller? A) The Bourne Identity B) House of Wax C) Saw D)Lord Of The Rings
Most people thought that Saw was a thriller film, however this film is from the horror genre. Other people thought that House of Wax is a thriller, this is also a horror film as certain characteristics make it so, e.g. it is more gorey and less action packed. The right answer is The Bourne Identity, this includes chases and is much more thoughtful and clever. Horror films are normally just pointless killings and make the audience scared, rather than making them think.
Who do you think is the target audience of a thriller film?
Most people think that the target audience for a thriller film ia aimed at teenage boys, who are interested in high speed car chases, big explosions and action packed scenes, but this is not true. I think that the typical target audience for a thriller is between the ages of 16 and 35, and someone who likes the challenge of working out the answer or the secret killer. They will like an adreniline rush but are just as into thinking about the story line.
In conclusion, i don't think that the general public really know what a thriller film. Because thriller uses ideas from horror, mystery and other genres, sometimes films might no have a clear, definate genre.
I really enjoyed this project. However, we did encounter one major problem which put the filming process to a sudden holt. Things were going ok, we filmed our scene, included all the requirements and we thought everything was fine. It wasn't until we watched our scene on the computer that we realised that there was no sound. Next time, we will definitely ensure that the camera has sound and that we check it properly. We figured that we hadn't checked the camera before using it. This was a really big problem. We had to organise, in our extra time, some time to re-film our whole scene.
After our small mishap, things soon got back on track.
For the exercise, there were a few requirements. We met all of them:
Match on Action-00:16 minutes
Over the Shoulder shot-00:20 minutes onwards
180 rule-our 180 line went through the two characters and we always stayed on the left.
I feel that our video looks good, however there is a slight problem starting from 00:18.
From an audiences perspective, it looks like the camera is going to pan across with the actor, however half way through the panning, we cut quite suddenly to an over the shoulder shot. When filming, it seemed like a good idea, but watching it back, it looks odd.
If we were to film this again, i think we would be more aware of the sound. Because there was a constant drilling near where we were filming, which therefore cause inconsistency in the sound. Also, to achieve a more professional feel to it, at the end we think it would have been better to use the actual soundtrack of Shania Twain's "Man, I Feel Like A Woman" instead of Alex's voice. We couldn't do this however because it is copywrited.
This is the final project of our preliminary exercise.
We really enjoyed the work we did in the edit suite and particularly like the cut where it switches between Jordan reaching for the door and the door handle, into the room. It is good because the cut looks smooth and when th e door opens you can see Lizzy in the room. However, it does look slightly out of focus.
Something that didn't, orignally work, is that there was drilling going on outside the classroom, where we were filming. We didn't notice this until we came to the editing suite, made the cut and noticed the inconsistency in the sound. We corrected this by fading the sound out on one of the clips. If we were to film again, we would have liked to put in the actual music for the intro of 'Man I Feel Like A Woman', instead of just Alex's voice, to make it sound more complete and professional.
We did have some difficulties during the filming process for example, we went through and filmed the whole prelim excersise got to the editing suite and realised we had no sound, this was fustrating as it was all because we didnt flick the correct switch. however we learnt a valuable lesson and in future we will always remember to check the sound.
It has given us a taster for filming and editing and it will be exciting to do it for real when creating our thriller openings, now we have had a chance to practice techniques such at the 180 degrees technique, the over the shoulder technique, also keeping continuity throughout. Next time around we will have already made the initial technical errors and will be ready to get more creative. Think about costumes, settings, lights, music and make it as exciting, tense and atmospheric as possible.
I was going through clips of thrillers on YouTube and saw one of the very well known psycho (Alfred Hitchcock). I noticed the music to be the real builder of tension and when in gets towards the action it becomes more and more terrifying. This showed me how important it is to get the music or sounds used just right as it can make a scene effective, tense, possibly uncomfortable and like in psycho when the music was just spot on extremely memorable. People who have never watched a thriller know that shower section of music in psycho. So the search for a great piece of music or sound begins...
Memento's opening music: lots of strings, low, slowing building, more thoughtful than scary, not as aggressive or violent music, but makes you wonder whats going on. It is because of the style of music that when you see the Polaroid photograph of a man who had clearly been murdered, there is loads of blood and yet you don't flinch at this incredibly violent image in fact as it starts to fade you look at it harder, even when you see the man who has just photographed this victim you feel calm and puzzled as to why the man is doing this awful thing. This is a key example of how the music can completely control the mood.
Bourne Identity, in this particular piece of music there is a great sense of urgency, things happening fast, it has a clear pulse to the music and feels like you a running, there is a great deal of tension and you feel insecure and unsettled, you feel like whoever is running could be dead any minute and you worry for that person's safety. Another great piece of music and yet completely contrasting to the other piece of music above.
So we need to decide whether we are doing a violent opening, thoughtful opening, a intense opening. We need to decide the pace and the content and choose music to reflect the mood.
Alfred Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) Hitchcock was an iconic and highly influential director and producer. He introduced many techniques into the suspense and thriller genres. His most reknowned thriller was Physco (1960). Here is the film's pivotal scene, and one of the most famous scenes in cinema history; the murder of Janet Leigh's character in the shower.
The following information was taken from the blurb of this film clip:: " It was shot from December 17 to December 23, 1959 and between 71 and 78 angles (the exact number is unknown). The scene "runs 3 minutes and includes 50 cuts." Most of the shots are extreme close-ups except for medium shots in the shower directly before and directly after the murder. The combination of the close shots with the short duration between cuts makes the sequence feel longer, more subjective, more uncontrolled, and more violent than the images themselves were they presented alone or in a wider angle.In order to capture the straight-on shot of the shower head, the camera had to be equipped with a long lens. The inner holes on the spout were blocked and the camera placed farther back, so that the water appears to be hitting the lens but actually went around and past it.The soundtrack of screeching violins, violas, and cellos was an original all-strings piece by composer Bernard Herrmann entitled "The Murder." Hitchcock originally wanted the sequence (and all motel scenes) to play without music, but Herrmann begged him to try it with the cue he had composed. Afterwards, Hitchcock agreed that it vastly intensified the scene and he nearly doubled Herrmann's salary. The blood in the scene is in fact chocolate syrup, which shows up better and has more realistic density than stage blood on black-and-white film. The sound of the knife entering flesh was created by plunging a knife into a casaba melon."
Quentin Tarantino is an award-winning American film director, screenwriter and actor. He rose to fame in the early 1990s for his unique directing method that relied heavily on dialogue.
A recent film directed by Quentin Tarantino is Kill Bill, starring Uma Therman
This is the opening scene from Kill Bill volume 1.
I personally love this opening, the tension created is amazing. Then the sudden shooting at the end makes the audience jump and gives them a thrill.
I have decided to research common thriller locations which are seen regularly in thriller movies over the years. However locations such as a yacht out at see would be almost impossible to use for our thriller film so I have decided to gather a few locations which are accessible for my group.
The Forest
The forest is a very flexible location for filming a thriller; it allows the use of very long shots, and room for chasing scenes. Also the shades of light vary depending on the trees above, so this would give my group a catalogue of different areas to work from. The uses of animalistic antagonists are common for a location such as the forest, thus being the animal’s habitat. And a common shot would be the eye view from behind a bush, observing the prey.
The City In many thrillers the use of a city can introduce a dark, cold atmosphere to the film. It primarily works with the sub genres of Crime, Action and spy Thrillers, working with the police. The use of The City will allow my group to use buildings, ally ways and even car parks to allow our film to look and feel as professional as a real blockbuster movie.
I have decided to research the way in which a target audience is found this is so that my group can relate the vision of our thriller, to the ways in which a target audience is identified. The information found in this blog was taken from canadianfilmmaker.com
Every film has a target audience, but it is our job as a group to know specifically who they are. Without a target audience our thriller will not communicate effectively. You can start by guessing, however this guess must be informed. Expert distributor Tony Cianciotta once said that when he is about to buy a film he’ll ask himself: “who would stand in a lineup outside, at night, in January to see this film?” you can then picture the lineup, and that will show you your target audience. In addition the people in the line are within a particular age range and watch or read similar media, consequently advertisement will be observed from a similar range of magazines, television channels etc. You can also picture previous movies that people have seen, and the areas of those movies which worked, which didn’t work and why. You can then educate yourself on your target audience and film with purpose. Typically, age ranges break down as follows
Kids 5-11 Teen 11- 14 Teen 13-16 17-21 18-24 and 18-34 25-54 54+
These age ranges are important to film makers as a movie which will entertain a 5 year old will not appeal to a 14 year old. The more precisely you have defined your audience, the better chance you have of creating a movie which they want to see. For most genres including thriller, the 18-24 and 18-34 age range makes up the largest movie selling, target audience. In which it is the core of big audiences and stiff competition.
I have decided to research further into the main characters or protagonists in Thriller films. This role is usually taken on by a male, showing that men are the best for handling situations which they are usually faced with in Thriler films. It is rare for us to see a woman take on this role. Personally, I feel that there should be more Thrillers which feature a female as the protagonist to show how the story would develop differently and how the outcome would differ. Female actresses who have taken roles in Thriller films are:
Jodie Foster-Flightplan
Katherine Heigl-Zyzzyx Road
Halle Berry- Perfect Stranger
I found it hard to find even these. So i have therefore come to the conclusion that it is most common for males to play the protagonist in thriller films.
We watched the opening of One Hour Photo in class. I was so excited and intrigued by it, I got it out of blockbuster and watched it that weekend. A thriller that keeps you feeling tense and on the edge of your seat through the whole thing. You really care about the family and the little boy. I think the involvement of a child makes it that much more worrying and you have such a strong will for the child to be safe, you cant stop watching. The lead character is disturbing and yet part of me still worried and cared for him as he seemed vulnerable. He was also so terrifying as he was clearly not mentally in his right mind, he was like a ticking bomb, so calm and contained and disciplined you spend the whole film waiting for him to crack. Throughout the film he is constantly wearing the same colour as his back drop, very beige. In the opening there is a white room he blends with and just an empty red chair. There are flashes of red through the rest of the film that always catch the audiences eye. It is a very intense film, as there is not alot happening for most of it, you are just left waiting for this unstable middle-aged man to breakdown.
Comments on the trailer:
In the trailer it opens with a young boy's voice speaking with compassion and care about someone lonely. There is sounds like wind blowing etc. there is an establishing shot on the house. It almost feels like someone is there watching from outside. Tensions build as sounds simmer along building up and getting louder, nothing of any notability seems to be happening, just looks like a lonely man. You feel sympathy and yet something is unsettling about him. Shots change in and out like photos. There is then a black screen and the word "he knows your name" came up it white, its chilling. There is a continuous sound of the tapping of a drum symbol, the same rhythm repeated again and again. Then you see the family and hear the sound of a picture being taken, then see the man looking at the picture. You see him at the house of the establishing shot where you are aware the family lives. Then there is a shot of him with a camera. The shot is then close up of the camera looking into the lense, through it you then see the credits. Music builds getting louder, shots of him in a red room breaking down, shots that look right into his eyes. In contrast to the little boys voice at the beginning you hear his voice " snap shot was originally a hunting term". Flashes of quick changing photos or snap shots of the family, ands with a jault. The music sound loud aggressive like something is hunting its prey. In my open in this trailer it is choice of music and quickly changing fast paced camera movement, each image having practically its own frame, more like a flick book than film, made it so nerve wracking and effective.
We first filmed the preliminary task in the T.V. studio, and when it came to editing it, we found out that the switches on the microphone had been changed and so no sound was recorded. This meant that we would have to re-record the whole task, again.
In a way I think that making this mistake at the beginning of the course has benefitted our group for two reasons:
We now know to check, everytime we use a camera, that the sound is turned on and is recorded.
I think it's better that this has happened to us now, at a point when we are still learning how to use the cameras and can easily re-film it, as opposed to when we are filming an important task which we can't film again.
I think that we have all learnt form our mistake and can improve on our filming by checking it everytime.
After filming a second time, we edited our preliminary task. We began this by looking through the video files, which we had uploaded the previous lesson, and finding where we want the first clip to start. We then pressed 'Set in' on the keyboard and it cuts the clip into that specific point. We then continue to watch it and when it gets to the point where we wanted to change angle, we paused it and pressed 'Set out' on the keyboard.
Once we had chosen how we want the clip, we dragged the clip and put it onto the time line. We repeated this on every shot that we wanted incuding a shot reverse shot and an establishing shot.
When we had applied this technique to the whole short film, we had to put credits on the end as well.
At first I didn't know how to do this, until Jack showed me. Under the preview screen, there is a small 'A' meaning you can input text onto the video file. When I clicked on it, a list of options came down. We pressed 'Rolling Credits' and then onto 'Controls' where we wrote in our names. When we previewed it, the credits had been set to be in the centre and to roll form top to bottom, so this is what happened.
We then dragged the credits onto the end of the time line and this was the end of the editing process.
I have done some research on a sub-genre in thrillers called spy thrillers. when researching this, a film cropped up several times. The film is called Dr. No and was the first of the famous 'James Bond' films, which are still being made today. In the film James Bond is a secret agent for the British Government and has to save the world in an action packed adventure.
A rough outline of the target audience of the James Bond films, and other thrillers, is 16-30 and appeals to both sex's.
'They appeal because they are action-packed, have fantastic special effects and gadgetry, secrecy, danger and have a variety of exotic locations.'
We were given a hand out at the start of our research on thrillers called "the thrill of it all" which was a starter in our continuous research on thrillers. After reading the sheet I highlighted some key points which I thought I would add to our blog:
1. The first important point was a quote from Alfred Hitchcock. He once said "There's no terror in a bang, only in the anticipation of it".
This relates directly to our thriller openings, there is nothing scary about just blood and screaming. What we really need to do is to work out a way of indicating what is going to happen so you leave the audience on the edge of they're seat waiting for it to happen like a "ticking bomb".
2. Another point is that in every thriller film there is only certain amount of time you can sustain being stressed for so in every thriller film there is always some light relief, a comic one liner or something to lighten the mood.
I'm not sure if this is particularly relevant as we are only doing a short opening which will be hopefully full of tension and this is talking about a whole movie. Yet its good to know that thrillers so have brief moments of comic relief that gives the audience a brief chance to relax.
3. Characters you like and want the best for are put in difficult, uncomfortable and potentially life threatening situations. For example in The eye, it is set on a plane, no one as at there most relaxed when the are on a flight and most people do feel slightly anxious "does anyone like sitting next to a stranger on the plane?" points out Wes Craven.
So placing the hero or heroine (person you are rooting for to survive) in an uncomfortable place where it is common to feel anxiety. Some ideas could be; a lift, empty street, empty house, alternatively a crowed place filled with people but no one recognizable.
4. Thrillers is closely related to the horror genre although thrillers are more to create tension and horrors are just purely to gross out. Although horrors do make you jumpy and keep you on the edge of your seat. As that is what we are trying to achieve, so we could put in a few horror camera techniques e.g. shooting from behind, bring the camera from far to close really quick, making the camera which makes you jump.
5. Why would someone want to work in the thriller genre? "because beyond an emotional response, I want to get a physical one. Tension while watching and then utter exhaustion afterwards. It is as simple as that." This was a statement by Park-Chan-wook (highly acclaimed Korean director).
This is our objective, to make people nervous, tense, on the edge of their seat and be affected physically by what they see on screen.
This sheet was provided in class it was photocopied from a statement written by Alan Jones.
I found this information in a book called "Writing a Thriller film (The Terror from within)".
In this book the classic thriller protagonist (leading character) is described:
"A relatively innocent character who normally avoids commitment and dissociates from conflict is abruptly caught in a snare of a menacing conspiracy."
This will help us when deciding on the main character of our thriller. As the main character should probably be someone we want to survive as it makes them more appealing to us. It should also make us want to know what happens more.
I have looked into different types of thrillers, and i have found examples from each sub-genre.
1. Murder Passions-
Based around triangle of husband, wife, lover. The central scene is the murder of either one or two of the triangle members. (research from
The Suspense Thriller
By Charles Derry)
-"Dance With A Stranger" by Mike Newell (1984)
-"The Postman Always Rings Twice" by Bob Rafelson (1946)
2. Political-
"A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of political power struggle. They usually involve various plots, rarely legal, designed to give political power to someone, while his opponents try to stop him from getting it. They can involve national or international political scenarios"-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_thriller
-"Special Section" (1975)
-"Under Siege" (1985)
3. Thriller of Acquired Identity
is Organised around the psychotic effects of a trauma on a protagonist's current involvement in love affair and a crime. The protagonist is always a victim - generally of some past trauma and often of real villains.
Alfred Hitchcok, otherwise known as 'The architect of Anxiety'; was born on the 13th of August 1899 and died on the 29th of April 1980. He was famous for blockbusters such as Psycho (1960) and Lifeboat (1944) in which he obtained 'Best Director' for both movies. Alfred favoured the use of suspense over the use of surprise, he preferred to show things to the audience which the characters in the film do not know, and then artfully build tension around what will happen when the characters finally learn the truth, instead of assaulting the audience with frightening things. Hitchcock often used this aphorism to support his opinion- "There's two people having breakfast, and there's a bomb under the table. If it explodes, that's a surprise. But if it doesn't..."
Information taken from the book: The Complete Films of Alfred Hitchcock by Robert.A. Harris.
Ridley Scott is infamous for his stylish visuals and an obsession for detail. He was born on the 30th of November 1937. He is an Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe, Emmy Award and BAFTA Award winning director and producer. Famous for blockbusters such as 'Gladiator' (2000) 'American Gangster' (2007) and 'Alein' (1979).
Ridley Scott favours the use of slow pacing, until the action sequences which are enhanced with the use of quick, rapid edited shots. Ridley also enjoyes using the technique of sound or music to build tension, seen in 'Alien' with hissing steam and beeping computers.
We have been assigned a task in which we must film and edit a short scene between two people. Character 1 must walk into a room, sit down on a chair and exchange a few lines of dialogue. It must include an establishing shot, over shoulder shots and the continuity must be fluent. The main objective of this assignment is to demonstrate the technique of the 180 degree rule.
On our first Media Lesson, we learnt about the use of the 180 degree and continuity. To the left, is an image of the 180 degree rule. Basically, it states that you cannot cut across the line of dialogue during a scene, or it will confuse the audience and continuity will be broken.
Continuity is making sure that each time the scene is cut, the slightest details remain the same e.g. if a character is drinking from a cup then the drink will be at the same level when the shot is changed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP8pHDxVOLk
In this video there is a lot of bad continuity. at the beginning she is walking to the left side of the boy, but then when it cuts to a mid shot she switches to the right. It then cuts again and her hand changes from the right side of her head to the left. Next there is no car in the road and when it cuts there is suddenly a black car which then changes to a white car.
Hey guys, We are Passion Productions and this is our Blog of research, planning and producing a thriller, in every stage of our development in media. We are going to find out box office figures, research classic thriller films, look at camera angles and character types, think about appropriate music and settings and eventually create the opening to our own thriller film.
We hope you enjoy our blog!! Alex, Lizzy, Jordan and Amy
