What is a thriller? The critics and theorists responce to defining the genre.
G K Chesterton was the first person to comment on the thriller genre. Thrillers were first created as books in the 1900's and Chesterton said that a thriller is set in an urban landcapes, they supposidly find excitement in everyday life and transform the ordinary to the extraordinary. This initial definition wasn't very specific but it was a good initial idea.
Northrop Frye was the next person to expand the thriller genre and he made the link between romance fiction and thrillers. There is a link between the two because an ordinary person is the hero and we are happy to believe the fictional situations the characters find themselves in.
John Cawelti then said that a thriller transforms the city from a modern centre of commerce, industry and science into a place of enchanment and mystery. He said this could be achieved by introducing "the exotic" into the everyday world for example in lord of the rings with the ring and in Jumanji with the board game.
W H Matthews had a strong idea that thrillers relate to mazes and labyrinths in fiction. He thought the image of Theseus decending into an underground maze full of twists, turns, puzzles and dead ends creates a good thriller. He also thought that to create a sucessfull thriller you must add complex twists and turns so that the audience doesn't solve the problem too easily but it should be designed so that the audience could dedcuse it.
Pascal Bonitzer expanded on Matthews concept and thought up the idea of "partial vistion" linking to when Matthews advocated mazes. He said that the audience should only see so much and what the audience don't see is part of the system of thrillers. Pascal also thought that the narrative picks a wat through the maze for the audience.
Lars Ole Sauberg came up with some interesting ideas of creating suspence. They are hiding something from the audience and delaying or protracting an expected outcome for example in die hard when they diffuse a bomb
The final theorist was Nole Carroll and he came up with the question and answer model. The question and answer model creates suspence by making them asking questions like in the television program lost. Carroll also said that another factor for creating suspence is a battle against odds or the "probability factor" like in braveheart when they are outnumbered. The final method of suspence that Carroll created was the moral factor and this is achieved by having the hero as someone who may have done some bad things and this creates suspence for the audience because it may not be morally right for them to survive.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
section 2: research into examples of thriller opening scenes
Thriller analysis of Seven
The narrative of seven is linear and involves the seven deadly sins being portrayed through murders over seven days. The film has a natural climax and the reveal of the killer is strung out in the film.
The film uses many codes and conventions throughout for example it is set in a busy city which is always raining which creates a dreary mood. The film is set in a run down city which is busy where crime is just a daily occurrence, this is the opposite to a popular murder mystery such as midsummer murders, the setting seems ordinary and this links to G K Chesterton's theory of changing the ordinary to extraordinary. The city remains nameless in the film and this is done to give the essence of mystery to the audience. Another code of a thriller film is to keep the audience in the dark and this is done in the graphics because there are many images which do not make sense to the audience and are explained later in the film. Also in the graphic sequence there are little clues given to the audience, like the flashing images, so they can attempt to solve the crime. The graphic sequence also makes the audience ask questions because of the flashing images and other strange activities shown in the opening scenes and this makes the audience question the relevance of them. The characters are all just ordinary people and this links to Northrop Frye's theory of the hero in a thriller film.
The mise-en-scene is very implicit in the opening of Seven, the characters of detective Mills and Somerset are complete opposites. Detective Somerset is black, old, keeps himself to himself and lives alone. He is retiring at the end of the week in the film and this links to his name somerset which connotates as the sun setting and resting. whereas Detective Mills is young, white, cocky and married (which is also his weakness). Tracy Mills is his wife and she is cute, attractive which tells the audience that she could be the damsel in distress in this film. The character John Doe has connotations of being anonymous because of his name. Later in the film we find out that he
believes that he is doing gods work and that the film is based on his number one big plan. The graphics show that he is crazy and not a good person as strange images of him keep being shown, like him stitching books together. A significant prop used in the opening scenes is the metronome used by detective somerset and this connotates as time passing and that its running out.
The sound used in the opening of Seven is mainly diegetic with sounds like sirens and the rain which just enforce the connotations behind the setting. Another diegetic sound is used later in the opening when the metronome is used and this is used to show the passing of time. There is non-diegetic music used in the graphics and this is dramatic, upbeat and haunting this sets the scene for the rest of the film and makes them feel freaked out which matches the images being shown.
The editing in the opening scene is very standard with mainly using cuts but when the graphics are shown there are some ghost cuts used and this is done to give a haunting effect and to distort time.
The Graphics in this film are very significant because they give the audience clues about what is going to happen in the rest of the film. The words in the graphics appear in white writing on a black background and this links to the opposite main characters. The opening credits are written in a creepy hand written look and this links to the serial killer John Doe because he writes a lot of memoirs and it also gives the graphics an eerie feel to them. There are many quick flashing graphic images and these act like subliminal messages to the audience and prepare them for the haunting things they will see in the film, they also acts as a clue and give away a slight concept of what will happen in the film. One image is of the words "in god we trust" and this links to John Doe being very religious but it also could link to those words being on a dollar bill which tells the audience what he could be after.
Thriller analysis of Red Eye
The thriller film Red Eye has a linear narrative, however there is a lot of mystery because it is a domestic story about business.
The film does use thriller codes and conventions because it often makes the audience ask questions like right at the beginning when the wallet is shown with the initials J R and this makes the audience ask who is he? The audience is kept in the dark from the very beginning because the man who takes the wallet or J R is not shown. The setting of the film is in a rainy dark city which is a conventional setting. It is also common in thrillers for the bad people to be planning with blueprints to clearly show something is going to happen in the film. The bad people also have photos which are a conventional prop and makes the audience ask more questions about what it is in the photos. The bad people also have a big box which could be the "exotic" and this could bring the mystery to the film.
Red Eye starts with a slow track forward to a wallet and this shows that it is important. When the bad people are planning there is another slow track forward and this follows the action and also shows that what they are doing is important. Most of the titles are in the small graphic section at the start but some still are put over the action. There is finally a shallow focus shot of a man with J R's wallet and this shot is used to make the audience focus on what is happening in this mans hands.
Right at the start of the film J R's wallet is taken and this shows that the person who took it is a bad man. In the first shot there are pictures of a girl which tell the audience that this man could be a loving dad. This could be this mans weakness and the film could escalate into her being the victim.The pictures are of her with a degree which tells the audience that she is intelligent and the other picture is of her playing hockey which tells the audience that she is sporty, all these pictures are there so that the audience begins to like her and want her to stay alive. The bad people have surrounded the mysterious box with fish to disguise it from customs and this could have connotations of these bad men being involved in some fishy business. J R is then reviled to the audience when his driving licence is shown, he is from Florida and this could have a link to fish and the fishy business taking plaice. We then see the photo of the daughter and see that they are highly related, the bad person also throws away the credit cards which shows that he isn't interested in small amounts of money. The wallet seems to be lingering in this opening extract to the film and this enforces its importance to the audience.
The film starts with non-diegetic sound of a plain on a runway which shows a link to the audience and also builds up suspense for the next scene. Each setting in this extract has a different sound because when it changed to the dock the music changes to an upbeat funky song which tells the audience that it is a big operation. When the villains get out there blueprints the music changes to a cerebral soundtrack and links to them planning and the mission intensity. When a villain opens an envelope he does it very loud and dramatically which shows that he is a villain and has an aggressive personality.
The opening extract starts with quick camera changes and this shows that it is a big operation and that they are rushing it and working quickly. There are then many slow pauses and long takes and this shows that the action is all staying in one place. This then speeds up when the photos and blueprints are seen and it shows clearly the separate scenes.
The graphics in this film are very simple, there is black on white credits which connotate as opposites and good versus evil. The title Red Eye is written in red writing which connotates as danger, death and anger. The graphics zoom away from the screen which mirrors a plain taking off and also the graphics end with a plains engine sounding to link in with the title.
Thriller analysis of State of Play
The thriller State of play has a linear narrative and is a political thriller which is a bout a witness to a murder fearing for his life.
State of play abides by many codes and conventions of the thriller genre. The film is set in a dark busy city which corresponds with G K Chesterton's theory of changing the ordinary to the extraordinary. The audience are forced to ask questions from the start because they wonder who the victim is and why he is being chased. The exotic is also introduced in the opening scenes because the murderer has a briefcase with him. However, this is also unconventional in a way because the vilain already has the briefcase with him before he killed the victim.
The camerawork is very simple in the opening of State of play, the extract begins with an establishing shot of Washington. The director has used this establishing shot at the beginning of the film so that the audience know where it is set and to tell the audience that it is a political thriller. When the victim is being chased a steady cam is used and this will make the audience feel like they are in the scene, but also make the feel of panic that the victim is feeling more real to the audience. At the end of the scene there is a track forward to the witnesses face and the director did this to signify that he is alive and important.
The setting of State of Play signifies to the audience that its dangerous and full of crime because its a dark busy city. The scene starts with an old couple walking down the street and the director has chosen to use old people because they connotate as innocent, fragile. When the victim pushes them this shows his desperation and connoataes as a bull in a china shop, being scared and desperate. When you see the victims silhouette on top of political buildings this has a link with race relations and could be to do with a black man being gunned down by a white man. When you see the victims teeth you see they are broken which makes the audience question if he is a lowlife and why he is running. You can tell that the killer is a professional because of his stance and the way that he just heartlessly killed the victim.
There is mainly diegetic sounds used in the opening scene of State of Play, it starts with the sound of a helicopter and a siren which links with the connotations of the city being dangerous. The victims heavy breathing tells the audience that he has been running for a long time and this is herd throughout the scene until he is killed which is done to signify his last breath. The gun that the killer is using is silenced gun which shows that he wants to be quiet.
The editing in State of Play is very simple and there are just simple cuts between scenes, however there is a good example of match on action when the victim is running away and this is used to follow the action and put the audience in the victims shoes.
The graphics for State of Play are blue and this links to the phrase blue murder, it also could connotate as being cold or the police lights. There is also a moment in the graphics which uses the colours red, white and blue this has a link with the American flag and enforces the political thriller genre.
Thriller analysis of Strangers on a Train
The narrative structure of Strangers on a Train is linear and involves two strangers meeting on a train and discussing the idea of swapping murders, which would be flawless because there is a killer but no motive. The film starts when the two strangers touch and this sends the ball rolling as they now have a connection.
The film does abide by many codes and conventions of a thriller film, but it also does break these conventions to make it unique in true Hitchcock style. The opening of this film shows the main characters getting out of a taxi cab and this shows that the characters are normal people. The audience are also kept in the dark because all you can see is the main characters shoes and so this makes the audience want to carry on watching to find out there identity. The film does use unconventional music because it is very grand and dramatic which does not create suspense like an ordinary thriller.
The camerawork in the opening of Strangers on a Train is all low level and Alfred Hitchcock has done this so that it keeps the audience anonymous which makes the audience carry on watching to find out there identity. There is a two shot where we can see the two characters backs going down the same path which could connotate as them having the same fate. The first shot where we see the characters faces is a two shot and the audience can see that they are opposites because they are explicitly opposite each other on the train but also there body language shows one stiff and sat up and the other slouched over. While the characters are talking the camera does a shot reverse shot of the conversation between them, which establishes more of a link between the characters.
The first shot that we see there is a car in the centre of attention an it is going through an arch and this is a very grand scene. The director has done this to excite the audience from the start and so the audience will want to carry on watching. When one of the characters gets out of the cab this shows the audience that this person is anonymous and this makes the audience ask questions like who are they? When the camera shows the two characters shoes this tells the audience that they are different because one of them has smart and practical shoes and the other has shoes which look like a clowns and this could connotate as this character being very eccentric and strange. When the other character gets out of the car the audience can see tennis rackets in his hands and this makes them ask if he is a tennis player. The next shot shows a tunnel leading to the train station and this connotates as many strangers meeting, from different places funneling into one, which enforces the title. The title has a very deep meaning because it suggests that all the people we ever will meet are strangers at some point and we need to be able to meet new people in order to live. The point of view of a train is then shown and this is a very significant shot because it connotates as peoples journey through life, which can go off the rails and change in an instant. Some tracks cross over each other and they are the ones w here we meet someone and change the direction of there life.
The sound in the opening of Strangers on a Train also enforces the characters differences. When Bruno is shown the music which is child like and similar to the music in a cartoon, whereas Guys music is big, masculine and important. When Bruno is shown on the train there is spooky and thriller like music which is done to make him seem like a threat and to tell the audience that he is the bad person in the film. Bruno also says on the train "I do admire people who do things" when he says this he is saying that he wishes he had the courage to kill his father, also this links to Bruno being a loser and mothers boy.
The editing in Strangers on a Train is well done from the start because you can tell that there is a link between the characters and that they are going to meet because of the cross cutting of them walking. This connotates to the audience that they are linked from the beginning and also shows them how they are difference of there shoes, this is important because at the start of the film it gives the audience some background information to start with.
The graphics are very old fashioned because it is an old film, they are very in your face, big and loud. This is done to set the tone for the rest of the film because this then tells the audience that it will be a big exciting blockbuster which will shock you. The font of the opening credits is bold and almost clumsy because it looks handwritten and this links to the character Bruno who is eccentric and clumsy also. The music that is playing is a classical orchestra and this is unconventional in a thriller film and gives the audience the impression that the film will be an epic and depicts the serenity of the film.
Thriller analysis of The Day After Tomorow
The day after tomorow has a linear narrative which starts out resonably happy and normal but then it gradually gets worse and escalates into a global issue.
Only a few of the thriller codes and conventions are met in the day after tomorow. Suspence is definately met in the film because it keeps the audience in the dark and makes the audience ask questions. For example when the ice is cracking and the audience want to know who is doing that and why its happening. The entire film encludes excitement in an everyday situation because the crisis is global and you can see this in the opening becuse its ment to just be an enviromnetal study but it escalates into a geographic crisis. The hero in The Day After Tomorow is just an ordinary environmentalist which corresponds with Northrop Fryes theory.
The camera work in The Day After Tomorow starts with an arial shot over ice and is an establishing shot, which tells the audience where the characters are. An extreme close up of the American also is used like an establishing shot to show what country the film will be focusing on. When the character goes into the caravan a hand held camera is used and this is because the director wants the audience to feel part of the opperation and feel like they are there. This will later make them feel nervious when the environmental crisis begins. An extreme close up shows them drilling into the ice, this links with the films message which is that people are doing too much damage to the earth. There is a tilt up which follows the ice and this is to show the ice is coming straight at them and is a danger to them. A high angle shot shows that people are insignificant, vulnerable and cannot stop nature fighting back. When there is a close up of the main characters feet after he just made the jump across the canion, this tells the audeince that he only just made it across.
The environmentalists are used in the opening extracts because they are clever and have a link to the world. They also dont have experiance with danger so they are thrown out there comfort zone. When the boss of the opparation lets the inexpirianced person opparate the drill this connotates as them being calm and are more focused on their work. This also could suggest that they are drilling carelessly which could be hurting the environment. When the cracking is shown this tells the audience that danger is coming at them. When the main character jumps the canion just to get the cores this tells the audience that they must be very important because he is risking his life to get them.
The non diegetic sound used in the graphics is very slow and depressing as the film is about the end of the world so the music enforces this by being sad and depressing. The next sound used is the diegetic sound of the flag waving in the brease and this is a loud noise to show the scale of the harsh condtitons that they are in. After one of the characters says "I didn't do anything" there is a moment of silence. The director does this to build tension and to give the audience a moment where they think that everything will be ok but then the ice crashes an instant later, which makes the audience smash back down to reality.
The editing in The Day After Tomorow is very simple and just uses cuts between scenes, this is done so that the enphasis is on the scale of chaos and camera angles.
The graphic sequence in The Day After Tomorow is very long and relevant to the story line. The titles start out with a black screen with white font and this connotates as the little ice which is left on the planet. The Day After Tomorow is written in red wrighting and this conoatates destruction and danger which the world will soon be in because of nature. An arial shot then shows the little ice left in the poles which signifies the end of the world soon coming because of this reason. The director has chosen to use an arial shot because it looks down on the world and conotates as us doing wrong in our life time and ruining the world.
Thriller analysis of Saw
The graphics in the film Saw do not last for a long time, they are very simple and only involve white wrighting on a black background. The black on white could connotate as the characters involved in the film as they are innocent (white) and surrounded by darkness. The credits simply fade in and out which could signify the victims of the killer fading out of existence. When the film title is shown in the credits there is a track forward to the title which could connotate as the killer coming for you. The title then ghost cuts away which gives the impression of disorientation and dissiness of the victims. When the word Saw comes on the screen there is a quiet, eeire style of music which makes the audience feel confused and scared, the director has done this to scare the audience from the very begining.
The narrative structure in Saw is linear allthough it does involve flashbacks and plott twists so it does have influences of other narrative structures.
Saw does abide by many codes and conventions for exapmple the audience are kept in the dark literally which then causes them to ask questions and suspence is created. When the light does come on you can see that characters involved in the story are both ordinary which corresponds with Northrop Fryes theory. Saw also corresponds with John Cawellti's theory of the thriller being set in an indusrial setting.
The first shot in saw is a close up of the main characters face under water which tells the audience that this character is away and not in his normal environment. When the lights come on there is a lot of hand held camera used to show the characters disorientation and also signifies that they have been in that room for a long time. A point of view shot is used to make the audience feel like they are in the same room as the main characters which will later make them fear for there lives. The next point of view shot which tilts down to show the dead body is used to put the same feeling of shock to the audience that the characters feel. The camera spins arouns and zooms out which the director has done to shock the audience and make them feel like there head is spinning. The director has put the audience in the same position as the main characters so that the audience establish a link with them and fear for there lives later in the film. An extreme close up of the dead bodies head and hand with a gun in it clearly show the audience what happened to that person.
The opening of Saw starts with the main character in a bath filled with water. He starts to thrash around which tells the audience that he isn't there willingly, the director has chosen to the character to be in the bath because it plays with some of the audiences fears and it is a strange place for him to be and this tells the audience about how the psychopath could think. The film starts out in darkness and this plays with the audiences fear and makes them question what is happening, this also gives away the style of the film which is dark. When the lights are turned on then there is an extreme contrast from very dark to very light wich leaves both the audience and the characters feeling disorientatied which makes the audience identify with the characters. The setting used is a dirty old vandalised bathroom which also makes the audience question how the psychopath thinks. When the one of the characters sees the dead body he is sick and the director has chosen to make him do this so that the audience can see that he isn't used to seeing bodies and to show the audience that he is a weak person. The character does overplay his reaction and this could be to try and get a reaction off the audience. This person then panicks and starts pulling at his chain and this has been done to enphasise the chain which he has and to show the audience that he is an ordinary person who is not used to whats going on. However, the other person trapped is calm which makes the audience question how long he has been there for.
The sound in the opening of the Saw film is very typical of a thriller. It starts with an eerie orchestral sound when the word saw comes up in the opening titles, this is done to scare the audience from the beginnign and make them feel like that whenever they hear that name. Then there is diegetic noises of the main character thrashing around in water and of him coughing which makes the audience question what is going on because there is no lighting. You can also hear faint non diegetic sounds of more eerie music which confuses the audience, this plays throughout the extract and gets louder and quieter to build suspence. When the lights are turned on the music gets louder and helps conveys the characters disorientation. The music then stops untill the body is seen when you can hear volins playing which makes the audience feel shocked and scared. After this the eerie music gets louder and enphasises the main characters state of panic.
The editing in the film is very straight forward and just uses cuts between shots but when the main character panics there is a fast change between shots to enphasise the state he is in and make the audience feel a similar way.
The narrative of seven is linear and involves the seven deadly sins being portrayed through murders over seven days. The film has a natural climax and the reveal of the killer is strung out in the film.
The film uses many codes and conventions throughout for example it is set in a busy city which is always raining which creates a dreary mood. The film is set in a run down city which is busy where crime is just a daily occurrence, this is the opposite to a popular murder mystery such as midsummer murders, the setting seems ordinary and this links to G K Chesterton's theory of changing the ordinary to extraordinary. The city remains nameless in the film and this is done to give the essence of mystery to the audience. Another code of a thriller film is to keep the audience in the dark and this is done in the graphics because there are many images which do not make sense to the audience and are explained later in the film. Also in the graphic sequence there are little clues given to the audience, like the flashing images, so they can attempt to solve the crime. The graphic sequence also makes the audience ask questions because of the flashing images and other strange activities shown in the opening scenes and this makes the audience question the relevance of them. The characters are all just ordinary people and this links to Northrop Frye's theory of the hero in a thriller film.
The mise-en-scene is very implicit in the opening of Seven, the characters of detective Mills and Somerset are complete opposites. Detective Somerset is black, old, keeps himself to himself and lives alone. He is retiring at the end of the week in the film and this links to his name somerset which connotates as the sun setting and resting. whereas Detective Mills is young, white, cocky and married (which is also his weakness). Tracy Mills is his wife and she is cute, attractive which tells the audience that she could be the damsel in distress in this film. The character John Doe has connotations of being anonymous because of his name. Later in the film we find out that he
believes that he is doing gods work and that the film is based on his number one big plan. The graphics show that he is crazy and not a good person as strange images of him keep being shown, like him stitching books together. A significant prop used in the opening scenes is the metronome used by detective somerset and this connotates as time passing and that its running out.
The sound used in the opening of Seven is mainly diegetic with sounds like sirens and the rain which just enforce the connotations behind the setting. Another diegetic sound is used later in the opening when the metronome is used and this is used to show the passing of time. There is non-diegetic music used in the graphics and this is dramatic, upbeat and haunting this sets the scene for the rest of the film and makes them feel freaked out which matches the images being shown.
The editing in the opening scene is very standard with mainly using cuts but when the graphics are shown there are some ghost cuts used and this is done to give a haunting effect and to distort time.
The Graphics in this film are very significant because they give the audience clues about what is going to happen in the rest of the film. The words in the graphics appear in white writing on a black background and this links to the opposite main characters. The opening credits are written in a creepy hand written look and this links to the serial killer John Doe because he writes a lot of memoirs and it also gives the graphics an eerie feel to them. There are many quick flashing graphic images and these act like subliminal messages to the audience and prepare them for the haunting things they will see in the film, they also acts as a clue and give away a slight concept of what will happen in the film. One image is of the words "in god we trust" and this links to John Doe being very religious but it also could link to those words being on a dollar bill which tells the audience what he could be after.
Thriller analysis of Red Eye
The thriller film Red Eye has a linear narrative, however there is a lot of mystery because it is a domestic story about business.
The film does use thriller codes and conventions because it often makes the audience ask questions like right at the beginning when the wallet is shown with the initials J R and this makes the audience ask who is he? The audience is kept in the dark from the very beginning because the man who takes the wallet or J R is not shown. The setting of the film is in a rainy dark city which is a conventional setting. It is also common in thrillers for the bad people to be planning with blueprints to clearly show something is going to happen in the film. The bad people also have photos which are a conventional prop and makes the audience ask more questions about what it is in the photos. The bad people also have a big box which could be the "exotic" and this could bring the mystery to the film.
Red Eye starts with a slow track forward to a wallet and this shows that it is important. When the bad people are planning there is another slow track forward and this follows the action and also shows that what they are doing is important. Most of the titles are in the small graphic section at the start but some still are put over the action. There is finally a shallow focus shot of a man with J R's wallet and this shot is used to make the audience focus on what is happening in this mans hands.
Right at the start of the film J R's wallet is taken and this shows that the person who took it is a bad man. In the first shot there are pictures of a girl which tell the audience that this man could be a loving dad. This could be this mans weakness and the film could escalate into her being the victim.The pictures are of her with a degree which tells the audience that she is intelligent and the other picture is of her playing hockey which tells the audience that she is sporty, all these pictures are there so that the audience begins to like her and want her to stay alive. The bad people have surrounded the mysterious box with fish to disguise it from customs and this could have connotations of these bad men being involved in some fishy business. J R is then reviled to the audience when his driving licence is shown, he is from Florida and this could have a link to fish and the fishy business taking plaice. We then see the photo of the daughter and see that they are highly related, the bad person also throws away the credit cards which shows that he isn't interested in small amounts of money. The wallet seems to be lingering in this opening extract to the film and this enforces its importance to the audience.
The film starts with non-diegetic sound of a plain on a runway which shows a link to the audience and also builds up suspense for the next scene. Each setting in this extract has a different sound because when it changed to the dock the music changes to an upbeat funky song which tells the audience that it is a big operation. When the villains get out there blueprints the music changes to a cerebral soundtrack and links to them planning and the mission intensity. When a villain opens an envelope he does it very loud and dramatically which shows that he is a villain and has an aggressive personality.
The opening extract starts with quick camera changes and this shows that it is a big operation and that they are rushing it and working quickly. There are then many slow pauses and long takes and this shows that the action is all staying in one place. This then speeds up when the photos and blueprints are seen and it shows clearly the separate scenes.
The graphics in this film are very simple, there is black on white credits which connotate as opposites and good versus evil. The title Red Eye is written in red writing which connotates as danger, death and anger. The graphics zoom away from the screen which mirrors a plain taking off and also the graphics end with a plains engine sounding to link in with the title.
Thriller analysis of State of Play
The thriller State of play has a linear narrative and is a political thriller which is a bout a witness to a murder fearing for his life.
State of play abides by many codes and conventions of the thriller genre. The film is set in a dark busy city which corresponds with G K Chesterton's theory of changing the ordinary to the extraordinary. The audience are forced to ask questions from the start because they wonder who the victim is and why he is being chased. The exotic is also introduced in the opening scenes because the murderer has a briefcase with him. However, this is also unconventional in a way because the vilain already has the briefcase with him before he killed the victim.
The camerawork is very simple in the opening of State of play, the extract begins with an establishing shot of Washington. The director has used this establishing shot at the beginning of the film so that the audience know where it is set and to tell the audience that it is a political thriller. When the victim is being chased a steady cam is used and this will make the audience feel like they are in the scene, but also make the feel of panic that the victim is feeling more real to the audience. At the end of the scene there is a track forward to the witnesses face and the director did this to signify that he is alive and important.
The setting of State of Play signifies to the audience that its dangerous and full of crime because its a dark busy city. The scene starts with an old couple walking down the street and the director has chosen to use old people because they connotate as innocent, fragile. When the victim pushes them this shows his desperation and connoataes as a bull in a china shop, being scared and desperate. When you see the victims silhouette on top of political buildings this has a link with race relations and could be to do with a black man being gunned down by a white man. When you see the victims teeth you see they are broken which makes the audience question if he is a lowlife and why he is running. You can tell that the killer is a professional because of his stance and the way that he just heartlessly killed the victim.
There is mainly diegetic sounds used in the opening scene of State of Play, it starts with the sound of a helicopter and a siren which links with the connotations of the city being dangerous. The victims heavy breathing tells the audience that he has been running for a long time and this is herd throughout the scene until he is killed which is done to signify his last breath. The gun that the killer is using is silenced gun which shows that he wants to be quiet.
The editing in State of Play is very simple and there are just simple cuts between scenes, however there is a good example of match on action when the victim is running away and this is used to follow the action and put the audience in the victims shoes.
The graphics for State of Play are blue and this links to the phrase blue murder, it also could connotate as being cold or the police lights. There is also a moment in the graphics which uses the colours red, white and blue this has a link with the American flag and enforces the political thriller genre.
Thriller analysis of Strangers on a Train
The narrative structure of Strangers on a Train is linear and involves two strangers meeting on a train and discussing the idea of swapping murders, which would be flawless because there is a killer but no motive. The film starts when the two strangers touch and this sends the ball rolling as they now have a connection.
The film does abide by many codes and conventions of a thriller film, but it also does break these conventions to make it unique in true Hitchcock style. The opening of this film shows the main characters getting out of a taxi cab and this shows that the characters are normal people. The audience are also kept in the dark because all you can see is the main characters shoes and so this makes the audience want to carry on watching to find out there identity. The film does use unconventional music because it is very grand and dramatic which does not create suspense like an ordinary thriller.
The camerawork in the opening of Strangers on a Train is all low level and Alfred Hitchcock has done this so that it keeps the audience anonymous which makes the audience carry on watching to find out there identity. There is a two shot where we can see the two characters backs going down the same path which could connotate as them having the same fate. The first shot where we see the characters faces is a two shot and the audience can see that they are opposites because they are explicitly opposite each other on the train but also there body language shows one stiff and sat up and the other slouched over. While the characters are talking the camera does a shot reverse shot of the conversation between them, which establishes more of a link between the characters.
The first shot that we see there is a car in the centre of attention an it is going through an arch and this is a very grand scene. The director has done this to excite the audience from the start and so the audience will want to carry on watching. When one of the characters gets out of the cab this shows the audience that this person is anonymous and this makes the audience ask questions like who are they? When the camera shows the two characters shoes this tells the audience that they are different because one of them has smart and practical shoes and the other has shoes which look like a clowns and this could connotate as this character being very eccentric and strange. When the other character gets out of the car the audience can see tennis rackets in his hands and this makes them ask if he is a tennis player. The next shot shows a tunnel leading to the train station and this connotates as many strangers meeting, from different places funneling into one, which enforces the title. The title has a very deep meaning because it suggests that all the people we ever will meet are strangers at some point and we need to be able to meet new people in order to live. The point of view of a train is then shown and this is a very significant shot because it connotates as peoples journey through life, which can go off the rails and change in an instant. Some tracks cross over each other and they are the ones w here we meet someone and change the direction of there life.
The sound in the opening of Strangers on a Train also enforces the characters differences. When Bruno is shown the music which is child like and similar to the music in a cartoon, whereas Guys music is big, masculine and important. When Bruno is shown on the train there is spooky and thriller like music which is done to make him seem like a threat and to tell the audience that he is the bad person in the film. Bruno also says on the train "I do admire people who do things" when he says this he is saying that he wishes he had the courage to kill his father, also this links to Bruno being a loser and mothers boy.
The editing in Strangers on a Train is well done from the start because you can tell that there is a link between the characters and that they are going to meet because of the cross cutting of them walking. This connotates to the audience that they are linked from the beginning and also shows them how they are difference of there shoes, this is important because at the start of the film it gives the audience some background information to start with.
The graphics are very old fashioned because it is an old film, they are very in your face, big and loud. This is done to set the tone for the rest of the film because this then tells the audience that it will be a big exciting blockbuster which will shock you. The font of the opening credits is bold and almost clumsy because it looks handwritten and this links to the character Bruno who is eccentric and clumsy also. The music that is playing is a classical orchestra and this is unconventional in a thriller film and gives the audience the impression that the film will be an epic and depicts the serenity of the film.
Thriller analysis of The Day After Tomorow
The day after tomorow has a linear narrative which starts out resonably happy and normal but then it gradually gets worse and escalates into a global issue.
Only a few of the thriller codes and conventions are met in the day after tomorow. Suspence is definately met in the film because it keeps the audience in the dark and makes the audience ask questions. For example when the ice is cracking and the audience want to know who is doing that and why its happening. The entire film encludes excitement in an everyday situation because the crisis is global and you can see this in the opening becuse its ment to just be an enviromnetal study but it escalates into a geographic crisis. The hero in The Day After Tomorow is just an ordinary environmentalist which corresponds with Northrop Fryes theory.
The camera work in The Day After Tomorow starts with an arial shot over ice and is an establishing shot, which tells the audience where the characters are. An extreme close up of the American also is used like an establishing shot to show what country the film will be focusing on. When the character goes into the caravan a hand held camera is used and this is because the director wants the audience to feel part of the opperation and feel like they are there. This will later make them feel nervious when the environmental crisis begins. An extreme close up shows them drilling into the ice, this links with the films message which is that people are doing too much damage to the earth. There is a tilt up which follows the ice and this is to show the ice is coming straight at them and is a danger to them. A high angle shot shows that people are insignificant, vulnerable and cannot stop nature fighting back. When there is a close up of the main characters feet after he just made the jump across the canion, this tells the audeince that he only just made it across.
The environmentalists are used in the opening extracts because they are clever and have a link to the world. They also dont have experiance with danger so they are thrown out there comfort zone. When the boss of the opparation lets the inexpirianced person opparate the drill this connotates as them being calm and are more focused on their work. This also could suggest that they are drilling carelessly which could be hurting the environment. When the cracking is shown this tells the audience that danger is coming at them. When the main character jumps the canion just to get the cores this tells the audience that they must be very important because he is risking his life to get them.
The non diegetic sound used in the graphics is very slow and depressing as the film is about the end of the world so the music enforces this by being sad and depressing. The next sound used is the diegetic sound of the flag waving in the brease and this is a loud noise to show the scale of the harsh condtitons that they are in. After one of the characters says "I didn't do anything" there is a moment of silence. The director does this to build tension and to give the audience a moment where they think that everything will be ok but then the ice crashes an instant later, which makes the audience smash back down to reality.
The editing in The Day After Tomorow is very simple and just uses cuts between scenes, this is done so that the enphasis is on the scale of chaos and camera angles.
The graphic sequence in The Day After Tomorow is very long and relevant to the story line. The titles start out with a black screen with white font and this connotates as the little ice which is left on the planet. The Day After Tomorow is written in red wrighting and this conoatates destruction and danger which the world will soon be in because of nature. An arial shot then shows the little ice left in the poles which signifies the end of the world soon coming because of this reason. The director has chosen to use an arial shot because it looks down on the world and conotates as us doing wrong in our life time and ruining the world.
Thriller analysis of Saw
The graphics in the film Saw do not last for a long time, they are very simple and only involve white wrighting on a black background. The black on white could connotate as the characters involved in the film as they are innocent (white) and surrounded by darkness. The credits simply fade in and out which could signify the victims of the killer fading out of existence. When the film title is shown in the credits there is a track forward to the title which could connotate as the killer coming for you. The title then ghost cuts away which gives the impression of disorientation and dissiness of the victims. When the word Saw comes on the screen there is a quiet, eeire style of music which makes the audience feel confused and scared, the director has done this to scare the audience from the very begining.
The narrative structure in Saw is linear allthough it does involve flashbacks and plott twists so it does have influences of other narrative structures.
Saw does abide by many codes and conventions for exapmple the audience are kept in the dark literally which then causes them to ask questions and suspence is created. When the light does come on you can see that characters involved in the story are both ordinary which corresponds with Northrop Fryes theory. Saw also corresponds with John Cawellti's theory of the thriller being set in an indusrial setting.
The first shot in saw is a close up of the main characters face under water which tells the audience that this character is away and not in his normal environment. When the lights come on there is a lot of hand held camera used to show the characters disorientation and also signifies that they have been in that room for a long time. A point of view shot is used to make the audience feel like they are in the same room as the main characters which will later make them fear for there lives. The next point of view shot which tilts down to show the dead body is used to put the same feeling of shock to the audience that the characters feel. The camera spins arouns and zooms out which the director has done to shock the audience and make them feel like there head is spinning. The director has put the audience in the same position as the main characters so that the audience establish a link with them and fear for there lives later in the film. An extreme close up of the dead bodies head and hand with a gun in it clearly show the audience what happened to that person.
The opening of Saw starts with the main character in a bath filled with water. He starts to thrash around which tells the audience that he isn't there willingly, the director has chosen to the character to be in the bath because it plays with some of the audiences fears and it is a strange place for him to be and this tells the audience about how the psychopath could think. The film starts out in darkness and this plays with the audiences fear and makes them question what is happening, this also gives away the style of the film which is dark. When the lights are turned on then there is an extreme contrast from very dark to very light wich leaves both the audience and the characters feeling disorientatied which makes the audience identify with the characters. The setting used is a dirty old vandalised bathroom which also makes the audience question how the psychopath thinks. When the one of the characters sees the dead body he is sick and the director has chosen to make him do this so that the audience can see that he isn't used to seeing bodies and to show the audience that he is a weak person. The character does overplay his reaction and this could be to try and get a reaction off the audience. This person then panicks and starts pulling at his chain and this has been done to enphasise the chain which he has and to show the audience that he is an ordinary person who is not used to whats going on. However, the other person trapped is calm which makes the audience question how long he has been there for.
The sound in the opening of the Saw film is very typical of a thriller. It starts with an eerie orchestral sound when the word saw comes up in the opening titles, this is done to scare the audience from the beginnign and make them feel like that whenever they hear that name. Then there is diegetic noises of the main character thrashing around in water and of him coughing which makes the audience question what is going on because there is no lighting. You can also hear faint non diegetic sounds of more eerie music which confuses the audience, this plays throughout the extract and gets louder and quieter to build suspence. When the lights are turned on the music gets louder and helps conveys the characters disorientation. The music then stops untill the body is seen when you can hear volins playing which makes the audience feel shocked and scared. After this the eerie music gets louder and enphasises the main characters state of panic.
The editing in the film is very straight forward and just uses cuts between shots but when the main character panics there is a fast change between shots to enphasise the state he is in and make the audience feel a similar way.
section 3: brainstorm ideas for your film
After much deliberation and brainstorming our group decided to create a film called Psychotica, our film would be about a girl who can see terrible events before they happen. We chose to make our film in a dark style and we thought this would create a tense and disturbing atmosphere which would be a convention of a thriller film. The dark atmosphere does too go hand in hand with the plot as it has shocking and terrible events taking place which would benefit from the tense and disturbing atmosphere. In our choice to make the film have a dark atmosphere, this could have a knock on effect onto the film classification. It may have to force us to put a high classification like a fifteen or eighteen because a dark atmosphere could be found disturbing for those people in younger age groups. However, when I did some research into other films which have a dark atmosphere such as Batman the Dark Knight and Red Eye, I found that they both had certificates of twelve and this would be good for our thriller film because it would allow us to have a wider target audience and so make greater profits.
The main plot in our film was about a girl who possesses the ability to see terrible events before they occur. We have to make these events seem shocking but we wouldn't make them too gory and disturbing so that the certification could remain at twelve allowing us to maximise profits.
So we would make our film dark, disturbing, with a tense atmosphere, shocking and terrible events will occur but our film will only contain mild gore. This I think would allow our thriller film to have the classification of a twelve.
With this our target audience can now be named, our target audience would be both males and females from the ages twelve to about twenty. I picked this target audience because they are the likeiest people to go and watch a thriller film in a cinema.
The main plot in our film was about a girl who possesses the ability to see terrible events before they occur. We have to make these events seem shocking but we wouldn't make them too gory and disturbing so that the certification could remain at twelve allowing us to maximise profits.
So we would make our film dark, disturbing, with a tense atmosphere, shocking and terrible events will occur but our film will only contain mild gore. This I think would allow our thriller film to have the classification of a twelve.
With this our target audience can now be named, our target audience would be both males and females from the ages twelve to about twenty. I picked this target audience because they are the likeiest people to go and watch a thriller film in a cinema.
section 4: audience research- and research into the BBFC film classification system
After writing out our questionnaire and distributing them around the college we can now draw up a number of conclusions. These conclusions will then have an important influence on some decisions we will make regarding our thriller film.
Most of the people who filled in our questionnaires were sixteen years old as you can see from the pie chart. The questionnaire proved that we needed to focus on the teenage market wh
en making our thriller film and also re-ensured us that we had chosen the correct age certificate for our film. However, the questionnaire was not directed to any twelve or thirteen year olds because we didn’t feel that they would give the creative and helpful feedback as the older teenagers did. This caused us to gamble with the younger market but I think that the extremely positive feedback we got from the older market has made it acceptable.
When asked which subgenre of thrillers our audience prefer they all gave an extremely positive reaction to Psychological thrillers and so this inspired us to try and make our thriller film as psychological as we could. I think that this has been shown in our opening sequence in the method we have used to create suspense by having instrumentals in black video and then silence when picture is shown on the screen. This I feel gave the opening sequence some pace and plays with the audiences emotions in a psychological way. The second most popular subgenre was the supernatural thriller which was good because the general plot of our thriller film was supernatural and so it was good to know that our target audience responded well to this genre.
As you can see from the pie chart we asked our audience which genre of music would be best for creating suspense. We gave them
a range of genres of music to choose from and the two most popular were orchestral and rock. So when creating the music we did want to please our audience but also make the music scary and make the audience feel confused and still abide by the thriller codes and conventions. So when adding music to our thriller film we will look out for songs that have an orchestral background but have a slight rock edge and give the opening more pace. The target audience did respond negatively to the fast paced music and so this would mean that the music we choose will have to be relatively slow but we will make sure that it still can create suspense.
When we asked our target audience which setting would be the best for a thriller film and we got another positive response. This is because we were planning on setting our film in just a normal household environment. This would then make the thriller seem more realistic as it is set in a normal, everyday environment like in paranormal activities. This would make more of an impression on our target audience because it's closer to real life and it would give the audience the feeling that it could happen to them. The second most preferred setting was the urban landscape and this also is another positive response as our secondary setting in our thriller film would have been the city with scenes involving the detective.
Our target audience were asked when they think that the twist should be reveale
d and we got a very strong response to the end of the film. This means explicitly that we shoulr reveal the twist at the end of the film, it also means that we will have to adopt a linear narrative. We will have to abide by the linear narrative structure because this involves the twist being revealed at the end of the film; however this is good because it is an easy and effective method of laying out the plot to our film. The linear narrative is also very affective because it has worked for such popular thriller films such as Red Eye, The Day After Tomorrow and Batman the Dark Knight.
We asked our target audience if children would be scary and effective in thriller films and the majority of our audience said that yes they would. This shows us that without question they agree with us, this is a very good reaction because we were planning on having a child in our thriller but we weren’t sure if it would benefit the film or not. However, the reaction from this question has reassured us that we should have a child in our thriller film.
We received another strong reaction from our audience when we asked which name they would prefer. The name Psychotica was the overall favourite and so it was easy for us to name our thriller film.
Most of the people who filled in our questionnaires were sixteen years old as you can see from the pie chart. The questionnaire proved that we needed to focus on the teenage market wh
en making our thriller film and also re-ensured us that we had chosen the correct age certificate for our film. However, the questionnaire was not directed to any twelve or thirteen year olds because we didn’t feel that they would give the creative and helpful feedback as the older teenagers did. This caused us to gamble with the younger market but I think that the extremely positive feedback we got from the older market has made it acceptable.When asked which subgenre of thrillers our audience prefer they all gave an extremely positive reaction to Psychological thrillers and so this inspired us to try and make our thriller film as psychological as we could. I think that this has been shown in our opening sequence in the method we have used to create suspense by having instrumentals in black video and then silence when picture is shown on the screen. This I feel gave the opening sequence some pace and plays with the audiences emotions in a psychological way. The second most popular subgenre was the supernatural thriller which was good because the general plot of our thriller film was supernatural and so it was good to know that our target audience responded well to this genre.
As you can see from the pie chart we asked our audience which genre of music would be best for creating suspense. We gave them
a range of genres of music to choose from and the two most popular were orchestral and rock. So when creating the music we did want to please our audience but also make the music scary and make the audience feel confused and still abide by the thriller codes and conventions. So when adding music to our thriller film we will look out for songs that have an orchestral background but have a slight rock edge and give the opening more pace. The target audience did respond negatively to the fast paced music and so this would mean that the music we choose will have to be relatively slow but we will make sure that it still can create suspense.When we asked our target audience which setting would be the best for a thriller film and we got another positive response. This is because we were planning on setting our film in just a normal household environment. This would then make the thriller seem more realistic as it is set in a normal, everyday environment like in paranormal activities. This would make more of an impression on our target audience because it's closer to real life and it would give the audience the feeling that it could happen to them. The second most preferred setting was the urban landscape and this also is another positive response as our secondary setting in our thriller film would have been the city with scenes involving the detective.
Our target audience were asked when they think that the twist should be reveale
d and we got a very strong response to the end of the film. This means explicitly that we shoulr reveal the twist at the end of the film, it also means that we will have to adopt a linear narrative. We will have to abide by the linear narrative structure because this involves the twist being revealed at the end of the film; however this is good because it is an easy and effective method of laying out the plot to our film. The linear narrative is also very affective because it has worked for such popular thriller films such as Red Eye, The Day After Tomorrow and Batman the Dark Knight.We asked our target audience if children would be scary and effective in thriller films and the majority of our audience said that yes they would. This shows us that without question they agree with us, this is a very good reaction because we were planning on having a child in our thriller but we weren’t sure if it would benefit the film or not. However, the reaction from this question has reassured us that we should have a child in our thriller film.
We received another strong reaction from our audience when we asked which name they would prefer. The name Psychotica was the overall favourite and so it was easy for us to name our thriller film.
section 5: treatment
Our film is called Psychotica, it will be a supernatural thriller which keeps the audience in the dark and builds suspense.
Concept A girl called Loraine who has psychic powers and sees that bad things are going to happen, only one person believes her . It is up to Detective Hill and Loraine to stop the terrorist from attacking her school.
Synopsis: A girl called Loraine who has physic powers can see bad things are going to happen. People says shes crazy but she meets Detective Hill who believes she has physic powers. Loraine starts to use her powers inside school, her teachers and fellow pupils begin to get worried and think shes loosing it. She is then taken away to St Shirley's mental hospital. Detective Hill visits Loraine in the mental hospital, when more bad things are being for seen Detective Hill takes her out to follow up the lead. Loraine sees an oil tanker crashing into the dock, but Loraine and Detective Hill gets there in time. The military then show up and take Loraine away for testing.Loraine then sees a terrorist attack at her school. Detective Hill is forced to break her out to save the school. Detective Hill and Loraine help the children by disabling the bomb.
Opening Scene: Our opening scene starts off in a kitchen with Loraine and her mum. Loraines mum is chopping meat and Loraine sees that her mum is going to cut her hand on the knife she is chopping the meat with. Loraines version then comes true and her mother wonders how Loraine knew it was going to happen. After these shots the titles will then be shown, in the titles there will flashes of some terrible events which could happen later in the film. The flashes will be of the terrorist attack in the school, the shots will be off the school pupils taken hostage by the terrorist.
Other details In our thriller film there will be no big stars and new upcoming actors will be used. The location of our opening scene wil be very basic with just a kitchen used, this will allow us to not spend a lot of money, so making the film low budget.
Concept A girl called Loraine who has psychic powers and sees that bad things are going to happen, only one person believes her . It is up to Detective Hill and Loraine to stop the terrorist from attacking her school.
Synopsis: A girl called Loraine who has physic powers can see bad things are going to happen. People says shes crazy but she meets Detective Hill who believes she has physic powers. Loraine starts to use her powers inside school, her teachers and fellow pupils begin to get worried and think shes loosing it. She is then taken away to St Shirley's mental hospital. Detective Hill visits Loraine in the mental hospital, when more bad things are being for seen Detective Hill takes her out to follow up the lead. Loraine sees an oil tanker crashing into the dock, but Loraine and Detective Hill gets there in time. The military then show up and take Loraine away for testing.Loraine then sees a terrorist attack at her school. Detective Hill is forced to break her out to save the school. Detective Hill and Loraine help the children by disabling the bomb.
Opening Scene: Our opening scene starts off in a kitchen with Loraine and her mum. Loraines mum is chopping meat and Loraine sees that her mum is going to cut her hand on the knife she is chopping the meat with. Loraines version then comes true and her mother wonders how Loraine knew it was going to happen. After these shots the titles will then be shown, in the titles there will flashes of some terrible events which could happen later in the film. The flashes will be of the terrorist attack in the school, the shots will be off the school pupils taken hostage by the terrorist.
Other details In our thriller film there will be no big stars and new upcoming actors will be used. The location of our opening scene wil be very basic with just a kitchen used, this will allow us to not spend a lot of money, so making the film low budget.
section 6:character outlines and script
Character profiles
Janet
Janet is a 32 year old single mother who works in a butchers preparing meat to be served to customers. She also likes to paint in her spare time. She was a nurse but due to ill health she was forced to quit. After Janet and her husband split up, she was forced to look after Loraine (her daughter) by herself.
Loraine
Loraine is an 8 year old girl who goes to school, and is made to look after her mother as her mother due to her ill health. In her spare time, she likes to play with her pet rabbit, she likes to draw pictures for her mother and enjoys writing stories. She is a lovely, polite young girl who does well at school and never gets into trouble.
Detective hill
Detective hill is a professional detective who has been in the police force for 25 years. He is 40 years of age married with 2 children, in his spare time he likes to hike and is also a mountain climber.
Teacher
Miss Hornet is a 47 year old teacher at St Johns school; she lives alone with her dog who she loves dearly. In her spare time she enjoys to read or to go on walks with her dog.
Script
The first shot is an establishing shot of the house from outside, the camera then cuts to a close of a big bit of meat being chopped aggressively. The camera cuts to a mid-shot and Janet is seen to be chopping the meat and Loraine is shown to be drawing.
The camera shows Loraine drawing but she suddenly stops and looks up scared and slightly confused.
The camera shows Janet from a high angle chopping the meat in a different light, Janet is chopping until she gets distracted and cuts her hand on the knife and she cries out with pain.
Loraine then opens her eyes and shakes her head like it was a bad dream and looks back down at her drawing warily.
Loraine looks over to Janet cutting the meat with a look of fear.
Lorraine runs over to Janet and tugs at her dress, Janet turns around and looks at Loraine
Loraine: Mum be careful, don’t cut your finger on the knife
Janet: Don’t worry I won't honey
Loraine goes and sits back down and as she does Janet misses the meat and hits her hand with the knife and cries out with pain.
Loraine: I told you mummy
Janet goes off to the sink and washes the blood off her hand, she then looks at Loraine with a look of confusion and fear.
Janet
Janet is a 32 year old single mother who works in a butchers preparing meat to be served to customers. She also likes to paint in her spare time. She was a nurse but due to ill health she was forced to quit. After Janet and her husband split up, she was forced to look after Loraine (her daughter) by herself.
Loraine
Loraine is an 8 year old girl who goes to school, and is made to look after her mother as her mother due to her ill health. In her spare time, she likes to play with her pet rabbit, she likes to draw pictures for her mother and enjoys writing stories. She is a lovely, polite young girl who does well at school and never gets into trouble.
Detective hill
Detective hill is a professional detective who has been in the police force for 25 years. He is 40 years of age married with 2 children, in his spare time he likes to hike and is also a mountain climber.
Teacher
Miss Hornet is a 47 year old teacher at St Johns school; she lives alone with her dog who she loves dearly. In her spare time she enjoys to read or to go on walks with her dog.
Script
The first shot is an establishing shot of the house from outside, the camera then cuts to a close of a big bit of meat being chopped aggressively. The camera cuts to a mid-shot and Janet is seen to be chopping the meat and Loraine is shown to be drawing.
The camera shows Loraine drawing but she suddenly stops and looks up scared and slightly confused.
The camera shows Janet from a high angle chopping the meat in a different light, Janet is chopping until she gets distracted and cuts her hand on the knife and she cries out with pain.
Loraine then opens her eyes and shakes her head like it was a bad dream and looks back down at her drawing warily.
Loraine looks over to Janet cutting the meat with a look of fear.
Lorraine runs over to Janet and tugs at her dress, Janet turns around and looks at Loraine
Loraine: Mum be careful, don’t cut your finger on the knife
Janet: Don’t worry I won't honey
Loraine goes and sits back down and as she does Janet misses the meat and hits her hand with the knife and cries out with pain.
Loraine: I told you mummy
Janet goes off to the sink and washes the blood off her hand, she then looks at Loraine with a look of confusion and fear.
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
section 9: production schedule
Name of film: Psychotica
Directors: Matt Price
Producers: Beth Pickering, Sam atkinson and Jack Mcloughlin
Client: AS Media
Date production started: 22.09.2009
Treatment started: Completed: 01.12.2009
Sent to client: 05.12.2009
Storyboard started: 22.09.2009
Completed:24.09.2009
Shooting started: 30.09.2009
Completed:31.09.2009
Post production started: 19.10.2009
Completed: 26.01.2010
Rough cut submitted: 12.12.2009
Final show tape completed: 18th January 2010
Location Equipment Required:
The location equipment we required was a house, street and kitchen.
Transport Required:
For our thriller opening scene we used a car to move the camera to the location we were using.
Crewing Requirements:
need people to play mother and to play daughter, also to play terrorists in credits
Actions:
The actions in our thriller required chopping of the meat and a conversation between the mother and daughter, after the conversation the mother cuts her hand on the knife.
Props:
The props we used in our opening scene was a classroom for the terriost clips in the titles, a knife for the chopping of the meat and for the cut on the hand. we also used tables and chairs for the actors to sit on.
Directors: Matt Price
Producers: Beth Pickering, Sam atkinson and Jack Mcloughlin
Client: AS Media
Date production started: 22.09.2009
Treatment started: Completed: 01.12.2009
Sent to client: 05.12.2009
Storyboard started: 22.09.2009
Completed:24.09.2009
Shooting started: 30.09.2009
Completed:31.09.2009
Post production started: 19.10.2009
Completed: 26.01.2010
Rough cut submitted: 12.12.2009
Final show tape completed: 18th January 2010
Location Equipment Required:
The location equipment we required was a house, street and kitchen.
Transport Required:
For our thriller opening scene we used a car to move the camera to the location we were using.
Crewing Requirements:
need people to play mother and to play daughter, also to play terrorists in credits
Actions:
The actions in our thriller required chopping of the meat and a conversation between the mother and daughter, after the conversation the mother cuts her hand on the knife.
Props:
The props we used in our opening scene was a classroom for the terriost clips in the titles, a knife for the chopping of the meat and for the cut on the hand. we also used tables and chairs for the actors to sit on.
Section 11:audience feedback
When we premiered our thriller film psychotica to an audience we got some very productive feedback from them.
Most of the audience responded postively to us showing future events in the opening titles of the film. From this they understood that this is how the film sets out and suggests to them that these things could happen later in the film. However, there were some people who didn't understand this and it was very confusing to them they found that the two parts didn't match.
Our target audience found that when we created the illusion of the main character shaking her head round rapidly added suspence to the opening and made them feel scared and uneasy.
We also had a positive responce from the effects we used like the ghosting, and clearly gave them the impression that it was a different time in the film.
The audience thought the music was good how it didn't start straight away and the audience said that it added to it.
When we asked does it make you want to watch the rest of the film? The audience said that they would like to see the end because when the main character moves her head, this made them scared and also made them ask the question, why she is doing this?
We asked our audience what do you think of the music? And they responded with "I think it fitted perfectly and tied in with the thriller genre."
When asked how we could improved our thriller film? The audience commented on some edditing issues with repeated credits and they also mentioned that we needed to have the name of our thriller film clearly shown in the credits.
Most of the audience responded postively to us showing future events in the opening titles of the film. From this they understood that this is how the film sets out and suggests to them that these things could happen later in the film. However, there were some people who didn't understand this and it was very confusing to them they found that the two parts didn't match.
Our target audience found that when we created the illusion of the main character shaking her head round rapidly added suspence to the opening and made them feel scared and uneasy.
We also had a positive responce from the effects we used like the ghosting, and clearly gave them the impression that it was a different time in the film.
The audience thought the music was good how it didn't start straight away and the audience said that it added to it.
When we asked does it make you want to watch the rest of the film? The audience said that they would like to see the end because when the main character moves her head, this made them scared and also made them ask the question, why she is doing this?
We asked our audience what do you think of the music? And they responded with "I think it fitted perfectly and tied in with the thriller genre."
When asked how we could improved our thriller film? The audience commented on some edditing issues with repeated credits and they also mentioned that we needed to have the name of our thriller film clearly shown in the credits.
section 12: Analysis of completed sequence
Coursework EvaluationQuestion 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of a real media products?
Our thriller film Psychotica has used a number of thriller codes and conventions like keeping the audience in the dark and being set in an urban landscape. As you can see from this still image from our thriller film, our thriller was set in an urban landscape and ties in with the thriller theory by G K Chesterton of the extra-ordinary happening in an ordinary place and being able to find excitement in ordinary places. The urban landscape also makes the film more realistic, which means that the audience can easily relate to the characters as the story is more believable. Because our film is more realistic this creates more suspense for the target audience because the threats in the film could happen to them.
Another written thriller code and convention which we abide by is Pascals Bonitzer's theory of "partial vision". This can be seen from this still image because at this point in our opening our main character is having a vision for the first time. The audience do not know what is happening but they can explicitly see that something odd is going on. It is this uneasiness and confusion that keeps the audience in the dark and unsure on what is happening, which makes them want to keep watching the film. The next still image links to John Cawelti's
theory that thriller films transform the city from a modern centre of commerce to a place of enchantment and mystery. This can be done by introducing the exotic, the exotic in our film is our main character Lorraine and she is the exotic because without her and the powers she possesses then the film would not progress and it would be boring for our target audience. This still image also shows show we have created suspense in our thriller film, we have used Nole Carroll's theory of the moral factor. This theory says that suspense can be created by having the hero as a person who may have done bad things, or in our case have them look menacing. This then creates suspense because the audience do not know if it is morally right for them to survive. This shot also shows our main character who is a girl and this challenges the thriller forms and conventions because thrillers are usually patriarchal (male dominated) with the girls being included mainly for victims or damsels in distress. An unwritten code of thriller films which we have included
in our opening sequence is the prop of a large knife which itself has connotations of death, murder and pain. We have done this to make the audience think and have their own image of how the thriller will progress, this will make it easy for us to add in a twist later in the film. This knife chopping the meat shocks the audience and excites them from the very beginning. Some thrillers start with a murder to excite the audience and create suspense from the start, however we have challenged this code by making the audience expect a murder. But in reality someone is just cutting meat in an unconventional way. This also creates suspense by playing with the audiences emotions and getting them to feel suspense for no real reason. Because we have done this in the opening sequence this should then make the audience want to watch on and continue to feel scared.Question 2- How does your media product represent particular social groups?
We have tried to incorporate a wide range of social groups in our thriller film, however we found this challenging because of the limited cast and locations we chose to portray in our thriller extract. As you will be able to see from the video below we have chosen to show a very stereotypical mum in our opening. You can see that she is a stereotype because of what she is doing, whilst the girl is drawing her mother in the foreground of the shot is making the dinner. We have chosen to have a very stereotypical mother because then the audience would easily be able to work out their relation without much explanation. Also from the clothes she is wearing the audience can tell a lot about her character for example she is wearing fairly old fashioned clothes.This could then connote to her values being old fashioned also like she wants everything in her life to be neat and tidy. This could then add some character development throughout our thriller as her daughter is anything but ordinary. From this extract we can also see patriarchal values, male dominated, because the woman is looking after the child and doing the cooking and there is a man nowhere to be seen.
The other character that can be seen in this short sequence is the main character Lorraine, Lorraine is a young girl and we chose to have her in the background drawing. We chose to have her drawing because this then makes our target audience think that she may be an odd person as drawing is not a normal activity of someone of her age to be doing. This then shows the immaturity and youth of our main character Lorraine. We told her to wear dark clothing which connotes as her personality being dark, this links in with the moral factor we used to create suspense, also in the light room she stands out which connotes as her standing out and being different. Lorraine is our main character, which does break the thriller convention as it is usually the males who are the main character in a Thriller film. However, Lorraine does depend on the detective to save them from the terrorists at the end. It could be argued that the detective is just using Lorraine for her powers, which could connote as men just using women for their own benefit.
In the video below we can see Lorraine and her mother and we can also see from the scene that they are completely opposite. Because we have one old and one young, one is wearing dark clothes and the other is wearing light clothes and one is in the foreground with the other in the background. This shows that the the two characters may have some contrasting views.
The people in this extract are meant to be seen as the working class and this is a stereotypical view as it says that the majority of working class have problems and are run by a single parent.
Question 3- What kind of media institution might distribute your media product?
If i were to distribute my film i would use Film4 Productions because I think that my thriller film relates to many of the other low budget productions they have produced. I also think that Psychotica belongs in their catalogue because it has great pace to the film and it creates suspense in many ways which I think that Film4 would understand as it fits in with its other projects. But it needs funding so that it can be filmed and distributed and then gradually go up the ladder to be seen by our target audience. Channel 4 is mostly viewed by 13-20 year olds which is our target audience so it would be easy to advertise our film to them. I also would pick Film4 Productions because they have great resources with them having their own channel which they often do show low budget films which means that it would be easy to get the film shown. If i couldn't use film4 productions i would choose an independant production company like Evolution Entertainment because they have made all of the saw films. So they would be able to relate to my thriller film and make it better.
Question 4- who would be your target audience for your media product?
Below i have a number of images of people who would fit the definition of our target audience. Our target audience is people from the age of 15-25. Although we gave the film a certification 0f 12 that was only an attempt to get rid of restrictions so many people can see our thriller and to widen our target audience and so our film would make more money. However, our actual target audience would be slightly older. We asked people from the age of 15-20 to take part in our questionnaire and this was our main target audience we were aiming for. The photographs of the people below fit the definition of our target audience because they are between the ages 15-20 and they are both males and female and all enjoy thriller films.
Question 5- How did you attract/ address your target audience?
From our audience research I found out that our target audience would be mostly 16 year olds, also we found that they didn't like action thriller and they preferred psychological or supernatural thrillers. So we decided that we should have a supernatural storyline but use links to psychological thrillers to create suspense. When we asked the audience which type of music they think would be most beneficial for our thriller they said that rock and orchestral would be the best and so we have addressed our target audience by using orchestral music but with a rock edge to add pace. Another way we responded to the audiences feedback is the choice of a setting because they thought that an urban or suburban setting would be best and so we set our thriller in the suburbs.
This video shows our target audience giving us feedback on our thriller film and some suggestions on how to improve it, which we then tried to respond to.
Question 6- What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing a product?
In this picture i have labeled Premiere and said how I have used all of the tools and software in my thriller.
1- This is the editing window which we used to edit the clips down and cut out any sound or framing errors.
2- This is the viewing window where we looked at the whole video we created
3- This is the timeline where you can see how long your video is.
4- This is where you can choose between different sequences and we used a separate sequence when we wanted to make complex clips like when Lorraine moves her head around rapidly
5- These are where all the tools are kept like the razor which we used to cut out repeated credits and the hand tool which we used to move our clips around
6- This is the zoom button and we used this to match up the music precisely with the video and to get fine detail on edited clips.
7- This shows the video and audio tracks and we dragged and dropped the edited clips into this slot to create our thriller film.
8- This is where you can add effects like ghosting to the video and we used this a lot for the end of our thriller with the terrorist attack to make it look more interesting and exciting.
9- This is the new item box and we used this to add such items like credits into our thriller film.
10- This is the project bin and this contains all the clips that we shot and we dragged them across into the editing window.
Question 7- looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?
Looking back at tasks i have done in the past I feel that I have made very good and quick progression to the full product I have created today.
When doing tasks in the past I had a few issues with contenuity, but I feel that I have learned from this and I feel that the thriller which i created does not have any issues similar to those ones in earlier tasks. Also in older projects there was some issues with framing but in my thriller i used my time management well and managed to get the shots I wanted.
I feel that over time my knowledge of shots has progressed and this has benifited my thriller because it allowed me to include shots with meaning for example high angles showing vulnerability and dutch shots showing madness.
I now have a good understanding of premier and I can comfortably do complex tasks such as adding effects, making credits and editing down clips precisely.
I think that the mistakes I made in these older tasks has helped me to be more cautious and has helped me to create this thriller film and over time i will continue to progress.
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