Questionnaire

Questionnaire

Circle When Needed 

1. Are you, Male or Female? 

2. How old are you? 

3. What thriller certification do you prefer in a thriller? 12 15 18 

4. What pulls you in to a thriller film? 

TV Advertisement By mouth Posters YouTube Ad’s Other 

5. What are your expectations for a thriller film? 

Weapons Masks Flash Backs Goodie/badie Vulnerable woman 

6. What types of sound do you like in a thriller film? 

Tension sounds Suspense sound Sound effects Horror Other Natural 

7. Would you like a sequel to your film? 

……………………………………………….. 

8. What characters do you like to watch in a thriller film? 

Group Young Other . . . . . . . . . . 

9. What type of actors do you expect to see in a thriller film? 

10. What settings do you expect in thrillers? 

11. What other genres do do you think runs well with a thriller? 

Comedy Action Adventure Crime Gangster Other 

12. What do you like the film to be for? 

Vox pops | Interviews

Prem Task

Individual narrative

Individual narrative

The narrative to my thriller film should be decided by 4 key conventions. The Genre, witch would be a thriller so will limit the other 3 conventions. The Characters, witch have to follow the codes and techniques to a thriller genre so will be traditionally be a helpless female who runs up the stairs instead of out the door. The Time and Setting are the other two. They again have to follow the traditional techniques of the Genre, as it is the most important and deciding factor. The setting will be a dark secluded place with dark lighting and limited access to towns and villages. The Time will be as realistic as possible to get the audience to show a natural reaction to the clip.

My idea was to have a woman alone in a cabin. She is there with new friends but while shes asleep they mysteriously disappear. She wakes up and finds a not saying they've gone out for drinks. She thinks its a bit wired but thinks nothing really of it. Later on she finds a load of her stuff has been looked through and she starts to become suspicious. Noises and blatant change in iconography show tension build. She starts to see silhouettes in doorways and becomes panicked. She reaches for the phone and the line is dead. She runs to the door and swings it open and one of the friends is right there.     She is grabbed and turned to the camera. It all goes black and the female character screams and then it ends.

Psycho editing methods

Editing analysis, Psycho

Editing presents the relationship between shots and the process by which they are combined to the audience creating a frame of emotion, and to create a realism about the film.  It is essential to the creation of narrative and to the establishment of narrative time.  The relationship between shots may be graphic and/or rhythmic.

Film-makers and editors may work with various goals in mind.  Traditionally, commercial cinema prefers the continuity system, or the creation of a logical, continuous narrative which allows the audience to suspend disbelief easily and comfortably.  Alternatively, film-makers may use editing to encourage our intellectual participation or to call attention to their work in a reflexive manner.

The clip below, takes place as the woman in the scene, takes a shower and is brutally murdered after being stabbed several times in the chest. As her blood is washed away down the drain the camera slowly zooms onto the drain. This is an example of slow editing. They then use a technique called a match cut and turn the drain whole into the iris of the dead woman's left eye. This leaves the audience in shock, and giving the effect that the woman's life has been washed away by a mystery murderer.  

 

Freeze frame is the effect of seemingly stopping a film in order to focus in one event or element and was used in the clip above when the woman is lying on the floor. They freeze the frame and rotate the image whilst zooming out to show that the woman is dead and the unusual position she finds herself in. This shows the audience her final fate and securing them of any confession they had for a reverse plot or something else to that affect. This whole clip is filmed using the continuity edit. This is an edit that makes the clip feel 'life like' as the technique draws attention to the realism of time. This is more used right at the beginning while she is at the desk. This technique does not draw attention to the editing process so has a great effect on the audience.

Montage editing is used to join a sequence of cuts into one fluent edit making the scene frames move fast or slow. In Psycho, this technique is used to make the killing scene more realistic and to hide the fact that the antagonist doesn't actually touch her with the knife. This edit is quite old and so doesn't show the realism of modern films but at the time created a sense of panic and energy throughout the audience. 

The Establishing Shot or sequence serves to stimulate the viewers within a particular environment or setting and/or to introduce an important character or characters. It singles out the main character(s) and shows the environment there in. The mise-en-scene can be properly examined in this shot witch (among other things) an important characteristic in the portrayal of the genre. The establishing shot is usually the first or the first few shots in a sequence (and is most effective when followed by a montage edit), and as such, it must be very efficient in portraying the context. In this clip it is used to show the character at her desk and then in the shower. It is then followed by the montage edit to show its full affect.

Age Certificates, Do we need 'em?

Why are there age certificates?

To protect the ‘younger’ population from seeing inappropriate and adult intended films.

Make a list of some examples:

U

PG

12A

12

15

18

R18

BBFC- British board of film classification

Spiderman was the first 12A film released at the cinema, as the end fight scene wasn’t seen to be appropriate by the BFC for children unaccompanied by a parent or sibling.

TASK

The BBFC are important to the British film industry because they properly consult physiatrists on the different behaviours of young children and what the effects of some content found in films aimed at older kids or adults has on there mental health and common behaviour. If judged wrong the film scene ‘could’ affect the Childs life in the future and some theory’s have suggested that these films can turn these children into murderers, drug dealers ect… 

Universal- All ages admitted, there is nothing unsuitable for children.

For example the ‘Jungle Book’ has no scenes that can be ‘harmful’ for children to see. The characters in the jungle book are happy jungle animals so the child can relate to them from basically any age. The plot is also intractable for the kids as they can get involved and be happy.

Parental Guidance- All ages admitted, but certain scenes can be unsuitable for young children to see. (Moderate Violence can be one of the unsuitable characteristics but is acceptable if justified by the context e.g. fantasy.) a good example of a PG rated film would be Shrek as it has good moderate themes with some adult humor. He is a great example of a PG character as he connects with every fairy-tale possible. He also brings humor and a little bit of the adult world to kids and this prepares them for later life.

  

No one younger than 12 years old can see this movie unless  by someone over the age of 12. Spiderman was the first movie to be released like this, as the last scene was unsuitable for younger children. Can contain mature themes, discrimination, soft drugs, moderate swear words, infrequent strong and moderate strong violence, sex references, and nudity. Sexual activity can be briefly and discreetly displayed. Sexual violence may be implied or briefly indicated.  These are the same guidelines as a film of a 12 rating has. A 12 rated film is basically the same, as the 12A recommended guidelines but an adult is not needed to be witnessed by a 12 year old on there ones. A good example of this would be spiderman as it was intended to be a PG film but one sequence in the film led it to be the first 12A rated movie. The sequence stated is when spiderman is being defeated by the villain but in a very graphic way. This, they thought, could upset children so they allowed the film to go ahead with parental guidance.

 

Nobody younger than 15 can witness the content in this movie. Films under this category contain adult themes, hard drugs, frequent strong language (limited use of very strong language), strong violence, strong sex references and nudity without graphic detail. Sexual activity may be performed but without any strong detail. Sexual violence may be performed as long as it is used in the intended context. Shaun of the dead is an example that has all the limitations of a 15 rated film in. Its main one is explicit adult humor but also has gore and sexual references.

Nobody younger than 18 can witness the content in this movie.  Films of this rating have no limitations on the bad language severity or frequency hard drugs are generally allowed and explicit sex references along with detailed sexual content are also seen as appropriate. ‘Real” sex may be permitted if justified by the context. Very strong, sadistic violence usually permitted if not it is normally to explicit and to graphic. American phsyco is a film that is a true 18 rating. It messes with your head and has the most explicit, realistic and gory film that cannot be any other rating. 

My thriller film will be the rating of 15 as we cannot film the graphic gore shown in 18's but can portray a deeper meaning in our film and can 'mess with the head' of the audience. We will twist the film in a way that the audience feel they are a part of the film and that they cannot hep but display fear and terror.

Narrative Theory

Narrative Theory

Vladimir Propp

During the 1920's, Vladimir decided to try and persuade the public that you didn't need a narrative to have a good film. He analyzed the narratives to some russian folk tales and decided the narrative wasn't an important aspect to the tale. He Suggested that you only need characters for a tale of film and they will set the tone of the film themselves. Characters will create the narrative themselves due to the vital components they have to contend with.

Vladimir propp - a narrative isn't important in a film but having characters with different types of functions. (Fairy Tail) 

The hero - a character that seeks something 

The villain - who opposes or actively blocks the hero's quest

The donor - who provides an object with magical properties 

The dispatcher - who sends the hero

The false hero - who disrupts the hero's success 

The helper - who aids the hero

The princess - acts as the reward for the hero

Her father - who acts to reward the hero

Todorov theory

It's not about characters but aboutEquilibrium and disequilibrium. 

A beginning - Everything is nice and happy

A middle - something goes wrong

An end - At the end everything is better

Aristotle

Not about characters or narrative but about the themes in a film

E.g. 

Inciting incident

Dramatic question

Character goal

Antagonist/protagonist

Stakes

Resolution

Sympathy/empathy

Explain which theory you will use in your film and why?

Mise en scene; Harry Wainwright: prom night evaluation

Mise en scene; Harry Wainwright: prom night evaluation

Mise en scene is a French term for ‘everything in the camera shot’. They use the expression as a simple abbreviation for the following factors: settings and iconography, costume hair and makeup, facial expressions and body language, lighting and colour and positioning of characters/ objects within the frame. These five factors help portray a theme to the audience that can sometimes cause a false judgement.

The lighting throughout the prom night clip is constantly changing. At the start in the hall when they are about to announce the prom king and queen, the lighting is dark and moody to create tension and suspense. This was an example of low-key lighting. Also in this scene the fire alarm goes off just as the antagonistic music is about to announce relief or surprise. This is a false ‘jump’ and is a common convention in a thriller film. The strobe lighting kicks in and this creates a mood of panic and haste. The strobe lighting would be known as key lighting; the brightest light in the shot.  This lighting would affect the audience as they know why the alarm has gone off because of the killer but the characters in the film don’t know this. This is called dramatic irony.

The setting to prom night was a hotel in NYC. The hotel was real but they probable remade the hotel room and main hall. This is because they need specific things from the hotel and if it can give some if them but nit all, they can reconstruct the hotel the way they want it (inside) somewhere else. The iconography of the film was very conventional to a thriller film. For example the fire extinguisher the killer uses to break down the door of the hotel room that the ‘typical female victim’ has locked herself into. The gun the policeman uses to track the killer after she escapes the room is another example of iconography. The gun is, in my opinion is an unconventional feature to a thriller film because it has no suspense or thrill. A knife is a common weapon for thrillers as it is scary and more painful.

Mise en scene is a very crucial component of a thriller film and is used to unveil a hidden meaning. The iconography has to be specifically crafted and designed to fit the purpose and genre. This is a very vital convention and is extremely hard to get right.

Harry Wainwright

Taken;Sound evaluation;HarryWainwright

Taken, the sound essay

This is the entire narrative of the whole film rapped up into one, 1 minute clip. The scene when Liam Neeson threatens the antagonist about his daughter’s disappearance. During the evaluation of this clip I am going to analyse the different sounds and effects used to emphasise he moods and tensions within the scene.

The scene starts with diegetic sound with no back music or non-diegetic is sound. The speech is muffled and is tense. This adds a specific mood for the audience to react to and sets the mood for the rest of the scene. The mood set is continued on I the next frame when the non-diegetic music kicks in and adds suspense to the scene. This gets the audience ready for an important feature within the film and causes them to believe something valuable to the narrative is going to happen. The music is faint and in a high pitch implying that something jumpy or ‘scary’ is going to happen. This is a very common and important convention to the thriller genre. Another less common but more effective convention is a just diegetic scene with no tense mood setting music just the natural sounds creating the tense emotions normally created by the music.

The following frame you hear the music lower creating a deep and harsh tone. The audience now know the seriousness of the scene and have judged the situation. They are now ready for the main part of the scene. The music ends after he says “I will find you” in a distraught tone, the music finishes in a high jumpy way. The audience were unprepared and confused about the misjudged ending to the music and the use of the new, rarely used convention. This ‘new’ convention is normally unseen but has a great effect on the audience as it was preparing the viewers for something and hitting them with nothing else. A silence which is then turned into a threat by the tone of voice and context it’s in. Now the sound of silence is herd and the music kicks in and the audience is back to feeling the building tension on what the antagonist will reply to.

 The penultimate thriller convention is the diegetic music coming to another end with a high pitched, intense and sudden climax. This thrills the audience as they now know what the scene was about. The last convention is the speech said by the antagonist. He says “good luck” in again, a muffled, gloomy mysterious voice. This now leaves the audience in a vulnerable position and leaves them wanting to watch the rest of the film.

Sound has a massive part to play in main conventions of all films and helps emphasise feelings and displays moods in better, more sophisticated ways. It can be used in many forms and is portrayed in many contexts to unveil, more times than not, a hidden meaning within a certain scene.

    

Harry Wainwright

Camera Shots for scream 4

Scream 4 analysis

Different cinematography in movies is very important as they determine the mood and genre of the film. In thriller films the camera shots are more intense than in a comedy or romance for example. They normally show close ups on the characters to show there emotions and expressions to the situation they find themselves in. The director has a choice of different shots to use at different moments but has to stick to the conventions of a ‘proper’ thriller film. The mise-en-scene has a very important impact on the film. You wouldn’t set the scream movies in field of barley and with flowers everywhere, would you? Again you have to stick the originality of a thriller film.

The first shot I’ve chosen to analyse is a long shot of a massive house in the middle of the night. It is being used to show the killers view of the house. This shot also consists of the small woodland area around the house. The rooms that the victims are in are clearly lit up to show their position. The audience at this point know that something is coming up and draws them in to the moment. They are on the edge of their seat with this short showing of the house. The clip lasts for 3 seconds and in that time the audience can tell the next 5 minutes of the film.

The second shot is a shadow focus. This is when the victim is clearly visible and in the background is the killer. He is in a dark corner and is barely visible. This would show that the criminal can appear as if from know where and increases the characters effectiveness. The audience are now being shown something that the character in the film doesn’t, that ghost face is behind the ‘typical female victim’. This is a key element of a thriller film and has a good effect on the audience making them feel like they are helpless and want to intervene with the film.

The original conventions of a thriller movie have shown me different camera shots to enhance the scenes performance when talking about the audience’s reaction and connection to the film. Ive seen the mise-en-scene needed for different situations in a thriller and to show the characters emotions and/or suspicions. The lighting has a major impact in the way a thriller works and has come in handy when planning my thriller film.

Harry Wainwright

What is a Thriller Film?

 

The thriller genre is full of specific conventions that the director and editors need to follow in order to create the right atmosphere. These have to be followed for a thriller to be considered a to have the right conventions. I am going to compare these conventions with another thriller  to see how the themes of saw compare to another highly rated thriller. All thriller conventions can also be based or changed depending on the director and editors used as they have their own opinions on how the conventions should be displayed to the audience.

The narrative is common to a thriller as an unknown man is in an abandoned room with low key lighting. To the audience, the opening scene is just as expected but the introduction of two key characters sets an enigma. Antagonistic music is played on and off during the clip to help increase the tension the film displays to the audience. The element of surprise this clip has increases in effectiveness as it goes on. The unexpected introduction of a second character is uncommon and throws the audience off guard. then the introduction of a third character (even though he's 'dead') was almost unseen in this type of scene. 

The opening to scream is completely different and more common sight in thrillers but i think that variation intrigues the audience more than similarities. Its far more effective to see something new than to see something that (maybe in a different form) but is basically the same. Common - one victim and on villain fight and the victim loses and dies. However Saw - three seemingly unlinked victims in a room, one of them dead, and are given clues on how to get out. 

I am going to use specific characteristics from this film in the making of my own thriller film. I want to use a similar soundtrack this film has used but also want to take the diegetic sounds from 'the strangers' to add a different type of effect. The Enigma as well as the narrative of SAW is twisted and clever so I would like to use the techniques used in this film but not necessarily a similar plot.

Enigma- a mystery is always set to entertain the audience.

Victim- a typical female victim is found to generate more horror and suspense.

Out of the 'norm'- a child can be used to fuel the genre and mess with the watchers head.

Antagonistic music- a slow beat witch gradually increases in pace. (can be associated with a heart beat).

Setting- dark secluded place with a link to the narrative.