A thriller film is a genre of fiction that attempts to thrill the audience by placing the character at risk. It is a problematic genre and there are no clear ingredients of what a thriller film must consist of.Thriller films can be categorized by fast editing, action, heroes, red herrings and cliff hangers. They usually take place in exotic places, such as foreign cities and deserts. The hero is usually a “hard man” who is accustoming to danger.Thrillers often overlap mystery stories; however, they usually work on a much greater scale, using things such as big crimes and mass murders.
There are many sub genres of thriller films.
Action films contain violence and there is often a race against time within the storyline. Conspiracy thrillers usually consist of the hero confronting a powerful group.Crime thrillers are a hybrid of crime films and thrillers. They focus on the criminal, rather than the police. Disaster thriller films are usually a conflict against natural disasters. Dramas are slow paced and contain a great deal of character development. Eco thrillers must rectify environmental problems. Erotic thrillers contain romance and they have been popular since the 1980s- an example of an Erotic thriller is ‘Fatal Attraction’. Horror thrillers consist of the main character being up against a superior force. Legal thrillers are normally about lawyers who are in danger, and have to do the case to save their lives. In medical thrillers, the hero is usually a doctor, who solves a medical expanding problem. Political thrillers consist of a hero who must create stability for the government. In psychological films, conflict is mental and emotional. Spy thrillers normally have a government agent hero-an example is ‘Bourne Identity’. Supernatural films consist of conflict which usually includes supernatural powers. Techno thrillers focus on hi-tech equipment.Theories‘The transformed city’ is a theory introduced by G.K. Chesterton, who said “thrillers should expose the poetry of modern life. We live in a drab, boring place”. The theory means that thriller films take a normal every day place and make it exciting with the action and drama which goes on in thriller films.‘Heroic romance’ is a theory by Northrope Frye, which says that an ordinary character in a thriller becomes the hero because they are placed under extraordinary circumstances. The hero is also romanticised (rescuing a love interest from danger) and the film exchanges romantic settings for the modern city. Also, the average laws are suspended.‘The exotic’ is a theory made by John Cawelti. Thriller films contain an element which is unfamiliar or foreign, such as the place where the film is set, or an item, e.g. a jewel, which is missing.‘Mazes and labyrinths’, a theory by W.H. Matthews, is a theory which says that thrillers are usually full of twists and dead ends. They contain a complex maze which is difficult for the viewer to work out. The audience gains pleasure from the prolonged mystery, and trying to find out the killer/ red herring by using distinct clues left in the maze.‘Partial vision’ by Pascal Bonitze allows the audience to only see so much. Things are hidden from view, such as the killer, to keep the viewers in suspense.‘Concealment and protraction’ is a theory by Lors ole Saurberg. Thrillers pull the audience in different directions to confuse them. The suspense that this causes delays the outcome.‘Question and answer problem’ by Noel Carrol keeps the audience in suspense by giving them questions to be answered. The film then gives them the answers when they are least expected. The moral factor makes the audience ask whether the outcome of the movie will be moral, for example, will the criminal be put in jail, or will the hero die?The probability factor is the chance of something happening in the film.
Friday, 19 December 2008
Section 2: Research into examples of comparable media products
November 7, 2008
In media we have been watching the opening of the films 'American Psycho' and "Silence of the Lambs". We analysed these like we did for 'Seven' and 'Jaws'.
American Psycho
Narrative Structure: In the opening of American Psycho, there is a linear narrative. The film is showing the audience the daily routine of the focused character to introduce him. We see the face of the killer right away- the narrative is clear and nothing is concealed from us.
Thriller Codes and Conventions: The opening sequence shows a transformed city, as the first part is set in a night club, a place which is usually safe but turns into a danger zone for this part. There is also the question and answer model, for example, the night club scene makes the audience ask questions such as ,"will he kill the girl?", "Is he the killer?" and "What is he going to do?"
Camera Work: The first shot is an overhead shot of the night club, which shows how crowded the place is. This makes the audience wonder whether anything bad could happen in there. When the film cross cuts to the main character's apartment, there is a tracking shot taking us through each room as though we are walking through, introducing us to the main character and his surroundings. After that, there are a lot of medium shots of the character doing yoga and close-ups of him in the shower, highlighting his regime.
Mise-En-Scene: The contrast between the character's daily life at home and his night life is highlighted in the first few minutes of the film. Whilst he is lurking around a crowded, dark night club in the evening, his apartment is very light and full of space. There is a Les Miserables picture on the wall in the character's apartment; this could reflect how he feels. Les Miserables is about a lonely, miserable character- the man in American Psycho could feel the same way. Bright lighting in the apartment helps to show that the character is very clean and organised.
Sound: The night club is filled with the diegetic sound of 80's style music, which helps set the time of the movie. In the apartment, there is posh, classical music. It is hard to determine whether it is non-diegetic or diegetic. There is some dialogue in the nightclub, when the man says he wants to kill the bartender. The audience doesn't know whether he is joking or not.
Editing: There is shot-reverse-shot right at the beginning of the film, when there is a conversation between the man and the bartender. At this point, it is unclear to the audience who the main focus is. There is also a cross-cut, when the shots cut from the busy night club to the light, airy apartment. The editing is also very slow-paced in the apartment, giving the audience a calm impression.
Graphics: The graphics in the opening sequence are white and central. They are also in capital letters.
Silence Of The Lambs
Narrative Structure: When the film starts, we can see that there is a woman who is running somewhere. It is unclear why she is running and where she is going. She is then summoned to the head's office, where-when she gets there- she starts looking at shocking/ important things on the wall.
Thriller Codes and Conventions: There is partial vision in the opening of Silence of the Lambs- the audience doesn't find out straight away what the woman is looking at on the wall- they can only see her looking at it. The question and answer model is also included- "Why is she running?", "Where is she going", "What is she looking at?" There is also an example of the enigma code- the audience doesn't know what is going on when the character is running, and when she gets called to the head's office. Transformed city is also included because we think that the woman is in a dangerous place because she is running, but it is actually just a police headquarters. The woman is also considered 'exotic', because she is the only woman in the headquarters.
Camera Work: There are lots of panning shots throughout the opening sequence, following the woman on her journey. There is also a crane shot panning, where the woman runs into the shot. These shots make the audience more familiar to the surroundings. The over-the-shoulder shot when the man enters builds suspense- the audience want to know who he is. In the office, there is a deep focus shot when the woman is looking at the wall. This makes the audience concentrate on her and her facial expressions.
Mise-En-Scene: The main character stands out in the opening sequence- she looks dwarfed when she enters the lift, against all the tall men in red. She is wearing grey which may suggest that nobody notices her- she is dull and blends in. Sound: In the beginning, there is non-diegetic, eery music, with diegetic sounds of birds, leaves crunching and breathing in the background. The breathing gets faster as the sequence goes on which makes the audience worried and scared- Is she running from something? There is very little dialogue throughout the whole opening.
Editing: Eye line match is included in the editing of the opening sequence, when the woman is examining the wall. The shot changes so we can see clearly what she is looking at. There are also lots of examples of match-on-action as she is running.
Graphics: The graphics in the opening credits are black with a white outline. They are very big and bold so they will catch the audiences attention easily, and they are in the center of the screen.
November 4, 2008
In class, I have been watching the opening sequences of thriller films ‘Se7en’ and ‘Jaws’ to get an idea of the codes and conventions that a thriller film contains. After watching the films, I analysed them.
Se7en
Narrative Structure: In the opening credits of Se7en, there is a clear view that somebody is building up a plan, because I can see that there is a person flicking through the pages of a book and writing. However, the sequence doesn’t give too much away to the audience; for example, we don’t know who the person is, or what exactly he is doing.
Thriller Codes and Conventions: An obvious thriller code and convention which was included in the opening credits was partial vision- the audience cannot see the face of the person on the screen. This is so that nothing is given away to the viewer so early in the film. Another convention is concealment and protraction, where there are clues that the person is a bad person, for example, the fact that we know they are planning something, and the graphics and music to accompany the opening shots. However, it doesn’t give away why this person is a bad person.Also, there is the question and answer model- The opening credits make the audience ask questions, such as “who is he?” and “what’s going on?”
Camerawork: There are a lot of extreme close-ups during the opening sequence of Se7en, which conceal things from the audience, such as the shot of the book when the pages are being turned. Even though it is very close up, the viewer cannot see what he is reading, because of the angle of the shot. Also, there is an extreme close-up of the character slicing their fingers. It is a mystery to the audience who the person is, because only their fingertips are in shot. It is also unclear why the character is doing this. Another shot which is included in the opening credits is a panning shot of a filing cabinet. This gives the viewer an idea of where the sequence is set, without giving it away. The main focus of the camera seems to be the book, which may suggest that the book is a very important part of the plot of the film.
Mise-En-Scene: The setting of the opening credits is unclear for the most part- from watching just this part of the film, I could not tell where the person was. However, he appears to be in an office or a study room. I get this impression because of the shot of the filing cabinet and the fact that the character is reading a book and writing.
Sound: Throughout the opening of Se7en, there is a low pitched bass sound, like a heartbeat, which starts off at a fairly normal pace and gets slightly faster and louder. This helps to build up tension. Also, there is a scratchy screeching sound which occasionally occurs throughout the piece as well as the sound of a creaking chair or floorboards- this is quite a disturbing sound which may go through the audience and make them feel uncomfortable. Half way through the sequence the music kicks in, making it sound more urgent and fast paced. There are no voices, except from right at the end of the credit, where we can hear the words “you got me closer to God”. This could make the audience wonder if it could mean anything in the film.
Editing: The editing is very fast paced in the opening sequence, making it seem distorted to the audience, and is made up of a lot of very short cuts which match the timing of the music. There is also a jump cut where the character is beginning to cross out a picture of a boy in the book, when the shot jumps to a completely scribbled out picture. There are also a lot of dissolves throughout the opening, where one picture fades into another.
Graphics: The graphics in the sequence are white and they are shaky, like an old fashioned film. It also reassembles chalk board writing. They are quite central because they pop out at the viewer to grab their attention, but they are also in different places on the screen every time they pop out, which may surprise the audience, because they do not know where to expect these graphics to appear.
Jaws
Narrative Structure: The opening of Jaws has a linear structure and is equilibrium, which means it is balanced- there are a group of teenagers on a beach having a party.However, the structure changes to disequilibrium when the girl goes into the water, because the audience can sense that something bad it going to happen, although it is not clear what.
Thriller Codes and Conventions: There is partial vision in the sequence, because we cannot see the creature, making us wonder what it could be. There is also an example of transformed city- the beach is generally a safe place to be, however this sequence portrays it as a dangerous place because the girl gets killed in the ocean.There is also concealment and protraction, because we don’t know what the two teenagers are going to do when they get to the water, or what creature the killer is, even though we are given a few clues, such as the fact that the killer is deep in the ocean. The opening sequence also contains the question and answer model- the audience may be asking questions like “why isn’t anybody trying to save her?”
Camerawork: The first shot we see is a point-of-view shot. We don’t know what or whose point of view we are looking from or where exactly we are.As well as being a point-of-view shot, it is also a tracking shot, tracking through the reef of the ocean.The sequence then cuts to a mid-shot of a large group of teenagers on a beach. The camera is tracking to align the audience with the characters, however, the over-the-shoulder shots signify that perhaps we shouldn’t be there, and neither should the teenagers. The camera stops tracking when it arrives at a close-up of the protagonist, and then cuts to a close-up of another main focus character. This allows the audience to be introduced to these characters and see their facial expressions, which may give away the romantic feelings which may be occurring between these two characters.This is followed by a high angle shot, which makes the characters look vulnerable because we are looking down at them. The characters themselves then move into a stable frame.There are long shots when the girl jumps into the water, and the extreme long shot of the buoy in the distance shows how far out in the ocean she actually is.The shot then returns to a low angle point-of-view shot from under the water, where the audience can see a silhouette of the girl. This shot- even though it doesn’t usually signify a weak character- shows that the girl is unaware that there is danger below her.When the female character is being attacked, there is a range of close-ups which may be distressing to the audience and excite them early on in the film.
Mise-En-Scene: The setting of the opening sequence is in the ocean and on a beach- a place where it is usually safe to be. When the two characters are at the ocean, it is very dark and the audience struggles to see what is going on, which may suggest that the characters may also not be able to see very well. Despite this, we can still sense that something bad is going to happen, which builds tension. The clothes that the teenagers are wearing are very casual, showing that they are just typical people.
Sounds: The Jaws theme tune builds suspense, as it is low and quiet to begin with and gradually gets louder and more urgent, perhaps becoming quite distressing to the audience. In the party scene, the sounds are non-diegetic, we can just hear the music coming from somebody’s guitar and harmonica and the sounds of people moving around. When the girl is being attacked, we can hear the diegetic sounds of a bell signifying danger. It is still ringing when the girl is dead, indicating that something bad has happened.
Editing: The first shot of the teenagers on the beach builds tension for the audience, as it is a very long take and we are expecting the shot to change, but we don’t know when. There is also a shot-reverse-shot of the two main characters looking at each other, to try and signify their relationship and role in the film.The sequence also contains a cross cut (where one piece of action cuts to another piece which is completely different) when the camera is under water in the point-of-view of the killer, and then suddenly changes to a shot of a group of teenagers on the beach.
Graphics: The graphics in the opening sequence of Jaws are white, bold and very central in the middle of the screen. The director’s name and the name of the film company are very big and obvious.
We then had to go home and analyse two thriller films as homework. The films I chose to analyse were The Butterfly Effect and Vertigo.
The Butterfly Effect
Narrative Structure: The beginning of The Butterfly Effect is linear. We see the silhouette of a man walking around the outside of a room. He pushes the door open and urgently runs in, blocking the door with furniture. He hides under a desk and starts writing in a notepad. We see somebody outside the room with a flashlight. It is unclear what is happening.
Thriller Codes and Conventions: There is a sense of a transformed city in the opening of The Butterfly Effect, as offices are generally safe, but in the film it looks as though it is a danger zone.
There is also and example of the question and answer model, which leaves the audience asking questions such as "who is outside the room?", "who is he hiding from?" and "What is he writing?".
We don't know what is happening in the opening of the film, showing an example of the enigma code.
There is also partial vision in the scene, as the audience cannot see who is outside the room. This is also and example of concealment and protraction. Concealment and protraction is also used in the fact that we cannot see what he is writing, or who he is writing to.
Camerawork: There is a panning shot as we see the character make his way to the door. Panning shots introduce us to the surroundings. There is also a mid-shot panning as he pushes the furniture infront of the door.
The character then runs closer to the camera; there is then a close-up of him writing in the notebook. We see an extreme close-up of the paper as he finished writing, so that we can only see the last few words. Close-ups and extreme close-ups are popular in thriller films as they hide things from the audience.
Mise-en-scene: It is not clear exactly where the character is, but it is some sort of office. It is very dark, which makes it harder for the audience to see what is happening. The character is moving very quickly, which creates a sense of urgency and panic for the audience.
Sound: Very faint, long held diegetic bass notes build tension as the character comes towards the door. There is then the non-diegetic sound of the door slamming and heavy breathing, which could scare the audience. Urgent-sounding diegetic music kicks in when the character is inside the room. This could add to the sense of panic. We can hardly make out the dialogue as the character is muttering to himself. This shows that we aren't really meant to know what he is saying.
Editing: There is a match on action as the character runs across the room, and also as he is writing. Long held shots as he is approaching the room and when he is writing help add to the suspence, as the audience doesn't know when the shot will change. The opening also contains special effects, right at the end when the paper falls apart and dissolves into butterflies, which then dissolve into a skull.
Graphics: The graphics are small and white but stand out against the dark backgrounds. The butterflies and skull graphics illustrate the title of the film.
Vertigo
Narrative Structure: The beginning of Vertigo is linear. A man is being chased by a policeman and another man across the top of buildings. As the last man jumps to climb onto a roof, he slips and is left dangling high up over the city. As the policeman tries to help him up, the policeman falls to his death.
Thriller Codes and Conventions: There is an example of a transformed city in the opening of Vertigo. City rooftops are usually quite calm. There is a question and answer model in the film, as the audience would be asking "what has the man done?", "why is he being chased?", "will the man fall?"
The enigma code is also present in the beginning of Vertigo, as we don't know what is going on.
There is also an example of concealment and protraction and partial vision in the opening of Vertigo, and we don't know who's face is in the extreme close-ups at the beginning and the audience don't know why the man is being chased.
Camerawork: Right at the beginning, there is an extreme close-up of sonebody's face, rolling around different areas of the face. This is followed by a closeup of the person's eye, which may be scary to the audience.
There is then a cut to the close-up of a metal bar- a character moves into the shot. The camera then zooms out into a mid shot. The characters move in and out of the shot one by one. There is a long shot panning as the characters run across buildings. This introduces the audience to the setting. A medium long shot is seen as the characters jump onto the roof.
An overhead shot of the ground from the top of the building shows how high up they are. A close-up of the fallen character then shows his facial expressions. A high angle shot of the fallen man/ low angle shot of the policeman makes the man who has fallen look vulnerable.
Mise-en-scene: The setting is very dark, which makes it difficult to see what is happening. It is set in the city, on the rooftops, which are usually calm. There are alot of buildings.
Sound: The diegetic music has lots of crescendos and diminuendoes. Sudden very loud notes scare the audience, and then dies down again. It is very high pitched psycho/mental music, which matches the timing of the shots and graphics. There is very little dialogue in the opening of the film, but it contains non-diegetic sounds such as the characters running and climbing, and the sound of gun shots. All these sounds could scare the audience.
Editing: There is a match on action as the man and the policeman fall. Special effects of the close-up of the eye turning red. This is scary for the audience. The text and graphics also dissolve in and out. Shot cuts quickly to a plain black screen at the end. This surprises the audience.
Graphics: The graphics in the opening are white and stand out against dark backgrounds. Swirling patterns "hypnotise" the audience. The title of the film stands out the most, as it gets bigger, as though it is getting closer.
In media we have been watching the opening of the films 'American Psycho' and "Silence of the Lambs". We analysed these like we did for 'Seven' and 'Jaws'.
American Psycho
Narrative Structure: In the opening of American Psycho, there is a linear narrative. The film is showing the audience the daily routine of the focused character to introduce him. We see the face of the killer right away- the narrative is clear and nothing is concealed from us.
Thriller Codes and Conventions: The opening sequence shows a transformed city, as the first part is set in a night club, a place which is usually safe but turns into a danger zone for this part. There is also the question and answer model, for example, the night club scene makes the audience ask questions such as ,"will he kill the girl?", "Is he the killer?" and "What is he going to do?"
Camera Work: The first shot is an overhead shot of the night club, which shows how crowded the place is. This makes the audience wonder whether anything bad could happen in there. When the film cross cuts to the main character's apartment, there is a tracking shot taking us through each room as though we are walking through, introducing us to the main character and his surroundings. After that, there are a lot of medium shots of the character doing yoga and close-ups of him in the shower, highlighting his regime.
Mise-En-Scene: The contrast between the character's daily life at home and his night life is highlighted in the first few minutes of the film. Whilst he is lurking around a crowded, dark night club in the evening, his apartment is very light and full of space. There is a Les Miserables picture on the wall in the character's apartment; this could reflect how he feels. Les Miserables is about a lonely, miserable character- the man in American Psycho could feel the same way. Bright lighting in the apartment helps to show that the character is very clean and organised.
Sound: The night club is filled with the diegetic sound of 80's style music, which helps set the time of the movie. In the apartment, there is posh, classical music. It is hard to determine whether it is non-diegetic or diegetic. There is some dialogue in the nightclub, when the man says he wants to kill the bartender. The audience doesn't know whether he is joking or not.
Editing: There is shot-reverse-shot right at the beginning of the film, when there is a conversation between the man and the bartender. At this point, it is unclear to the audience who the main focus is. There is also a cross-cut, when the shots cut from the busy night club to the light, airy apartment. The editing is also very slow-paced in the apartment, giving the audience a calm impression.
Graphics: The graphics in the opening sequence are white and central. They are also in capital letters.
Silence Of The Lambs
Narrative Structure: When the film starts, we can see that there is a woman who is running somewhere. It is unclear why she is running and where she is going. She is then summoned to the head's office, where-when she gets there- she starts looking at shocking/ important things on the wall.
Thriller Codes and Conventions: There is partial vision in the opening of Silence of the Lambs- the audience doesn't find out straight away what the woman is looking at on the wall- they can only see her looking at it. The question and answer model is also included- "Why is she running?", "Where is she going", "What is she looking at?" There is also an example of the enigma code- the audience doesn't know what is going on when the character is running, and when she gets called to the head's office. Transformed city is also included because we think that the woman is in a dangerous place because she is running, but it is actually just a police headquarters. The woman is also considered 'exotic', because she is the only woman in the headquarters.
Camera Work: There are lots of panning shots throughout the opening sequence, following the woman on her journey. There is also a crane shot panning, where the woman runs into the shot. These shots make the audience more familiar to the surroundings. The over-the-shoulder shot when the man enters builds suspense- the audience want to know who he is. In the office, there is a deep focus shot when the woman is looking at the wall. This makes the audience concentrate on her and her facial expressions.
Mise-En-Scene: The main character stands out in the opening sequence- she looks dwarfed when she enters the lift, against all the tall men in red. She is wearing grey which may suggest that nobody notices her- she is dull and blends in. Sound: In the beginning, there is non-diegetic, eery music, with diegetic sounds of birds, leaves crunching and breathing in the background. The breathing gets faster as the sequence goes on which makes the audience worried and scared- Is she running from something? There is very little dialogue throughout the whole opening.
Editing: Eye line match is included in the editing of the opening sequence, when the woman is examining the wall. The shot changes so we can see clearly what she is looking at. There are also lots of examples of match-on-action as she is running.
Graphics: The graphics in the opening credits are black with a white outline. They are very big and bold so they will catch the audiences attention easily, and they are in the center of the screen.
November 4, 2008
In class, I have been watching the opening sequences of thriller films ‘Se7en’ and ‘Jaws’ to get an idea of the codes and conventions that a thriller film contains. After watching the films, I analysed them.
Se7en
Narrative Structure: In the opening credits of Se7en, there is a clear view that somebody is building up a plan, because I can see that there is a person flicking through the pages of a book and writing. However, the sequence doesn’t give too much away to the audience; for example, we don’t know who the person is, or what exactly he is doing.
Thriller Codes and Conventions: An obvious thriller code and convention which was included in the opening credits was partial vision- the audience cannot see the face of the person on the screen. This is so that nothing is given away to the viewer so early in the film. Another convention is concealment and protraction, where there are clues that the person is a bad person, for example, the fact that we know they are planning something, and the graphics and music to accompany the opening shots. However, it doesn’t give away why this person is a bad person.Also, there is the question and answer model- The opening credits make the audience ask questions, such as “who is he?” and “what’s going on?”
Camerawork: There are a lot of extreme close-ups during the opening sequence of Se7en, which conceal things from the audience, such as the shot of the book when the pages are being turned. Even though it is very close up, the viewer cannot see what he is reading, because of the angle of the shot. Also, there is an extreme close-up of the character slicing their fingers. It is a mystery to the audience who the person is, because only their fingertips are in shot. It is also unclear why the character is doing this. Another shot which is included in the opening credits is a panning shot of a filing cabinet. This gives the viewer an idea of where the sequence is set, without giving it away. The main focus of the camera seems to be the book, which may suggest that the book is a very important part of the plot of the film.
Mise-En-Scene: The setting of the opening credits is unclear for the most part- from watching just this part of the film, I could not tell where the person was. However, he appears to be in an office or a study room. I get this impression because of the shot of the filing cabinet and the fact that the character is reading a book and writing.
Sound: Throughout the opening of Se7en, there is a low pitched bass sound, like a heartbeat, which starts off at a fairly normal pace and gets slightly faster and louder. This helps to build up tension. Also, there is a scratchy screeching sound which occasionally occurs throughout the piece as well as the sound of a creaking chair or floorboards- this is quite a disturbing sound which may go through the audience and make them feel uncomfortable. Half way through the sequence the music kicks in, making it sound more urgent and fast paced. There are no voices, except from right at the end of the credit, where we can hear the words “you got me closer to God”. This could make the audience wonder if it could mean anything in the film.
Editing: The editing is very fast paced in the opening sequence, making it seem distorted to the audience, and is made up of a lot of very short cuts which match the timing of the music. There is also a jump cut where the character is beginning to cross out a picture of a boy in the book, when the shot jumps to a completely scribbled out picture. There are also a lot of dissolves throughout the opening, where one picture fades into another.
Graphics: The graphics in the sequence are white and they are shaky, like an old fashioned film. It also reassembles chalk board writing. They are quite central because they pop out at the viewer to grab their attention, but they are also in different places on the screen every time they pop out, which may surprise the audience, because they do not know where to expect these graphics to appear.
Jaws
Narrative Structure: The opening of Jaws has a linear structure and is equilibrium, which means it is balanced- there are a group of teenagers on a beach having a party.However, the structure changes to disequilibrium when the girl goes into the water, because the audience can sense that something bad it going to happen, although it is not clear what.
Thriller Codes and Conventions: There is partial vision in the sequence, because we cannot see the creature, making us wonder what it could be. There is also an example of transformed city- the beach is generally a safe place to be, however this sequence portrays it as a dangerous place because the girl gets killed in the ocean.There is also concealment and protraction, because we don’t know what the two teenagers are going to do when they get to the water, or what creature the killer is, even though we are given a few clues, such as the fact that the killer is deep in the ocean. The opening sequence also contains the question and answer model- the audience may be asking questions like “why isn’t anybody trying to save her?”
Camerawork: The first shot we see is a point-of-view shot. We don’t know what or whose point of view we are looking from or where exactly we are.As well as being a point-of-view shot, it is also a tracking shot, tracking through the reef of the ocean.The sequence then cuts to a mid-shot of a large group of teenagers on a beach. The camera is tracking to align the audience with the characters, however, the over-the-shoulder shots signify that perhaps we shouldn’t be there, and neither should the teenagers. The camera stops tracking when it arrives at a close-up of the protagonist, and then cuts to a close-up of another main focus character. This allows the audience to be introduced to these characters and see their facial expressions, which may give away the romantic feelings which may be occurring between these two characters.This is followed by a high angle shot, which makes the characters look vulnerable because we are looking down at them. The characters themselves then move into a stable frame.There are long shots when the girl jumps into the water, and the extreme long shot of the buoy in the distance shows how far out in the ocean she actually is.The shot then returns to a low angle point-of-view shot from under the water, where the audience can see a silhouette of the girl. This shot- even though it doesn’t usually signify a weak character- shows that the girl is unaware that there is danger below her.When the female character is being attacked, there is a range of close-ups which may be distressing to the audience and excite them early on in the film.
Mise-En-Scene: The setting of the opening sequence is in the ocean and on a beach- a place where it is usually safe to be. When the two characters are at the ocean, it is very dark and the audience struggles to see what is going on, which may suggest that the characters may also not be able to see very well. Despite this, we can still sense that something bad is going to happen, which builds tension. The clothes that the teenagers are wearing are very casual, showing that they are just typical people.
Sounds: The Jaws theme tune builds suspense, as it is low and quiet to begin with and gradually gets louder and more urgent, perhaps becoming quite distressing to the audience. In the party scene, the sounds are non-diegetic, we can just hear the music coming from somebody’s guitar and harmonica and the sounds of people moving around. When the girl is being attacked, we can hear the diegetic sounds of a bell signifying danger. It is still ringing when the girl is dead, indicating that something bad has happened.
Editing: The first shot of the teenagers on the beach builds tension for the audience, as it is a very long take and we are expecting the shot to change, but we don’t know when. There is also a shot-reverse-shot of the two main characters looking at each other, to try and signify their relationship and role in the film.The sequence also contains a cross cut (where one piece of action cuts to another piece which is completely different) when the camera is under water in the point-of-view of the killer, and then suddenly changes to a shot of a group of teenagers on the beach.
Graphics: The graphics in the opening sequence of Jaws are white, bold and very central in the middle of the screen. The director’s name and the name of the film company are very big and obvious.
We then had to go home and analyse two thriller films as homework. The films I chose to analyse were The Butterfly Effect and Vertigo.
The Butterfly Effect
Narrative Structure: The beginning of The Butterfly Effect is linear. We see the silhouette of a man walking around the outside of a room. He pushes the door open and urgently runs in, blocking the door with furniture. He hides under a desk and starts writing in a notepad. We see somebody outside the room with a flashlight. It is unclear what is happening.
Thriller Codes and Conventions: There is a sense of a transformed city in the opening of The Butterfly Effect, as offices are generally safe, but in the film it looks as though it is a danger zone.
There is also and example of the question and answer model, which leaves the audience asking questions such as "who is outside the room?", "who is he hiding from?" and "What is he writing?".
We don't know what is happening in the opening of the film, showing an example of the enigma code.
There is also partial vision in the scene, as the audience cannot see who is outside the room. This is also and example of concealment and protraction. Concealment and protraction is also used in the fact that we cannot see what he is writing, or who he is writing to.
Camerawork: There is a panning shot as we see the character make his way to the door. Panning shots introduce us to the surroundings. There is also a mid-shot panning as he pushes the furniture infront of the door.
The character then runs closer to the camera; there is then a close-up of him writing in the notebook. We see an extreme close-up of the paper as he finished writing, so that we can only see the last few words. Close-ups and extreme close-ups are popular in thriller films as they hide things from the audience.
Mise-en-scene: It is not clear exactly where the character is, but it is some sort of office. It is very dark, which makes it harder for the audience to see what is happening. The character is moving very quickly, which creates a sense of urgency and panic for the audience.
Sound: Very faint, long held diegetic bass notes build tension as the character comes towards the door. There is then the non-diegetic sound of the door slamming and heavy breathing, which could scare the audience. Urgent-sounding diegetic music kicks in when the character is inside the room. This could add to the sense of panic. We can hardly make out the dialogue as the character is muttering to himself. This shows that we aren't really meant to know what he is saying.
Editing: There is a match on action as the character runs across the room, and also as he is writing. Long held shots as he is approaching the room and when he is writing help add to the suspence, as the audience doesn't know when the shot will change. The opening also contains special effects, right at the end when the paper falls apart and dissolves into butterflies, which then dissolve into a skull.
Graphics: The graphics are small and white but stand out against the dark backgrounds. The butterflies and skull graphics illustrate the title of the film.
Vertigo
Narrative Structure: The beginning of Vertigo is linear. A man is being chased by a policeman and another man across the top of buildings. As the last man jumps to climb onto a roof, he slips and is left dangling high up over the city. As the policeman tries to help him up, the policeman falls to his death.
Thriller Codes and Conventions: There is an example of a transformed city in the opening of Vertigo. City rooftops are usually quite calm. There is a question and answer model in the film, as the audience would be asking "what has the man done?", "why is he being chased?", "will the man fall?"
The enigma code is also present in the beginning of Vertigo, as we don't know what is going on.
There is also an example of concealment and protraction and partial vision in the opening of Vertigo, and we don't know who's face is in the extreme close-ups at the beginning and the audience don't know why the man is being chased.
Camerawork: Right at the beginning, there is an extreme close-up of sonebody's face, rolling around different areas of the face. This is followed by a closeup of the person's eye, which may be scary to the audience.
There is then a cut to the close-up of a metal bar- a character moves into the shot. The camera then zooms out into a mid shot. The characters move in and out of the shot one by one. There is a long shot panning as the characters run across buildings. This introduces the audience to the setting. A medium long shot is seen as the characters jump onto the roof.
An overhead shot of the ground from the top of the building shows how high up they are. A close-up of the fallen character then shows his facial expressions. A high angle shot of the fallen man/ low angle shot of the policeman makes the man who has fallen look vulnerable.
Mise-en-scene: The setting is very dark, which makes it difficult to see what is happening. It is set in the city, on the rooftops, which are usually calm. There are alot of buildings.
Sound: The diegetic music has lots of crescendos and diminuendoes. Sudden very loud notes scare the audience, and then dies down again. It is very high pitched psycho/mental music, which matches the timing of the shots and graphics. There is very little dialogue in the opening of the film, but it contains non-diegetic sounds such as the characters running and climbing, and the sound of gun shots. All these sounds could scare the audience.
Editing: There is a match on action as the man and the policeman fall. Special effects of the close-up of the eye turning red. This is scary for the audience. The text and graphics also dissolve in and out. Shot cuts quickly to a plain black screen at the end. This surprises the audience.
Graphics: The graphics in the opening are white and stand out against dark backgrounds. Swirling patterns "hypnotise" the audience. The title of the film stands out the most, as it gets bigger, as though it is getting closer.
Section 3: Brainstorm of content and classification of thrillers
Today in our media class, we were put into the groups which we will be working in on our project. The people I will be working with are Josh Gemmel, Tom Newton and Tuesday Povey.Together, we started to brain storm basic ideas for our thriller film:
A guy stalking a girl.
Somebody stealing people's souls.
Detective on a mission.
Chef with a bomb hidden in a cake, who turns people into sausages.
Army base
Theme park
Woods
Church/ graveyard
House
Cellar
A computer which corrupts peoples' minds
Mental characters
A guy stalking a girl.
Somebody stealing people's souls.
Detective on a mission.
Chef with a bomb hidden in a cake, who turns people into sausages.
Army base
Theme park
Woods
Church/ graveyard
House
Cellar
A computer which corrupts peoples' minds
Mental characters
Section 4: Audience Research
Audience Research
Today, in media, we created a questionnaire as part of our research into our target audience, to find out what conventions people would like, or wouldn't like to see in a thriller film. We will be handing these questionnaires out to 40 people.
Media Questionnaire-How old are you? ____________
-Are you male or female? (Please Circle)Male Female
-Favourite thriller film out of the following? Jaws Se7en The Sixth Sense The Matrix The Butterfly Effect Psycho
-Least favourite thriller film our of the following?Jaws Se7en The Sixth Sense The Matrix The Butterfly Effect Psycho
-What is your favourite type of thriller?Action Supernatural Erotic Techno Other (Please specify) _____________________
-What kind of location would you expect a thriller to be set in?Urban Rural Exotic Other (Please specify) ___________________
-What do you like best about a thriller?Music Graphics The plot Other (Please Specify) ____________________
-Do you like to see violence in a thriller? Yes No
-Do you like to see romance in a thriller?Yes No
-Do you like to see a lot of dialogue in the opening of a thriller? Yes No
-What type of main character would you like to follow in a thriller?Woman Man Teenager Child Animal Robot Other (Please Specify) __________________
-What age would you like the main character to be? Under 12 12-17 18-30 Over 30
-What type of villain would you like to follow in a thriller?Woman Man Teenager Child Animal Robot Other (Please Specify) __________________
-What age would you like the villain to be?Under 12 12-17 18-30 Over 30
-Do you expect the music to build up tension? Yes No
-Would you expect the villain to use a weapon? If so, what? Yes No
Knife Bomb Gun Supernatural powers
-Do you prefer a happy or sad ending?Happy Sad
-What makes you scared?Ticking clocks Footsteps Supernatural noises Wind Breathing Thunder
-Do you like partial vision in the beginning of a thriller?Yes No
THRILLER QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
We created a questionnaire to help us with our ideas on producing our thriller film. The questionnaire contained 20 opened and closed questions and each person in our group had 10 sets of questionnaires. After we collected them in we tallied up the results and then had to write a conclusion, which we will outline below.
The people who participated in this questionnaire were mostly 16-years-old. And the age group which were the least to participate were the 18-year-olds. I think that we should have used the same amount of people in each age group as it would have made it more equal.The majority of people who filled in our questionnaire were 16. We are going to make a 15 rated film as 16 year olds are our target audience.
The people who took part in the questionnaire were female dominated which again, suggests that in order to make it unbiased we should have used an even amount of men and women.
Most people thought that ‘Se7en’ was their favourite thriller film. Maybe this was a popular choice because it had well-known actors such as Brad Pitt in it. However I have watched ‘se7en’ and thought it was a great thriller also. A total of 0 people chose the film ‘Psycho’ as their favourite film and I believe that the reason for this is because it is a very old black and white film, made in 1960. Therefore, students possibly think that newer thrillers are more entertaining because of the high tech and improved plots, music, graphics, and editing. The thriller opening we will be making will be similar to the opening of ‘Se7en’.
Most people thought that the thriller ‘Jaws’ was their least favourite. I think that this question was an injustice one, as people may have not seen some of the films such as ‘Psycho,’ ‘The Sixth Sense’ or ‘Se7en’. I believe this because of the results on the previous question, and the fact that people actually chose every film over ‘Psycho’. The results are unequal when comparing them to the previous question. However the results show that Jaws was the most disliked and that ‘Se7en,’ ‘The Sixth Sense’ and ‘Psycho’ were the most liked.We will make sure that our opening is not like ‘Jaws’ as it does not appeal to our target audience.
A great amount of people thought that action thrillers were the best. Maybe this is because action thrillers have a lot going on in their films such as fights, shootouts, stunts and car chases. They are also fast paced and have creative plots and that is what creates tension for the audience. The least favoured was techno thrillers. I think this is because there are only a few well-known techno thrillers produced and many teenagers might have not seen them.Action thrillers and supernatural thrillers were the most the most popular amongst the people who filled in our questionnaire. We have decided to make an action thriller because supernatural thrillers are expensive to make.
Most people think that the location being set in an urban environment would be best. A lot of thriller films are set in urban places (to create the transformed city model) so this may be why students chose this. Because of this, we will be setting our thriller in an urban environment.
I think that people chose the plot other than anything else because a plot is more noticeable in a film and has more to it than graphics or the music. We will have to make sure that the plot of our thriller is good, as this is what most people tend to judge a thriller on.
Most people said they preferred violence in a thriller. This could be because violence makes it more shocking and gains tension for the audience. The answers ‘no’ and ‘don’t know’ were equal and the least preferred.In our thriller, we are going to include some elements of violence, although we cannot use too much as out thriller is classified as a 15, and not an 18.
A large percentage of people did not know whether they would prefer to see romance in a thriller. I think teenagers do not always consider thrillers as romantic, because it distracts the audience from the entire ‘thrill’ that is required to create tension. Therefore romance is needed.
Most people believed that dialogue should not be expected. Dialogue in thrillers is rare and when used in a film they are often used as little as possible. Dialogue can become a spoiler for the film is used too much in the beginning. A large number of people did not know how to answer this question, possibly because they do not tend to usually realise the amount of dialogue used in every thriller they have watched. However due to the amount of ‘no’ answers we received, we will not include a lot of dialogue in our thriller.
Most people would like to follow a man as the villain in a thriller. This could be because you see a lot of men playing the villain in thriller films and they might like to follow this. No one wanted to follow an animal or robot, so this could suggest that the stereotypical thriller audience prefer realism.
People expect the main character in a thriller to be an 18-30 year old as this is an average age and is realistic considering most 18-30 year olds are independent. No one thought that under 12’s should be the main character. I think this is because people in that age group are usually dependent and would not have a suitable purpose for a thriller film.
I think that people mostly chose to answer ‘woman’ because they are realistic and are often independent in real life. This question was mostly answered female possibly because males tend to appear in a lot of action thrillers which are a popular genre so maybe they would like to see a change. We are going to be following a female lead character in our thriller film.
People expect the villain in a thriller to be an 18-30 year old as this is an average age and is realistic considering most 18-30 year olds are independent. This can make tension build up for the audience as realism enables the feeling that the happenings in the thriller film can happen to anyone. No one thought that under 12’s should be the villain. I think this is because people in that age group are usually dependent and would not have a suitable purpose for a thriller film. We will have to find a man aged 18-30 to play our villain
Almost everyone who participated in our questionnaire believed that music builds up tension for them, so we are going to select some music which we will build up tension.
Most people thought that a villain would use a weapon in a thriller film. However, many people may think that weapons may be used later on in a thriller film, not in the opening.
Most people said that they would expect the villain to use a knife. This could be because a knife can inflict pain on another person in a gory way and is quite scary for an audience. Less people said a bomb as bombs are a quick and simple way to kill. In other words, if a bomb was used in a thriller it would make the pace of the film really quick and boring. If we are to use a weapon in our thriller, we will be using a knife.
There is almost a tie between the answers to this question, however more people preferred a sad ending, possibly because it creates more tension than a happy one and red herrings can be used often to fool the audience.
Most people thought that breathing and footsteps was the scariest thing to hear in a thriller. These can be considered as scary because the audience know there is a presence lurking but do not know who or what it is. /we will be using heavy breathing in our thriller to build up tension and try to scare the audience.
Most people said yes to this question, as partial vision conceals everything from us and keeps us guessing throughout the film. Some people answered no, possibly because they hate things being concealed from them and desperately want to know what happens in the thriller film.
CONCLUSIONAs my overall conclusion I believe that people prefer watching thriller films with a strong, well-constructed plot, which contains an action or supernatural genre and set in an urban or rural environment. It should also contain a protagonist woman, a male villain, violence, partial vision, a weapon such as a knife, heavy breathing, footsteps, and should be realistic. The diegetic and non-diegetic music selection is vital for building up tension.
Today, in media, we created a questionnaire as part of our research into our target audience, to find out what conventions people would like, or wouldn't like to see in a thriller film. We will be handing these questionnaires out to 40 people.
Media Questionnaire-How old are you? ____________
-Are you male or female? (Please Circle)Male Female
-Favourite thriller film out of the following? Jaws Se7en The Sixth Sense The Matrix The Butterfly Effect Psycho
-Least favourite thriller film our of the following?Jaws Se7en The Sixth Sense The Matrix The Butterfly Effect Psycho
-What is your favourite type of thriller?Action Supernatural Erotic Techno Other (Please specify) _____________________
-What kind of location would you expect a thriller to be set in?Urban Rural Exotic Other (Please specify) ___________________
-What do you like best about a thriller?Music Graphics The plot Other (Please Specify) ____________________
-Do you like to see violence in a thriller? Yes No
-Do you like to see romance in a thriller?Yes No
-Do you like to see a lot of dialogue in the opening of a thriller? Yes No
-What type of main character would you like to follow in a thriller?Woman Man Teenager Child Animal Robot Other (Please Specify) __________________
-What age would you like the main character to be? Under 12 12-17 18-30 Over 30
-What type of villain would you like to follow in a thriller?Woman Man Teenager Child Animal Robot Other (Please Specify) __________________
-What age would you like the villain to be?Under 12 12-17 18-30 Over 30
-Do you expect the music to build up tension? Yes No
-Would you expect the villain to use a weapon? If so, what? Yes No
Knife Bomb Gun Supernatural powers
-Do you prefer a happy or sad ending?Happy Sad
-What makes you scared?Ticking clocks Footsteps Supernatural noises Wind Breathing Thunder
-Do you like partial vision in the beginning of a thriller?Yes No
THRILLER QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
We created a questionnaire to help us with our ideas on producing our thriller film. The questionnaire contained 20 opened and closed questions and each person in our group had 10 sets of questionnaires. After we collected them in we tallied up the results and then had to write a conclusion, which we will outline below.
The people who participated in this questionnaire were mostly 16-years-old. And the age group which were the least to participate were the 18-year-olds. I think that we should have used the same amount of people in each age group as it would have made it more equal.The majority of people who filled in our questionnaire were 16. We are going to make a 15 rated film as 16 year olds are our target audience.
The people who took part in the questionnaire were female dominated which again, suggests that in order to make it unbiased we should have used an even amount of men and women.
Most people thought that ‘Se7en’ was their favourite thriller film. Maybe this was a popular choice because it had well-known actors such as Brad Pitt in it. However I have watched ‘se7en’ and thought it was a great thriller also. A total of 0 people chose the film ‘Psycho’ as their favourite film and I believe that the reason for this is because it is a very old black and white film, made in 1960. Therefore, students possibly think that newer thrillers are more entertaining because of the high tech and improved plots, music, graphics, and editing. The thriller opening we will be making will be similar to the opening of ‘Se7en’.
Most people thought that the thriller ‘Jaws’ was their least favourite. I think that this question was an injustice one, as people may have not seen some of the films such as ‘Psycho,’ ‘The Sixth Sense’ or ‘Se7en’. I believe this because of the results on the previous question, and the fact that people actually chose every film over ‘Psycho’. The results are unequal when comparing them to the previous question. However the results show that Jaws was the most disliked and that ‘Se7en,’ ‘The Sixth Sense’ and ‘Psycho’ were the most liked.We will make sure that our opening is not like ‘Jaws’ as it does not appeal to our target audience.
A great amount of people thought that action thrillers were the best. Maybe this is because action thrillers have a lot going on in their films such as fights, shootouts, stunts and car chases. They are also fast paced and have creative plots and that is what creates tension for the audience. The least favoured was techno thrillers. I think this is because there are only a few well-known techno thrillers produced and many teenagers might have not seen them.Action thrillers and supernatural thrillers were the most the most popular amongst the people who filled in our questionnaire. We have decided to make an action thriller because supernatural thrillers are expensive to make.
Most people think that the location being set in an urban environment would be best. A lot of thriller films are set in urban places (to create the transformed city model) so this may be why students chose this. Because of this, we will be setting our thriller in an urban environment.
I think that people chose the plot other than anything else because a plot is more noticeable in a film and has more to it than graphics or the music. We will have to make sure that the plot of our thriller is good, as this is what most people tend to judge a thriller on.
Most people said they preferred violence in a thriller. This could be because violence makes it more shocking and gains tension for the audience. The answers ‘no’ and ‘don’t know’ were equal and the least preferred.In our thriller, we are going to include some elements of violence, although we cannot use too much as out thriller is classified as a 15, and not an 18.
A large percentage of people did not know whether they would prefer to see romance in a thriller. I think teenagers do not always consider thrillers as romantic, because it distracts the audience from the entire ‘thrill’ that is required to create tension. Therefore romance is needed.
Most people believed that dialogue should not be expected. Dialogue in thrillers is rare and when used in a film they are often used as little as possible. Dialogue can become a spoiler for the film is used too much in the beginning. A large number of people did not know how to answer this question, possibly because they do not tend to usually realise the amount of dialogue used in every thriller they have watched. However due to the amount of ‘no’ answers we received, we will not include a lot of dialogue in our thriller.
Most people would like to follow a man as the villain in a thriller. This could be because you see a lot of men playing the villain in thriller films and they might like to follow this. No one wanted to follow an animal or robot, so this could suggest that the stereotypical thriller audience prefer realism.
People expect the main character in a thriller to be an 18-30 year old as this is an average age and is realistic considering most 18-30 year olds are independent. No one thought that under 12’s should be the main character. I think this is because people in that age group are usually dependent and would not have a suitable purpose for a thriller film.
I think that people mostly chose to answer ‘woman’ because they are realistic and are often independent in real life. This question was mostly answered female possibly because males tend to appear in a lot of action thrillers which are a popular genre so maybe they would like to see a change. We are going to be following a female lead character in our thriller film.
People expect the villain in a thriller to be an 18-30 year old as this is an average age and is realistic considering most 18-30 year olds are independent. This can make tension build up for the audience as realism enables the feeling that the happenings in the thriller film can happen to anyone. No one thought that under 12’s should be the villain. I think this is because people in that age group are usually dependent and would not have a suitable purpose for a thriller film. We will have to find a man aged 18-30 to play our villain
Almost everyone who participated in our questionnaire believed that music builds up tension for them, so we are going to select some music which we will build up tension.
Most people thought that a villain would use a weapon in a thriller film. However, many people may think that weapons may be used later on in a thriller film, not in the opening.
Most people said that they would expect the villain to use a knife. This could be because a knife can inflict pain on another person in a gory way and is quite scary for an audience. Less people said a bomb as bombs are a quick and simple way to kill. In other words, if a bomb was used in a thriller it would make the pace of the film really quick and boring. If we are to use a weapon in our thriller, we will be using a knife.
There is almost a tie between the answers to this question, however more people preferred a sad ending, possibly because it creates more tension than a happy one and red herrings can be used often to fool the audience.
Most people thought that breathing and footsteps was the scariest thing to hear in a thriller. These can be considered as scary because the audience know there is a presence lurking but do not know who or what it is. /we will be using heavy breathing in our thriller to build up tension and try to scare the audience.
Most people said yes to this question, as partial vision conceals everything from us and keeps us guessing throughout the film. Some people answered no, possibly because they hate things being concealed from them and desperately want to know what happens in the thriller film.
CONCLUSIONAs my overall conclusion I believe that people prefer watching thriller films with a strong, well-constructed plot, which contains an action or supernatural genre and set in an urban or rural environment. It should also contain a protagonist woman, a male villain, violence, partial vision, a weapon such as a knife, heavy breathing, footsteps, and should be realistic. The diegetic and non-diegetic music selection is vital for building up tension.
Section 5: Synopsis and Treatment
In media, our group has been brainstorming ideas for our thriller, and we are at the stage of completing our synopsis and treatment.Now, we are going to start drawing out our storyboards and complete character outlines and location sheets.Here is some of the paperwork for our Thriller
Synopsis/Treatment for Perfect Forgiveness (working title)
Classification: We have decided to make this film a 15 as it would be immoral for people of 16-17 to be filming an 18 classification. We have also done this so we can open up new possibilities as we are not limited to only one age range of people. We also feel that there is no need for lots of blood and gore.
Synopsis: Five years ago Rachel Howard died in a horrific car accident. Five years later, Rachel’s father seeks revenge for justice that was never done. How much blood must be lost in order for this grizzly revenge to be fulfilled?
Treatment:Beginning:A girl is in her kitchen, washing the dishes. There is a close up of the sink and some knives being washed. There is then a close-up of a phone ringing. Diegetic sound of a phone ringing is played. A close up is shown of the girls expression as she hears the phone ringing. She leaves the kitchen and enters the living room to answer the phone. Mid-shot of the girl picking up the phone. She says on the phone ‘Hello’. There is no reply, so she hangs up, but as she leaves the room, the phone rings again. There is no answer when she says hello. She hangs up again and waits by the phone, knowing that it will ring again. When it does, she answers ‘Hello, who is this?’She looks outside, and there is a man stood across the road, with a phone to his ear, looking straight at her. The girl drops the phone and then closes the windows and curtains and locks the doors. She returns to the living room, where she then realises that the window has been opened.She hurries into the kitchen, and starts rummaging through the drawer to find a knife, when the killer suddenly creeps up behind her. She spins around with the look of horror on her face and the screen goes blank and we can only hear her scream.
Synopsis/Treatment for Perfect Forgiveness (working title)
Classification: We have decided to make this film a 15 as it would be immoral for people of 16-17 to be filming an 18 classification. We have also done this so we can open up new possibilities as we are not limited to only one age range of people. We also feel that there is no need for lots of blood and gore.
Synopsis: Five years ago Rachel Howard died in a horrific car accident. Five years later, Rachel’s father seeks revenge for justice that was never done. How much blood must be lost in order for this grizzly revenge to be fulfilled?
Treatment:Beginning:A girl is in her kitchen, washing the dishes. There is a close up of the sink and some knives being washed. There is then a close-up of a phone ringing. Diegetic sound of a phone ringing is played. A close up is shown of the girls expression as she hears the phone ringing. She leaves the kitchen and enters the living room to answer the phone. Mid-shot of the girl picking up the phone. She says on the phone ‘Hello’. There is no reply, so she hangs up, but as she leaves the room, the phone rings again. There is no answer when she says hello. She hangs up again and waits by the phone, knowing that it will ring again. When it does, she answers ‘Hello, who is this?’She looks outside, and there is a man stood across the road, with a phone to his ear, looking straight at her. The girl drops the phone and then closes the windows and curtains and locks the doors. She returns to the living room, where she then realises that the window has been opened.She hurries into the kitchen, and starts rummaging through the drawer to find a knife, when the killer suddenly creeps up behind her. She spins around with the look of horror on her face and the screen goes blank and we can only hear her scream.
Section 6: Character Outlines and Script
In class today, we carried on completing our paperwork. We have now completed our character outlines and scripting, which are posted below, and our storyboard and location sheets, which we need to scan onto the computer.We have also finished our conclusions, which are posted under
Section 4: Audience Research.
Character Outlines:
Rachel Howard: A 18 year old girl with brown hair and blue eyes. She is optimistic as she has just passed her A-levels. She wears a T-shirt, jacket and some casual jeans. She lives with her father, who she has been very close to since her mother passed away when she was ten. She mainly spends her time helping out with chores at home, whilst her dad goes out for work.
Jack Mildew: A man in his mid-twenties, blond haired man. He is currently suffering from Schizophrenia. He is the killer in this opening. He wears a T-shirt and a pair of cargo trousers.
Scripting
Washing up and phone rings, walks over to phone and picks it up.-Rachel Howard: ‘Hello’-No reply-She puts the phone down and turns to exit the room.-Phone rings again, Rachel answers ‘Hello? Hello?’-There is no reply again-She puts the phone down and waits by it.-The phone rings again she pauses and thinks about whether she should pick up the phone or not.-Picks up phone ‘Hello who is this?!?’-hears man breathing down the phone-Looks out of window, drops the phone and closes the curtains, before running over to the front door to lock it.
Section 4: Audience Research.
Character Outlines:
Rachel Howard: A 18 year old girl with brown hair and blue eyes. She is optimistic as she has just passed her A-levels. She wears a T-shirt, jacket and some casual jeans. She lives with her father, who she has been very close to since her mother passed away when she was ten. She mainly spends her time helping out with chores at home, whilst her dad goes out for work.
Jack Mildew: A man in his mid-twenties, blond haired man. He is currently suffering from Schizophrenia. He is the killer in this opening. He wears a T-shirt and a pair of cargo trousers.
Scripting
Washing up and phone rings, walks over to phone and picks it up.-Rachel Howard: ‘Hello’-No reply-She puts the phone down and turns to exit the room.-Phone rings again, Rachel answers ‘Hello? Hello?’-There is no reply again-She puts the phone down and waits by it.-The phone rings again she pauses and thinks about whether she should pick up the phone or not.-Picks up phone ‘Hello who is this?!?’-hears man breathing down the phone-Looks out of window, drops the phone and closes the curtains, before running over to the front door to lock it.
Section 7: Reece and Location Sheets
Our thriller opening is going to take place in a house. Here are the diagrams of the layouts of the rooms which we will be working in, and the hazards which we will have to take into consideration whilst filming.
THE KITCHEN
Hazards-The oven: We must ensure that the oven is off and untouched so that we do not create a fire or burn ourselves.
THE LOUNGE
Hazards-The road: We must be careful as cars create this hazard. We can avoid this issue by filming on the pavement at the back.-Electrical Equipment: We must ensure that cables and wires are away from us so that we do not experience an electric-shock.
THE KITCHEN
Hazards-The oven: We must ensure that the oven is off and untouched so that we do not create a fire or burn ourselves.
THE LOUNGEHazards-The road: We must be careful as cars create this hazard. We can avoid this issue by filming on the pavement at the back.-Electrical Equipment: We must ensure that cables and wires are away from us so that we do not experience an electric-shock.
Section 8: Production Material
Yesterday, we started filming our thriller opening. We managed to get most of it finished, however we still need to film eight shots. We will be doing this tomorrow evening
Here is our storyboard.
Here is our storyboard.
Section 9: Production Schedule
Film title: A Perfect Forgiveness
Director: Josh Gemmell, Tom Newton, Frances Coyne, Tuesday Povey
Producer: Josh Gemmell, Tom Newton, Frances Coyne, Tuesday Povey
Client: OCR exam board
Production started: 17th November 2008
Production completed:
Treatment started:30th November 2008, 19th December 2008
Storyboard started:27th November 2008, 28th November 2008
Shooting started:30th November 2008
Post production started(logging sheets): 10th December, 19th December 2008
Rough cut submitted: 12th December
Final show tape completed: 19th December 2008
Location equipment required: Camera, Tape, Tripod
Transport required:Bus, 3-cars for the crew
Crewing requirements:
Camera people: Josh Gemmell, Tom Newton, Frances Coyne, Tuesday Povey
Sound: Josh Gemmell, Tom Newton, Frances Coyne, Tuesday Povey
Lighting: Josh Gemmell, Tom Newton, Frances Coyne, Tuesday Povey
Post production assistant: Josh Gemmell, Tom Newton, Frances Coyne, Tuesday Povey
Director: Josh Gemmell, Tom Newton, Frances Coyne, Tuesday Povey
Producer: Josh Gemmell, Tom Newton, Frances Coyne, Tuesday Povey
Client: OCR exam board
Production started: 17th November 2008
Production completed:
Treatment started:30th November 2008, 19th December 2008
Storyboard started:27th November 2008, 28th November 2008
Shooting started:30th November 2008
Post production started(logging sheets): 10th December, 19th December 2008
Rough cut submitted: 12th December
Final show tape completed: 19th December 2008
Location equipment required: Camera, Tape, Tripod
Transport required:Bus, 3-cars for the crew
Crewing requirements:
Camera people: Josh Gemmell, Tom Newton, Frances Coyne, Tuesday Povey
Sound: Josh Gemmell, Tom Newton, Frances Coyne, Tuesday Povey
Lighting: Josh Gemmell, Tom Newton, Frances Coyne, Tuesday Povey
Post production assistant: Josh Gemmell, Tom Newton, Frances Coyne, Tuesday Povey
Section 10: Edit logging sheet.
Section 11: Audience Feedback
When we completed editing our thriller opening, we asked people of our target audience to watch our film and give us feedback in form of a questionnaire.
Did the music in our thriller opening build tension? Yes-16 No-4
Do you think we should have used more dialogue? Yes-3 No-17
Did our actors suit their roles? Yes-17 No-3
Did our actors play their roles well? Yes-16 No-4
Did you understand the plot of our opening? Yes-20 No-0
Did our thriller opening have a good plot? Yes-18 No-2
Did you think the range of shots in our thriller opening were sufficient? Yes-15 No-5
Did the credits look good? Yes-16 No-4
Did our thriller opening leave you asking questions? Yes-15 No-5
Should we have used more special effects? Yes-8 No-12
Does our opening make you want to watch the rest of the film? Yes-17 No-3
What draws you towards our film the most? Title-3 Music-5 Plot-12 Other-0
Was the sound in our opening of sufficient quality? Yes-17 No-3
Was the setting of our thriller opening suitable? Yes-19 No-0
What could we have improved the most? Sound-2 Editing-1 Shots-6 Effects-8 Other-3 (Acting, Character, Credits)
Overall, did you enjoy the opening of our thriller? Yes-19 No-1
When asked if the music in our thriller film built up tension, sixteen out of twenty people said yes. The music we used was quite eerie and spooky, which may have built tension for the majority of people, but I think it was too quiet for the suspense.
Seventeen people thought that we didn’t need to use more dialogue in our opening. I think this is because dialogue is not usually expected in the beginning of thriller films, as it can give too much away to the audience.
We asked our audience if they thought our actors suited their roles well. Again, seventeen people said yes. We chose our actors according to the results that we got from our audience research, in which most people said that they wanted to see a teenage female main character, and an adult male villain. However, only sixteen people said that they thought our actors played their parts well.
All the people who filled in our questionnaire told us that they understood the plot of our film, which shows that we communicated it well in the way we shot and edited it, as well as the way the actors expressed themselves. Two out of the twenty people, however, said that they did not like our plot.
Five people told us that the range of shots in our thriller were insufficient. I think that we could have improved our range of shots, as a majority of the shots that we used were mid-shots and close-ups.
Fifteen out of twenty said our credits looked good. They were very basic, and white, as this is usually expected for a thriller film. We intended to surprise our audience by having our credits flash up quickly in random places on the screen.
Most people answered yes when we asked if our opening left them asking questions. In our thriller opening, we intended to leave the audience wondering what happened to our main character, and why.
Only eight people said that we needed more special effects. I think our thriller looked better without many effects, as it is set in a house and is following our main character’s everyday life at the beginning, so we wanted it to look natural.
Seventeen people told us that our thriller made them want to see the rest of our film. I think this shows that our thriller was successful when it came to drawing the viewer in.
The plot had the most votes, with twelve, when we asked what drew our viewers in the most. Again, I think this shows success in interesting the audience. However, the title had the least votes, with three. I think this was because the title was only shown at the end, and most of our audience didn’t know the name of it before watching. Most people said that the sound quality in our film was good. However, three answered no, one saying that the music should have been louder. I also think that we could have improved the levels of the different sounds in specific parts.
All but one person said that our thriller was set in an appropriate place. We decided to set our thriller in a house to make it seem natural, and to help show transformed city in our opening.
Eight people told us that we could have improved our effects. I agree that we could have added more effects without our thriller looking too supernatural. Six people said we could have improved our shots. I think this, again, is because we needed a wider range.
Overall, nineteen out of twenty people enjoyed our thriller opening.
Seventeen people thought that we didn’t need to use more dialogue in our opening. I think this is because dialogue is not usually expected in the beginning of thriller films, as it can give too much away to the audience.
We asked our audience if they thought our actors suited their roles well. Again, seventeen people said yes. We chose our actors according to the results that we got from our audience research, in which most people said that they wanted to see a teenage female main character, and an adult male villain. However, only sixteen people said that they thought our actors played their parts well.
All the people who filled in our questionnaire told us that they understood the plot of our film, which shows that we communicated it well in the way we shot and edited it, as well as the way the actors expressed themselves. Two out of the twenty people, however, said that they did not like our plot.
Five people told us that the range of shots in our thriller were insufficient. I think that we could have improved our range of shots, as a majority of the shots that we used were mid-shots and close-ups.
Fifteen out of twenty said our credits looked good. They were very basic, and white, as this is usually expected for a thriller film. We intended to surprise our audience by having our credits flash up quickly in random places on the screen.
Most people answered yes when we asked if our opening left them asking questions. In our thriller opening, we intended to leave the audience wondering what happened to our main character, and why.
Only eight people said that we needed more special effects. I think our thriller looked better without many effects, as it is set in a house and is following our main character’s everyday life at the beginning, so we wanted it to look natural.
Seventeen people told us that our thriller made them want to see the rest of our film. I think this shows that our thriller was successful when it came to drawing the viewer in.
The plot had the most votes, with twelve, when we asked what drew our viewers in the most. Again, I think this shows success in interesting the audience. However, the title had the least votes, with three. I think this was because the title was only shown at the end, and most of our audience didn’t know the name of it before watching. Most people said that the sound quality in our film was good. However, three answered no, one saying that the music should have been louder. I also think that we could have improved the levels of the different sounds in specific parts.
All but one person said that our thriller was set in an appropriate place. We decided to set our thriller in a house to make it seem natural, and to help show transformed city in our opening.
Eight people told us that we could have improved our effects. I agree that we could have added more effects without our thriller looking too supernatural. Six people said we could have improved our shots. I think this, again, is because we needed a wider range.
Overall, nineteen out of twenty people enjoyed our thriller opening.
Section 12: Analysis of completed thriller.
A Perfect Forgiveness
Narrative Structure
The narrative structure of our film is linear and it is very clear to understand the storyline, even though things are concealed from the audience. A girl is doing chores when the phone suddenly starts ringing. She answers it but the caller hangs up. As she turns to carry on with her jobs, then phone rings again, and there is still nobody there. The third time the phone rings, she picks it up to hear breathing down the phone, and looks outside to see a man staring at her through the window. She swiftly closes the curtains and locks the door, before finding that the window has opened itself. She runs to the kitchen to try and find an item to defend herself, but she is too late. There is a sense of equilibrium right at the start, as it is normal for a girl to be doing chores around the house.
Thriller Codes and Conventions
We have used the convention of transformed city in our opening, as a house is generally a safe place to be, but it is a dangerous place in our thriller. We have also used partial vision and concealment and protraction- we do not see the killer's face and the audience doesn't know who he is or why he kills the girl. This is also an example of the question and answer model, as it leaves the viewer wondering who the man is, and why he kills the girl.
Camera Work
We have used an extreme close-up of the phone as a significant part of our thriller, as the phone ringing is a main feature of our opening, and the dramatic close-up communicates this well. There is also a range of close-ups in our film, as these are a popular type of shot in thriller films, and they help to conceal things from the audience. We have also used panning shows to follow the character's movement and make the audience familiar to the setting.
Mise-En-Scene
Our film is set in th main character's house. This is typically a safe place to be but is turned into a dangerous area in our film. The girl is wearing typical every day teenager's clothes and is washing the dishes. This creates a sense of equilibrium- she is just a normal girl doing typical everyday things.
Sound
We have used the diegetic sounds of water running and the telephone ringing to help let the audience know what is going on in the film, and also to help create the sense of equilibrium.
The non-diegetic music is made up of eerie long bass notes and sharp, quick high notes. This creates tension and can also scare the audience.
Editing
The editing of our thriller is quite fast paced and they are just normal cuts, except from one dissolve transition in the middle. We have used ghosting to create an effect that time is moving slowly, and added red tint to the close-up of he phone to signify danger.
Graphics
Our credits are medium sized and simple in a white font. They flash quickly in random areas of the screen to surprise the audience and then fade away slowly. This could make the audience wonder when the next credit will flash up.
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