Production planning and Idea development...

As our allocated filming time soon approaches, we have had to make sure everything is finalised and all decisions have been made in order for our filming to run smoothly. Although Luke and I have found it difficult to come up with suitable yet effective thriller opening ideas; We have now got our idea, after weeks of planning and thinking of various ideas which have either been used, altered or elaborated on or simply just completely dropped. (For example, below is one of our ideas, which we later had to change due to arising problems that we felt we may encounter.)

(Initial Thriller Opening idea)

Shots of a man going about his business, shot as though it's a home video recording. Pan out to reveal that the footage is being watched on a television screen in a dark room. Man is seen on train as train pulls away from the station. Short, sharp shots from the inside of the train looking out onto the platform where a 'mystery' man dressed in a long dark trench coat is seen standing on the platform. Close-up shot of man on train, reaches for his coffee in front of him, where the 'mystery' man is then seen sitting on the seat opposite him.End.

When planning further into this idea, we came across many problems that we would encounter if we proceeded with the filming idea. We realised that by getting shots of a train pulling away from the station both from inside of the train and from the outside we would have needed to of made the journey many times in order to have sufficient continuity and shots to play with. Not only this, but it would take a lot of time, cost a lot of money for train tickets and we realised that we would have to get permission to film on a public train. Therefore, we decided that this idea would not work when it came to the actual filming process and so we have decided to take forward certain extracts and ideas such as:
- The main character/s being stalked or followed.
- The use of a location shot in a dark-room.
- Footage being watched on a t.v in the dark-room.

We have decided to take forward these ideas and develop on them as we feel that they will be possible to achieve in terms of being able to realistically film it. As well as this, we feel that having a 'stalking' theme and using dark, enclosed scenery will create suspense and acumilate questions for the audience which will therefore make them want to watch more - overall are all essential elements for a thriller opening.


Becky.

Evaluation of AS Thriller video...

In today's lesson, we watched Thriller openings made by an AS class a couple of years ago. We watched a number of openings and evaluated as a class each piece, recording our analytical findings in a table. I have decided to evaluate in detail the video opening called 'Hysteria'.
The beginning opened with a black background which featured an orange/yellow light, (which appeared to be a spotlight). The titles and names of the producers,(shown in bold lettering) were then set against the 'spotlight',fading in and out which therefore highlighted the text drawing the audience's attention. The use of the colours black, orange and yellow which shows a bold, contrasting dramatic effect, conveys and initializes the idea of a sinister and dangerous atmosphere, therefore preparing the audience for the following thriller opening.
The opening shows a girl in what appears to be her own home, going out into the back garden to put rubbish in the bin. There are many low to the ground panning shots which gives us a clear idea of the action which is taking place, followed by a shot looking up from inside the bin when the girl opens it. When the girl goes back inside of the house where she is then disturbed by a noise, a close up shot of her eyes are shown which remains on the screen for a while whilst the action continues. This shot is effective as it gives the audience a clear visual of the fear the girl is experiencing. Following on from this, the girl then proceeds cautiously out into the garden, picks up a torch and approaches a shed at the back of the garden.
Whilst this action is taking place, non-diegetic sounds such as animal noises and heavy breathing are added to add to the dramatic and 'on-edge' visuals taking place. The pulsating sounds adds to the tension, however i feel that the animal sounds were a little in-appropriate as i feel that they didn't fit the style of the piece - (I feel that they would have suited an opening set in a wood/forest setting more.)
The girl in the film was wearing a red jumper, therefore indicating a sign of danger, due to the fact that the colour red is often associated with blood and death. The use of involving only one charater as well as setting the scene in a home at night, automatically reveals the forthcoming dangerous events. The sinister backing music throughout also introduces us to the eerie atmosphere, building up tension, adding to yet another generic theme associated with thriller films.
Overall, the editing of the piece was clear and continuos, as it was clear to the audience what was going on. Sharp cuts added to the fast paced storyline which therefore put the audience on edge. Although i thought the opening sequence of 'Hysteria' was effective and successful due to the fact that it put me on edge and thrilled me as an audience member, i felt that it appeared to be more like a movie trailer, due to the way in which the main title was presented; By flashing up in the centre of the screen at the start of the opening - similiar to the style of trailer titles.

Becky.

Film Noir..

'The Big Combo', 1955

Is a cinematic term to describe low key, black and white visual style films. 

Film Noir was popular around the 1940's to late 1950's, especially during the time of The Great Depression in the USA.

The genres film noir covered were usually crime fiction and violent gangster films. The common similarities that film Noir films share are often dark/mysterious settings with a gloomy atmosphere e.g., a film set in the darkness of night with rainy streets.

As you can from the picture above (taken from the film 'The Big Combo' ,1955) the two characters are silhouetted to add to the mysterious atmosphere along with the backing of the white smoke. The contrast of the black silhouette set against the white smokey background draws focus to the characters, creating to the sinister and gloomy atmosphere - a key ingredient to the overall effect of Film Noir.

Becky and Luke.

Further Research...

Although there are various different types of Thrillers, they often share comman themes and effects, etc that allows the audience to identify the film as being a Thriller. Below I have listed themes which Thrillers are often based on as well as comman similarities which often feature in all Thriller films. This can vary from special effects, atmosphere which is created to objects or costumes. These are known as 'Iconographys'.

Themes & Iconography
-Crime
-Guns/Knives (weapons)
-Suspense
-Tension building music
-Chase
-neutral/dark coloured clothing
-Assassination
-Use of shadows
-Conspiracy
-Grim weather
-Spies
-Dark settings
-Puzzles to be solved
-Cars
-Terrorism
-Police uniforms
-Urban gritty settings
-Claustrophic worlds

Becky.

Editing

The post below shows our group's final edit of the preliminary video. Before taking this media course, i had not used any editing software before, therefore i was a bit sceptical about the editing stage. However, Luke had knowledge on how to use the software, so he was able to show me the basics of how to make a standard edit. I was suprised at how simple the process was once I had become familiar with how to use the programme and so I was able to contribute fairly to the editing stage.
When editing, I found that the hardest part was trying to match certain action shots, cutting at an appropriate time so that the action made sense; This is known as 'match on action'. E.g. When trying to match the door opening and closing from different angles. After completing all of the 'match on actions' and the basic edit from start to finish, we had to ensure that all shots flowed consistently so that the overall video was clean and precise.
Now that I have completed the editing stage for the preliminary video, I have an understanding and knowledge of how to use editing software, therefore giving me the confidence to use editing software in the future.

Becky.

would you believe how many sub genres there are!?

I looked into the different sub-genres of thriller and made a list as there was quite a few.

-Action thrillers
-Conspiracy thrillers
-Crime thrillers
-Disaster thrillers
-Drama thrillers
-Eco thrillers
-Erotic thrillers
-Horror thrillers
-Legal thrillers
-Medical thrillers
-Political thrillers
-phsycological thrillers
-Spy thrillers
-Techno thrillers
-Sci-fi thrillers

Luke

Research into history of Thrillers

In my time i have had for doing some research i have looked into books, used the internet and watched films. For now i have been basing my reseach around the history of thriller films and how they have changed etc.

The following information i got from the book "Cinema Today - By Edward Buscombe)

The film, The God Father (1972) earned around $86 million with a budget of $40-50 thousand. The film was shot in a murky half light to resemble an underworld.

The film: The Terminator 2 (1991)
was the biggest box office success of 1991 and earned over $514 million worldwide with a budget of £80-100 million.
*awarded an oscar for best visual effects and makeup*

It looked like the films which began to introduce clever visual effects and SFX makeup were the ones which were more successfull and made more money overall.

I have also looked at some stills from different successful thriller movies.


above is a still from a film called Dressed to Kill (1980) its a murder in the shower scene where a stranger smothers the woman in the shower. The interesting camera angle gives the viewer a blury vision of the killer which creates a lot of tension as the victim is clueless.

There was also a shower scene in the film Phsyco 1960). Where the woman was murdered, the same way as the other film.


By Luke

Thriller Research Introduction...

Westerns, musicals, horror and science fiction are easily distinguishable to the public; however, thrillers cover more aspects and genre such as mystery, murder, suspense and shock. Although there is no certain criteria which labels a thriller, they often share a comman similarity - this being to thrill the audience or at least to make their pulse race a little faster. For example,this is usually achieved by the focus being concentrated on the victims of crime trying to escape a crazed killer, or to clear their name of a murder they didn't commit, the victim in danger therefore keeps viewers on the edge of their seats!

History of Thrillers

Throughout the years thrillers have been based on true-life events and scenarios or have even been set during significant periods of time which have been part of history. For example, many thriller films have been set during the time of the Great Depression, the Cold War as well as the Prohibition period,etc. Basing films on actual events means that the audience can easily relate and become more involved with the film, drawing a larger audience as the storyline attracts attention as it is recognised as a realistic and historic event. (A few films which have been based on true-life events are shown below.)

• 'M',(1931) is based on the true story of serial murders that took place in Dusseldorf in Germany.
• Both 'Scarface',(1932) and 'The St Valentines's Day Massacre',(1967) are based on the historical St Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929 when members of one gang were violently murdered by another gang.

Becky.

Filming

    On September the 30th we begun filming for out Preliminary video. Because we had already made our storyboards and mapped out our ideas in order of how we wanted our video to flow, we had a clear idea of what shots we needed. Due to another group also using the t.v studio, we had an alicated time slot which was after the other group. Because of this we stayed to watch them film so that we had an idea of what we should and shouldn't do. From this we learnt that we must ensure that the audio swaitch was on before filming as we learnt from the other group's mistake, which ended up with them having to re-film due to them not having sound. 

   When it came to our alicated time, we set up the cameras fairly quickly. Our first shot takes place outside the actual studio, so it was difficult to wait for the right moment to film where it was quiet and not many people were about as this could distract from the main shot focus. The start shows a girl, (Amy) approaching the studio, then looking up at the 'on air sign' and then opening the door. These 3 different shots, we filmed about 2 or 3 times so that we had a reliable amount of film to 'play' around with when editing. 

    The next shot was from inside the studio where we picked up from where Amy opened the door from the outside. This meant that the door had to be open at the same angle that it was originally opened from the outside. This was an example of match on action. The following shots showed Amy being welcomed onto the film set as if it was a t.v show, where the host (Luke) continued by questionning and interviewing her as if it was a chat show. 

    During this scene we thought about the 180 degree rule and we included many 'over the shoulder shots' in order to make the video more diverse and interesting to watch. In the end shot we slowly zoomed out as the host closed the show, thanking the guest. This shot is accompanied by cheers as if the audience which were in fact cheers from the other group which stayed to watch us film.

Becky.

180 Degree Shot

In our lessons we have been learning about the different camera angles and camera shots that we can use to make a film more interesting. I have fond this useful because i had no knowledge before of any of this shots and angles. One of the shots we have learnt about is the 180 degree shot. This is where the cameras are usually all on one side of the 180 degree line. Below is a diagram i have found to show the shot.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/camcorders/review/2007/12/08/Top-Camcorder-Tips/p4

Below is an example of the shot that camera one would get.

Reference : picasaweb.google.com/.../ i-pyfeMw_9y_fc0CimVtLQ

Camera 2 would get a shot like this ;

blog.joshuaeichorn.com/.../ ?C=S;O=A

The 180 degree shot is one of the most common shots to use when filming an interview or a conversation between two people. This is why we have been introduced to this shot first because we are in the process of filming our conversations between people in our preliminary exercise. Its a good angle to use because you can get a shot of the interviewee from over the interviewers shoulder, or the other way round and you can also get a full shot of both people.

Becky and Luke.

then and now.

Hi. I thought i would make a post about something i did about a year ago for my media studies btec work. I had to create a 3 minute film trailer for a thriller film. Below is the YouTube link to the video. Take a look!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cP5yv241HnA

As you can probably tell its very amateur becuase it was the first bit of filming and editing i have ever done.



(above are some stills of the movie that i used when making posters for the final film etc...)

Looking back on the trailer now and along with the new things i have learnt about filming techniques etc especially in thriller films i would have done a lot of things differently. I didnt use many interesting angles or camera movements that make films effective for the viewer.
I also didnt really have a strong story board and only had a rough idea, meaning i had to make some up as i went along.

I should have done much more reseach into thriller trailers too so i would learn exactly what makes it interesting. Not just with the filming but other aspects such as the sound, lighting and editing process.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the first two lessons of Media AS, we studied the opening sequences of various thriller films such as: Momento, One hour Photo, The sevens and The usual suspect.
I recorded into the table my views of the different openings to the films. We had to talk about:
titles, shots, camera movement, generic themes, sound, costume, location, setting etc.

All of the films had the common thriller techniques but each one was unique in its own way


Thanks for reading!
Luke :D

Momento opening sequence

Above is the link for the opening sequence of Momento, one of the films that we watched in one of our first media lessons as part of an analysis exercise. Below is my analysis of the opening scenes...
Memento, (starring Guy Pierce and Carrie-Anne Moss) opens with blue, spaced out lettered titles which then fade out onto a black background, accompanied by orchestral backing music. These colours and sound automatically gives us the sense of a dark, intense,eerie and cold atmospheric type film which automatically puts the audience on edge. The first visuals displayed, is a close-up shot of a photograph; the development of the image however is shown in reverse. This continuing generic theme of the reverse of action,(of what appears to be the scenes of a murder) is effective as it is imprinting action into people's memory. Following on from this, more close-up shots of a camera,blood and a bullet are shown. The use of close up shots on these objects empathises and makes it clear to the audience that the objects may have significance and importance, leading the audience to want to know the answers, therefore drawing the audience to watch more.

Becky.

Today we started the preliminary exercise. The exercise is going to be the first piece of filming we do as a group. It is a simple conversation between 2 people in a room.  The point of this exercise is to show the examiner that we can use basic skills to create a short film. When we create our thriller video later on this year the examiner will be able to look back and see how much we have improved.  

In order to get familiar with the camera we had 30 minutes in our group to take the camera away and experiment with the different shot types and settings on the camera. During this time we made a short extract of a tv presenting type show. We enjoyed this exercise because we got to know the camera better. We also liked the idea of the whole presenting thing so we took into account that we could actually do that scenario for our preliminary exercise.

Group.

Welcome

Hi!  There is 2 of us in the group, Becky Puddick and Luke Absolon. Becky has not had any previous experience in media, However Luke did GCSE media & a BTEC in media. Gaining a  B at GCSE and 2 A's in BTEC. The course taught you how to create and edit film trailers and gave an insight into the different film genres. This is our 1st group blog entry since starting the course. This blog will allow us to keep an ongoing record of research on thrillers,  and how we are progressing on the course.

Luke and Becky.