What is a Thriller?

Thriller is defined as a novel, play or film with an exciting plot, typically involving crime or espionage and high melodrama. Thriller is a genre of literature and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements.

Characteristics of a Thriller

Characteristics of a thriller genre include a lone protagonist group or a small group of heroes often going up against a vastly superior enemy whilst trying to override a quest or objective. The threat of death or capture is usually present in thrillers as well as narrative used in science fgiction, mystery and horror. Other characteristics such as heavily stimulating the viewers moods, ultra heightened expectation and a high level of anticipation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and terror. This genre in particular is usually adrenaline rushing, gritty and fast paced with lots of action.

Suspense is essential to a thriller genre. It allows the viewer a feeling of pleasurable fascination and excitement. These develop from unpredictable, mysterious and rousing events during the narrative, which makes the viewer, think about the actions. It also gives the viewer the ‘on the edge’ feeling.

The primary elements of a thriller include:

·      The protagonist faces death, either his or her or someone else
·      The force of the antagonist must initially be cleverer or stronger than the protagonists
·      The main storyline for the protagonist is either a quest.
·      The main plotline focuses on a mystery that needs solving
·      The films narrative construction is dominated by the main characters point of view.
·      All action and characters are credibly realistic or natural
·      The two major themes are justice and morality
·      The protagonist and anatomist battle against each other.

 Characters usually include: stalker, assassins, innocent victims, menaced woman, characters with harsh backgrounds, psychotic indivudlas, spree killers, sociopaths, agents, terrorist, police, escaped cons,

Filming my Preliminary Task

For our preliminary task we filmed in a drama studio as the black walls made the plot seem more realistic and effective. I think the filming went well, bearing in mind there was no set just an object. The role I played in the filming was filming the high and low angle shots of the scene as well as reading out the camera shots to my other group member when they were filming to make the process quicker and flow better. I had a major role in the filming because I understood what was expected of the group and what I hoped the turn out would look like.

This is part 1 of the scene

The lighting in the studio, although fit the theme with the dark walls, was too dark in the lens meaning that there were certain aspects of the scene where the actor was unable to be seen due to the reflection of the light on the lens. However there were elements where the lighting worked perfectly in setting the scene and creating tension. The dark lighting also emphasized the pessimistic feeling and the power difference between the two characters.

Before filming, my group and I were quick to set up the camera however we struggled when it came to adjusting the angle of the tripod to film the different shots. We took plenty of shots from all different angles so there was a lot to work with when it came to editing plus from a directors point of view, it would mean that if anything deleted there is a backup. We used high/low angle shots to show authority and who had the most power and who was inferior. From this it was able to identify who the bad/good character was which. We were given a storyboard which we filmed using a range of different shot such as wide shot, over the shoulder shot, close up shots of actors, high/low angle shots and a close shot of the door opening. This meant that when we edited the clip we had a vary of different shots.

this is part 2 of the scene.

We made sure we conformed the 180-degree rule, although we did break it once and have to redo the scene in order to keep the continuity and made sure we used technical terminology such as ‘action’ and ‘standby’ to make sure everyone was ready before we filmed. From filming this I have learnt a wide range of shots and what they symbolise to the audience. I have also learnt how to direct a film and others around me as well as setting up a camera and adjusting the certain parts to the camera to make different camera shots such as high/low angle.

Editing My Prelim

We used the software ‘Adobe Premier’ to log our footage onto the computer. This software allows us to edit our clip. We first watched the whole scene through looking at all the various shots we did from different angles, places etc. we selected the ones we liked best and used them to complete a scene, however we did not delete anything in case we needed to reference it later. We started by cutting down the shots so we could use different ones for different lines of dialogue that would match the sound. We grabbed the clips based on what they looked like and made sure that we included shot reverse shot, high and low angle shots. We also edited some parts of the clip that needed to be shorter and elements that needed it be longer for example the opening of the scene needed to be quick when he enters through the door because this is when the scene has the highest tension. We watched it through once we had edited it properly making sure there was no jumpy parts so it looked professional. I found editing difficult to edit because I’m very impatient. However I found that dropping the clip into the ‘storyboard’ and cutting down on clips easier than I thought I would.Below is the final clip of the prelim.

     

Editing

Editing

Editing in film is a process of cutting and assembling film footage to produce a finished product.

The role of the film editor includes organising transitions between shots making decisions about shot duration and maintaining continuity. 

Transition: one frame to the next

Shot Duration: - length of the shot 

                         - pace reveals information about characters

Transition

the process of cutting from one shot to another usually involves a simple straight cut.

means of transition = fade to black 

                                   dissolve

                                   wipe

Dissolve Shot: the proceedings shot merges into the following shot, resulting on two shots being superimposed. The longer the dissolve the more noticeable the superimposition becomes.

Eye Line Match

a common convention to maintain continuity, a character looks at something and in the next shot reverse shot we see what they are looking at.

Match On Action

a similar technique where two shots are linked by an action.

Shot Reverse Shot 

where the camera cuts rom one subject to another back and forth to follow the flow of a dialogue or interaction.

Montage Sequences

Consists of a series of shots that are edited into a sequence to condense narrative. It is usually used to advance the story as a whole.

Kuleshov Effect

The way film editing evokes emotions from a viewer.

The way in which images are cut together that can induce a feeling from the audience.

Camera Shots

Camera Shots 

There are 5 main components to camera and these include:

• Angle
• Movement
• Position
• Composition
• Depth of field

Establishing Shot -sets up or establishes the setting of a scene. It is typically at the beginning of a scene.

Close Up Shot- tightly frames a person or object to show detail or emotion

Medium Shot - shot from waist of knees up from a medium distance. This shows more body language and less specific detail.

Tracking Shot - follow the action at a certain distance. It keeps the subject on screen.

Dolly Shot - the camera is placed on a dolly and moves at a constant rate. It does not always follow the action.

Handheld Shot - filmed from the camera mans point of view. It is a little shaky in order to show the scene from the subjects perspective and feeling. 

Zoom Shot - either zooms in to isolate the subject or zooms out to show it in a wider context.

Swish Pan - moves swiftly from one subject to the other.

High Angle Shot - the camera is located above the subjects and films down. It it is used to show which character has less power and authority.

Low Angle Shot - filmed from knees up. It can also show the power of a character in a conversation or dialogue. 

Introduction to Cameras

                                                       
                                       

Pulp Fiction Analysis

Children of Men Poster Analysis

One of the first noticeable things when looking at the poster is the large amount of grey that dominates the picture with a significant lack of color variety. The dark grey of the poster carries connotations of ambiguity, however there is a contrast in color, with a light that could be interpreted as a spotlight circled around the main characters face, which immediately symbolizes that he is the most important hero of the story. The bold red writing stands out to the audience and because red is associated with blood and danger, the audience immediately know there will be death in this story. 

The character is embedded in glass, which can imply many different things. Firstly the cracks in the glass signify a broken society, which hints the storyline of the movie. The jagged glass near his neck can mean a threat of death again which gives the audience an impression of the movie genre. Clive Owen is standing behind the only part of the broken glass, which shows that he is constantly overcoming obstacles, which gives the impression that he is the hero in the story. The use of the time setting ‘2027’ is used to give the viewer a sense of reality. The title itself could be symbolized as innocence, hope and new life.

Clive Owens facial expressions show bravery and determination however the unshaven beard hints he is disheveled and shows lack of fatigue. His eyes are noticeably tired but yet the look on his face shows he will not give up.

The writing is bold and sharp like the character himself. This draws the audience and intrigues viewers to watch the movie.

Kill Bill Scene - Volume 2

Comparing the way the bride is represented in the two scenes in Kill Bill.

In the first scene of Kill Bill, the bride is represented to be weak and vulnerable. This is portrayed through the use of high angle camera shots, which show lack of authority or power hence making her character less significant. The sound used in the first scene is key to understand how the character is feeling. The bride breathes heavily which carries connotations of fear and resentment, however juxtaposed in the way when she stops panting this signifies to the audience that she has given up therefore making her powerless. The use of lighting in the first scene is conveyed with the prop of the torchlight, this concept focus on mis en scene where the lighting and prop work together to portray the characteristics of the bride. The bride uses the torch light in order to create an escape but could also be used to indicate to the audience that she is still willing to fight for freedom which shows bravery however during the scene this bravery determinates and she turns off the torch light which could be interpreted as defeat and impending death. The black box in which the bride is located shows tightness, which could be conveyed as the tightness of her muscles because she’s terrified which again shows a sense of defeat. The claustrophobic plight of her behavior shows that she is frightened and unsure what to do. The use of the zoom shot on her eyes emphasizes her impending death.

In the second scene of Kill Bill, the bride’s motives change and she is seen attempting to escape. The use of the uplifting cowboy music allows the audience to understand that there is something positive about to happen. The bride breathes with relief and determination, which conveys power and bravery. The use of non-diegetic sound represents her heartbeat as she regains composure becoming heroic again and this is portrayed through her punching through the box. There is a rhythmic pattern for every punch there is a sigh of relief, which indicates to the audience that she is going to succeed. The camera shots include panning, which allows the audience to visualize her escape and empathies with her as well as low angle to show power and authority. The lighting changes throughout the scene, beginning with dark to soundly bright to foreshadow escape. Non-diegetic sound also gets louder and it gets to the climax and the music stops as soon as her hand is seen out of the soil indicating the climax has been reached. This conveys determination and success as well as the crane shot which ultimately signifies her heroic character.