Analysis of Thriller Films

Cape Fear (1962)
In the crime thriller 'Cape Fear' we can see many conventions are portrayed to give the audience an idea of who the characters are and insights of their relevance and personality. From how the antagonist is conveyed by the use of costume in the opening of the clip - wearing an all white suit, hat and cigar - we can see the reverse of stereotype as it would be unusual for an antagonist to be wearing the colour of purity and peace. This shows that the convict is meant to be made out to seem harmless and has no threat to the protagonist, which gives a the character a twist later on in the film. On the other hand, by how the character is regularly smoking a cigar we can tell he is sly and crafty - this use of mise-en-scene symbolises the traits of a gangster and therefore shows his dark side, especially when he crushes the cigar in his hands when about to enter the court room to see his enemy.

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
In this thriller tension, suspense and mystery is built up by how the evil sister is portrayed. From the story we know the relationship of the two sisters - one, a previous actress severely injured in a car crash (now in a wheelchair) and the other, a crazed woman jealous of her sisters success. By how the sister in a wheelchair is presented, we can see she is 'trapped' by her sister; tension is continuously built as the audience know the crazed sister will take action against her, but the question is: when? When the scene of the crazy sister delivering food, which turns out to be a dead rat from the cellar, all is revealed, however, the audience is left knowing more evil will take place.

Fatal Attraction
This thriller is very successful in building tension and suspense: the affair of a man with an over obsessed woman turns out to be a great mistake as she turns to violence in revenge. In the car park scene when the man is getting in a lift, the shadows create a brilliant sense of unease and anxiety; from the dark outline of the woman standing on the platform we know the man has a problem yet to face, creating mystery within the scene. When finally the man gets to his car to uncover it has been vandalised with acid, the audience immediately feel surprise and shock as this extreme crime shows the situation is soon to get out of hand.

Silence of the Lambs
This psychological thriller conveys a wide range of thriller conventions. It particularly exploits camera work by using a point-of-view angle when the antagonist is using the night vision goggles: this is used to put the audience in the mind of the killer while portraying the victims fear and distress. The use of lighting - shadows and darkness - installs fear in the audience as the victim is concealed in darkness which shows her helplessness and vulnerability.

Preliminary Task Research - 2nd November 2011

Today I researched into existing preliminary tasks which were created by previous AS level media students, from a range of schools around the country. From this research I have found effective techniques which could be extremely useful when creating my own group preliminary task; the making of a thriller video.
     To begin my research I went on blogger in order to look into other students' productions; once on their blog I could use the links on their page to locate their preliminary task. As I analysed each of the videos, I could see that some students created more enthusiastic and quality productions than others; from this I could see which techniques to take in and include, and also the ones I shouldn't. Many of the effective and diverse videos I could see used very quality lighting when needed - when a character was being focused on, bright light was used in order for the audience to concentrate and know what to observe. Lighting was also used to create a great effect of shadows, which could be used to convey the elements of the genre (this would be thriller).
     Many of the videos used two particular match on action shots: this being, one shot of someone opening a door and the consequential shot of the door opening. These two shots were used in almost every video I viewed; not only would this be unoriginal and "boring" if we used this in our own production, but would also show no creativity or determination to make an effective piece of work. In order to keep the audience interested and excited we will need a unique idea to use with the match on action shots.
     From this research I have found that my group will need to use a wide range of methods and techniques to develop our video into a quality piece of work, before and after filming. We will need a good script, setting, and lighting to portray a practical meaning and intention of what the video clip will be about.

'The Shining' - Psychological Thriller

'The Shining' is one of the best classic 1980 horror films, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick, which uses almost all the conventions of a psychological thriller; from the general narrative and events which happen in the plot, to the use of camera work, sound and the editing of the scenes. By how the director conveys the genre of the narrative, the audience can see how the characters not only need to use physical actions, but are also reliant and need to involve mental resources in order to overcome the antagonist, in this case, Jack Torrance.
      The film is set at the haunted Overlook Hotel, where Jack Torrance is employed as the winter caretaker; here he and his family are staying for the winter as Jack looks to work on his writing. Things turn for the worst as Jack and Danny (son) visualise the unexpected haunting from the previous caretaker and his family who were murdered and mutilated - from here Jack is overcome by the forces as he becomes mentally unstable, following the footsteps of the past caretaker, and on the hunt to kill his own family. Danny, however, has a paranormal telepathic ability to see into the past and future and also interact with another being (the cook) who coincidentally also has the ability. This comes into use later on in the film to get help and, therefore, get himself and his mother to safety.
     From the plot of the story you can immediately see the psychological aspects of the thriller; the mental state that Jack is in shows the elements that relate to the mind controlling him and what actions he takes in result of this. How Jack is shown actually visualising the characters who are 'ghosts' such as the past caretaker Delbert Grady, shows his change in mentality as it seems his imagination is coming to life and telling him what to do.
     Danny also conveys the psychological aspects as his telepathic ability shows the audience scenes of the past and future; we can see this is all processed from the mind and is not physically happening. On the other hand, the use of Danny's ability to contact another human, as a sign to call for help, shows how his mind and thoughts are coming into physical use as the cook travels in order to help the child. We can see this is all due to Danny's ability which then results in him and his mother (Wendy) escaping in the cook's vehicle.

     The steadicam technique was used in a number of scenes to create uneasiness, anxiety and suspense. The slow movement and smoothness of motion in the shots create discomfort in the audience, Kubrick slowly introduces and increases the tension and intensity layer by layer in order to build up the horror and keep the audience on edge - Kubrick would use this technique rather than the hand-held camera movement which is commonly and widely used in horror films to convey a realistic feel, mood and atmosphere, but however, give a sudden throw of terror all at once. The wide use of different camera shots and angles give aid to the horror and a similar impact on the audience.
     The music and sounds in many of the scenes from 'The Shining' create an eerie and creepy atmosphere as we can clearly hear the harsh and discomforting dissonant music which is applied when leading up to the horror. We can see how Kubrick has developed his music and diegetic sounds to increase the tension, while also changing the mood of the scene very suddenly, when the mood of the music is also changed. This we know is extremely effective in building up the suspense and unease of the scene; the audience immediately feel something isn't right, while the long silences which are used time and time again creates an unsettling sense. A prime example of how sound is portrayed is when Danny rides his tricycle onto the floorboards then onto carpet, here the rattling of the tricycle and then to the sudden silence of the carpet can convey and hint to the audience that something soon is about to unravel.
     Kubrick uses a range of elements in editing which is essential in creating an unique and terrifying psychological theme in many scenes. The continuity editing used, such as parallel editing, is greatly efficient when trying to produce a developing build of tension and expand suspense, while also giving the audience more information and excitement about what is happening in the film - an example of this would be at the beginning of the film, when it cuts from Wendy and Danny entering the maze to Jack gazing the 3-D model of the maze; this implies to the audience that Jack is watching Wendy and Danny. The cutaways used in a particular scene - when Danny has a vision of two girls (Delbert Grady's twin daughters) - are increasingly startling, horrific and disturbing. Kubrick allows the audience to view one scene of "innocence" when the girls are standing side by side, this then imports flashes of blood and mutilation as we can see the bodies of the girls lying in the narrow hallway and an axe positioned at the front.
     We can see how the clever use of camera work, sound and editing can affect how characters and scenes are portrayed. These techniques all add to the aspects of the psychological thriller and therefore, producing a successful, exciting and horrific psychological film.

Group Blog Set up - 21st October 2011

Today, group members, Charlie and I have created our group blog - in addition to our group are Taylor and James, however, were unfortunately not in on this day and unable to take part - Charlie and I, therefore, took matters into our own hands. From creating our group blog we could post our individual posts onto the blog to show our specific participation in the construction of our, soon to be, practical experimentation/analysation etc.
      Charlie firstly began setting up the blog; we both decided and agreed on an overall group blog link being grammarmedia-zero, however, used a temporary basic blog title of 'charlie ollie tay james' as we found we should wait for a full group decision from all members. Charlie then continued on creating a welcome page and also adding links of each member to the group blog. While this was being done, it was my job to do the design of the blog - how it looks/feels and the mood it presents. It was my decision to choose the blogs font, colours, and general look in order to relate to the subject matter; I found my choice of the simple template and cool, smooth colours effective in portraying a blog that isn't too over exaggerated or dramatic, while also making the posts and text clearer for the readers.
     Overall, we found setting up and creating of our group blog very successful, but more improvement and development is still yet to come.

Sub-genre Research

A sub-genre film is generally a subcategory within a particular genre; these sub-genre films are basically films that include themes of more than one genre. Here is a list of the sub-genres you may find in a thriller film:

Psychological Thriller:
The psychological sub-genre is used to play with the audiences minds and produce suspense in the film. In this sub-genre most of the conflict is mental, rather than physical. The protagonist may be involved in a dangerous situation which literally threatens their sanity; it shows the mentality of a character and the thought processes that they go through - therefore, making this sub-genre so tension and suspenseful. 'Black Swan' is a prime example of a mindbending psychological thriller.


Crime Thriller:
This sub-genre focuses on crime, and is usually spectated from the criminal’s point of view. This mostly involves physical action; crime thrillers usually emphasise action over psychological aspects, although there may also be a psychological part to this genre as well. The main topics of the films consist of serial killers & murders, robberies, heists, chases, shootouts and double-crosses. 'Seven' is a film which has a sub-genre of a brutal crime thriller.

Action Thriller:

An action thriller is where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases in order to resolve their problem. They occasionally have a resourceful character struggling against incredible odds such as, life-threatening situations, an evil villain, and/or being chased in several ways of transportation - for instance cars, bikes, trucks, etc. - with victory achieved at the end after difficult physical efforts and violence. 'Inception' consists of an fast pace action genre.

Mystery Thriller:
This particular sub-genre relates a lot to crime thrillers, however, differs from a regular mystery by being much more fast-paced while focusing mainly on the efforts of the detective or private investigator in order to solve the mystery. Mystery sub-genre is used in the film 'The Number 23'.


Disaster Thriller:

This particular sub-genre follows the characters survival when in conflict with natural or artificial disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, volcanoes. This type of sub-genre plays with what the future is going to bring for mankind if such disasters were to happen. '2012' has a disaster thriller genre.

Conspiracy Thriller:
This sub-genre consists of the protagonist overruling the evil in the world. Conspiracy thrillers often use the secrecy of governments and major organisations in history; this type of genre has some sort of hero/heroine who finds themselves trapped in a very powerful organisation. These companies are then brought down by the protagonist character. The film 'V for Vendetta' is a great example for a conspiracy thriller.

Supernatural Thriller:
Supernatural thrillers often bring an otherworldly element to show something unordinary happening to a protagonist, which they then have to overcome this obstacle/problem. This genre may also create tension and suspense in addition to also having an unsuspected twist during the film. The protagonist or even villains usually have a supernatural gift that help them get to the main source of the problem. 'Paranormal Activity' consists of supernatural powers making the genre a supernatural thriller.

Spy Thriller:
This sub-genre focuses on the high adventures of field agents; it is usually set against the backdrop of some war/conflict between enemies. This sub-genre also deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy spying. 'Mission Impossible 3' uses all aspects of a spy thriller.


Eco-Thriller:

In eco-thrillers the protagonist must stop a threat to the environment - this could be natural or man-made - that will have consequences for environment and society if left unresolved. The damage of the threat could be local, however, the use of threat to the nation or world-wide stakes are more dramatic. 'The Cove' is a documentary film which the genre consists of an eco-thriller.

Techno Thriller:
Techno thrillers involve the manipulation of technology which plays a prominent part in taking over the world and giving the new world order where from now mankind is over run and controlled by robots. This particular sub-genre is mainly based as a fictional theme on life that tends to follow and relate to a science fiction trend. Themes that may be linked in with this sub-genre are world wars and science fictional occurrences such as aliens taking over with new technologies. 'Terminator: Salvation' is an obvious techno thriller.


Religious Thriller:

A religious thriller sub-genre relates to the use of religious objects, institutions and questions. Many religious related films usually unravel the good and bad points that are involved about religion; this however usually empathises the good and how it will overcome the bad, while journeying through a quest to find out the truth. 'Constantine' is a religious based film.

Political Thriller:
This sub-genre looks into the stability or corruption of a government, while most the reliance being on a hero or heroine who must keep the stability of the government that employs them; this must be done in order to prevent bad things happening. The commonly used scenarios are themes of US presidential elections and the preventions of world wars occurring. The film 'State of Play' is an example of a political thriller.

Continuity Editing Analysis

Match on Action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht8gZM81Ewg

In this clip from 'The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers' match on action is used to empathize and also create the sense in a scene; from the use of this technique we can understand what is happening more clearly, while also gaining more information and interest of the scene. Match on action is an editing technique where a scene/action in one shot, cuts to another shot that links and matches to the first. This technique shows the action in the first shot and, therefore, the consequence of this in the second shot.

     Here we can see a man who accidentally fires an arrow - from this shot we know what action has taken place, however, from this shot alone the audience would not know the consequence of this, or why it is an important shot. The next shot that matches this shows the arrow killing an ork - the audience can now see that by the killing of this ork the war has now immediately begun. If this second shot was not used in this clip, the audience would be confused of how and why the war has so suddenly started.

Shot/Reverse/Shot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFEjcvIRMDo

A shot/reverse/shot is an editing technique where one character is shown looking at another, and the other character looking back at them (often used in conversation scenes). These two shots of the different characters are edited in order to look as if they are looking at each other, however, these two shots of each character may have been created at completely different times then edited in to look like a continuous clip.

      

     In this clip from "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith", the shot/reverse/shot is used in order to create and build tension, suspense and also portray the importance of what each character is saying to one another. We can see Yoda and Darth Sidious talking in a strong, powerful manner as each shot switches between one another; we know this is greatly effective to the audience as from this technique we can see the scene building up to a fight between the two - and therefore creating excitement and on-edge entertainment.

180-Degree Rule
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShB-37_wvrk
(Please excuse the language, was the only clip I could find.)

The 180-degree rule uses a series of shots in order for the audience to keep more of an understanding into what is happening in the clip. It uses a 180-degree line between the characters and camera; this line cannot be crossed by the camera, otherwise, the change in position of characters can and will confuse the audience who are watching. This means the characters will always be on the same side of the shot(left, middle, right) which keeps the audience notified of where they are in the scene.
     From this clip we can see as the shots change, the camera never passes the 180-degree line; this makes the audience understand where each of the characters are as we can see Henry is always on the lest of the shot and Dabs is on the right. If the shot did not use the 180-degree rule then the audience would assume they are switching positions each shot, this would make the scene look lower quality and is much more less effective to the audience.

'Psycho' Commentary Analysis

Our commentary began by choosing an exciting and shocking scene from the Alfred Hitchcock thriller film "Psycho". From here we repeatedly watched the clip while noting down its aspects of camera work; its editing, sounds, camera movement and angles. By the use of these techniques we understood the effects on the audience and how the director portrays the elements of the thriller genre in scene. Here we could then reconstruct our notes into a detailed commentary which would also be in line with the timing of the scene itself. After analysing the scene we imported the clip onto iMovie where we could then begin creating our commentary - any unwanted parts of the scene were removed in order to create a commentary with more quality and depth.

     As we split our notes into three equal sections, each of us practised our lines and the timing of the commentary. Jonathan was now ready to begin the commentary with the opening of the scene. As it recorded each of us took many attempts to get the commentary in line with the scene - a certain talking speed was needed as the thriller had many quick cuts, making the speaking hard to catch up on. After Jonathan had finished it was my turn to talk about the middle of the scene. I found getting the words and timing right very difficult as using two computers resulted in looking from one screen to another at the end of each line. Finally, Chris finished off the commentary with the end of scene, all that was left to do was to combine both, recordings and clip, together.

     We listened to all our recordings and cut out any parts that were unwanted, from here we could insert each specific recording into the exact part of the scene it goes with. After finishing the editing, our commentary was finally constructed; here we could see a strong and successful result of the commentary of the scene.

Conventions of a Thriller Film

The main elements of a thriller film consist of suspense, tension and excitement to entertain the audience and maintain the genre's theme. In many thriller films, certain sounds and editing are crucial to create and reinforce the genre - here are the conventions of a thriller:

Narrative

- Crime: There is usually a crime/mystery involved in the storyline/plot of the thriller.

- False trail: there are usually false clues and paths to mislead the audience.

- Protagonist and Antagonist: all thrillers involve protagonists and antagonist; at one point both will come together in a scene of action where the protagonist will come out on top overall.

Mise-en-scene 

- Quick cuts: develops suspense and tension by making the film fast-paced.

- Changes in camera angles: gives more information and excitement for the audience (low angle could make someone look more powerful - high angle could make someone look vulnerable).

- Shadows: this is a great use of lighting which again can create suspense/tension and mystery.

- Characters: characters mainly include; detectives, criminals, police, terrorists, psychos, people with dark pasts and many more.

- Character's costumes: for most crime thrillers there is a smart dress code, i.e detectives/police will wear suits; however this does not always apply as different characters will be wearing costumes to fit their role in the plot.

Media Studies - 'LOST' Title Sequence Analysis

The title sequence of 'LOST' is very short and only uses sounds and the typography and movement of the title to show what the genre of the series will be about. However, this technique is cleverly used to give no insight of the up coming events in the episode - here we can see no thoughts or clues can be found in the sequence to show what the series will be about. Despite no clips, images or pictures the sequence immediately interprets a sense of mystery and adventure, hence the title being 'LOST'; this leaves the audience baffled and intrigued to know what the future story and plot will be about.
     The sequences begins with a blank black screen, where the title emerges in a plain and basic yet blurry font; from doing this we can see the creator is even making the title hard to make out, let alone the whole storyline, which audiences will find full of twists and turns right from the start; also the basic font again giving no clues. We can see the title spins and gradually becomes clearer as it slowly comes closer to the camera; this could suggest or hint to the audience the way the series will unfold: from no clues, to suspicion and finally the answers. This we can see is very clever and effective to draw in the audience and make them carry on watching and find out the answers to 'LOST'.
     The music in the sequence reinforces the sense of mystery - its slow, unearthly sound increases volume as the title gets nearer to the camera; as the title disappears through the camera the sound also disappears. There doesn't seem to be any camera movement or angles involved in the sequence, this makes the whole sequence unbelievably basic however with the sounds added we can see a contrasting and powerful title sequence to portray the genre of mystery.

Time Line Title

Media Studies - 'Se7en' Title Sequence Analysis

The film 'Se7en' uses a fantastic title sequence to deliver the genre, not only of thriller, but also horror. The disturbing pictures, music/sounds and colours build a horrific, vile and mysterious image of what the contents of the film will be about. The opening of the title sequences begins with an extreme close up which is focused on a book - here we can see the dark, plain and blank colours, therefore, giving a general washed out effect which is used throughout the sequence. Throughout the whole sequence extreme close ups are used while the camera frames change very quickly, many times from images/movement to blank black screens with credits on; this is very significant as the audience can reflect and question the previous image, while also being informed of the credits on show. As the sequence goes on we can almost make out a story unveiling - the question brought to mind is "Who is this person?" and "What is he going to do?" - the gruesome pictures and images continuously reinforcing the genre and unnerving atmosphere.
     The non-diegetic sounds play a big part in producing a blood-curdling sense and atmosphere; at the beginning a slow ghaustly and mysterious beat is accompanied with creepy, unexpected screeches; the beat gradually increases until a fast, powerful and intense rhythm is formed. While the music plays, flashing images flicker for split seconds, resulting in a transparent, projection effect - this again reinforcing the mysterious, weird and unnusual atmosphere. The high - or even birds eye view - camera angles used gives the audience focus on the object displayed, as shadows surround most frames to show the darkness and evil of this person. The actions of this person such as the cutting of the paper, slicing of his finger tips and stitching of the book metaphorically symbolises images of creulty, immorality and monstrosity; this gives us clues and ideas about the rest of the film that awaits.
     The credits are also effectively used as the font appears as a bright light which is handwritten: small and very thin. These credits also flicker which relates to some of the previous images. The title flashes extremely quickly - like a projection - in a similar font as the credits, except bolder and larger when compared - this shows more importance of the title and reinforces the mysteriousness once again, as quick camera shots leave little time to figure out what they have seen. Finally, as the title sequence comes to an end, the fast beat intense music stops and the words "You got me closer to god." are heard; this would certainly imply that death is involved in the film, therefore, suppling the finishing clue to the sequence.

Media Studies - '300' Title Sequence Analysis

The title sequence of the fantasy action film '300' creates an unusual, bold, unique and exciting intro to the film.  As we can see the whole sequence consists of full animation artwork, eery /sharp sounds and very few colours; the use of techniques gives the audience a vague outline of what the plot of the film will be about (war/fighting) as the minimal use of colours and unusual shapes create bold 'shadows' of figures. The immediate splash of red introduces the audience to a blood and gore film which is greatly effective in showing the audience what the whole main genre of the film will be about, while the animations generally give the scene of a whole battle taking place; from this we now know the film will include a whole number of battles and fights.
     The techniques in camera work used is also very effective to interest and excite the audience; the camera begins with a blank, black screen when the sudden splash of blood is introduced, at this point the camera uses the slow motion technique as the blood tracks across the screen - we soon find out this technique is used a number of times when blood is again introduced. As the camera movement quickly zooms out and slowly pans we can see the animations have more depth while also unusually look 3 dimensional, this makes the sequence look very strong with a lot of quality. The quick zooms are reinforced with rapid background movement of the spears and arrows flying through the air - when the weapons hit and draw blood slow motion is used, again creating a strong and powerful blast of the blood.
     The camera uses close ups of the animations and also a lot of 180° shots, making the scene more 3-D, and one could say, realistic - despite the purpose lack of detail and colour. The contrasts in the bright colours of the background and the black animations creates a strong image as a suggestion of darkness and evil is applied to the black figures. Not only does the bold colours and camera movements relate but also the diegetic sounds. The continuous eery and sharp sounds include screaming, slicing and impact noises, not only does this give the sequence the whole sense and atmosphere but also hits perfect timing with the animations; as a spear hits a figure an immediate scream/slice/impact sound is projected to the audience. This is essential in making a great and effective sequence for this film.
     Finally, we can see the names of the creators are positioned inside the black figures with a red 'blood' font. However, unlike the splashing of the blood, the camera zooms/pans to see the writing already positioned, there is very little movement - maybe even none - of the typography; from this we know it has been done to prevent confusion and make the text clear, easy to read and presentable. The title of the film '300' is very similar to the previous texts as it also has the bold, red 'blood' font, however, it does rapidly splash across the black screen; this obviously draws the audiences attention as the quick change in camera shot brings the audience to focus on its main target - the films title. Overall, by how this has been created and portrayed we can see an effective, quality and dynamic title sequence which greatly relates to the film, its theme and genre!