Skyline (2010)

The other day, I went to the cinema and saw 'Skyline'. I thoroughly enjoyed this Thriller because of the fast paced action and the storyline. One thing I kept noticing was the speed of editing which was quick, representing the fast paced action.

TDB STUDIOS

This is our finished logo for our company 'TDB STUDIOS'.
We will use this in our thriller opening.

Making our Company Logo

This week, me, Beth and Dan created our own company logo for our thriller opening credits. We used a program called livetype to do so. As shown in the below slideshow, firstly we decided on the actual name of the company and we decided on TDB Studios. we then added effects (shown in image 2) called 'Frigid' and 'Circles'. Finally we chose the colour- using blue.

Examples of Film Openings

Recently in lesson, we looked at two film openings and discussed their font and music. We looked at Se7en (1995), and Panic Room (2002). These clips can be seen below, as well as what we established.

Below is the opening to the thriller 'Se7en'. The font is all different shapes and sizes, and is quite pointy and sharp. It flickers quite disturbingly, and the music could be described as unsettling.

Below is the opening to the thriller movie 'Panic Room'. This font is very big, and this is emphisised by having it embeded in a city, making it look the same size as the buildings around it. It is also bold. The music is upbeat, to grab the audiences attention from the beginning.

These openings are very good examples and they should be able to help us when we make our own one in our Thriller coursework. 

Film openings - Credits

In class today we looked at why credits are important in the opening of a film, and what they need to include. We will need to have them in our finished product. 
Credits are "a list of acknowledgements of those who contributed to the creation of a film" wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
They can be at the beginning and end of a film.


They usually have, in this order;
The production company, and the logo
The directors name
Film title
The main actors name
The co-stars names

The names of members of the production team, like editors, producers, assistant directors, and hair and make up artists

Survey Progress

Have just checked the number of results that have been collected so far on the survey, and we have a total of 46. We plan to collect and analyse results when we have 50 sets of results, and we will use wordle to present our findings. I re-posted the survey on facebook, and put a status about it, in an attempt to get more people to complete it.

Sabotage

The master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, made Sabotage in 1935. It is a film which has been used to define the meaning of suspense, due to the quality of how it shows suspense throughout. We watched a clip of the film in Media.
The film is about a terrorist, called Verloc gives a package to his his sister's younger brother to take to Piccadilly Circus. The brother, only a young boy, begins the journey, not knowing that the package is in a bomb, set to explode at 1:45. He is told to walk to Piccadilly Circus by 1:30, but is prevented in doing so by a number of obstacles, like the Lord Mayors Show, with a deadly consequence. The clip uses dramatic irony, which is when the audience knows something, which a character doesn't.

Suspense in the Clip
Suspence is created in the clip in a number of ways.
Close ups are used on the bomb and the boys face throughout.
Music follows a 'Tik tok' beat, like a timer, or a bomb, which speeds up and gets higher in pitch as the time gets nearer to the time the bomb goes off.
Clocks are seen several times, showing the time getting later and later, showing the time changing, and how long the boy has left to get to his destination.

Survey

We created a survey on http://www.surveymonkey.com/, and uploaded it to facebook, asking our friends and family to complete it, in order to hopefully get a wide variety of replys. Me, Beth and Tom have all put it on our profile, to maximise the number of results we get. Questions asked included their age, gender, and favourite thriller.

Our Interview

Me, Beth and Daniel created our own interview to find out our target audience. We asked interviewee's three questions;

Their favourite thriller

Why its their favourite

What componants they think make a goos thriller

Target Audience

To make an effective and popular thriller opening, myself, Beth and Dan need to identify a target audience, who are most likely to enjoy our film opening. We can do this in a few different ways, like carrying out an interview with people of different ages and likes/dislikes, and finding out their favourite thrillers and thriller movie components. Also, we can do an online survey asking various questions, which we can post onto facebook, so that our friends and families can answer the questions.

  

Preliminary Task Bloopers

Although our actual clip is just over 1 minute long, we did over 4 minutes of filming, 3 minutes being mistakes made. The clip above is an example of when we made mistakes.

My preliminary Task

Myself. Beth Berrett, and Daniel Lawrence done our preliminary task. It was a short film we did just to get used to using the cameras and what to do. Beth and Daniel were acting in this film whilst I was in control of the Camera. We edited it after to fit everything together.

My Thriller Montage

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

This is my Thriller montage which I created on http://www.onetruemedia.com/. The images are what come into my head when I think of the word Thriller. I added specific effects to the video to make it more 'thriller' like. For example I added the scary music over the top, and the screen flickering was my idea.

Directors

             Alfred Hitchcock


Hitchcock was an English film maker and probably the most famous Thriller director of all time. He created famous films such as 'North By Northwest', 'Shadow of a Doubt', and his most recognisable, 'Psycho'. Hicthcock uses a range of techniques to keep his audience on the edge of their seats. He builds suspense by using MacGuffins, Red herrings, and a range of camera techniques, one being point of view shots. Furthermore, most of his films involve decoys or a twist right at the very end of the film. It is now said that the world of cinema would be very 'different' without him and his ideas.







         Steven Speilburg

Speilburg is an American film director, screenwriter, film producer, video game designer and studio executive. In a career spanning four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an archetype of modern Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking. He films include; Jaws, E.T., Saving Private Ryan, Jurrasic Park and Schindlers List.

Character Analysis - Anton Chigurh

I am going to analyze the personality of the villain in the film 'No Country for Old Men', Anton Chigurh.

Costume :
- Black/Dark ; gives audience clue that he is the villain
- Plain ; No patterns on his clothing, just plain black, which gives nothing away about his personality.

Speech, language, and tone :
- He doesn't speak much in this film, however when he does he calm and expressionless.

Mannerisms, actions and responses :
- Again he is very calm in everything he does, which maybe shows he's experienced in what he does. Also he shows no emotion, even when he kills someone. Furthermore he is intimidating, and controlling.
- Argumentative
- Manipulating

Representation in film :
- Outcast of society
- Unrealistic and outrages responses to certain situations
- Evil
- Trouble childhood?

 

Shadow of a Doubt

      

'Shadow of a Doubt' is a film made in 1943, by Alfred Hitchcock, and was one of his personal favourites. In media lesson today, we looked at this film opening and analyzed it in terms of Mise en Scene. We discovered;

Settings and Props

            - a sum of money. The money is screwed up on the floor and table, suggesting that it is unimportant to Uncle Charlie, and to him it is worthless.

            - an empty glass, which Charlie angerily throws at a wall, which suggests that he could potentially be aggressive, violent and dangerous.

Although Charlie looks rich, the scene is set in a run down looking area, making the audience want to know why, and watch on.

Positioning of characters and objects within the frame

When the audience is first introduced to Uncle Charlie, and to his niece, also named Charlie, they are both first seen laid out on a bed and the camera approaches them from the same angle. This technique is known as a mirroring effect, and it suggests they are 'two sides of the same coin' but with differing personalities. This is shown in the above video of the two shots.   

Costume, Hair and Make up

Uncle Charlie wears a suit which looks expensive, reinforcing the idea that he is rich. His hair is sleek and gelled back, and looks well looked after.
 Facial expressions and Body language

Both Unlce Charlie and his niece are found lying on a bed. They both look tired, relaxed and uninterested in their enviroment.

Lighting and Colour

To begin with, there is light entering the room through the window shining on Charlie, laying on the bed. When a woman enters the room and pulls the blind down, Charlie is covered in darkness, at which point he moves from his relaxed, lazy position on the bed, and begins to move around, smashing a glass. This suggests that he tends to 'come alive' in the darkness, and at night, hinting that he is the antagonist of the film. The opening seems to have a lot of shadows, and therefore I know it uses low key lighting He is provided with an ominous look when he is on the phone shortly after, due to the shadow that is created over his eyes, by the hat he is wearing. 

No Country for Old Men

The next film we watched is 'No Country for Old Men' which is an American crime thriller film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. 'No Country for Old Men' tells the story of an ordinary man to whom by chance delivers a fortune that is not his, and the ensuing cat-and-mouse drama, as three men crisscross each other's paths in the desert landscape of 1980 West Texas. The film examines the themes of fate and involves a lot of fast paced action and violence. 


The opening of this film is very effective because within the first 5 minutes of the film, there is fast paced action, and two murders by the antagonist. This leaves the audience wanting to watch on because we know its going to be very entertaining and we want to know why these murders are happening. It can be broken down into the form of CLAMP:


Costume - The villain is dressed in all black which we automatically associate him as being a dark, evil character


Light - At the beginning we do not see the villains face as it is covered by shadows. Therefore his facial expressions are not shown and nothing is given away about him


Actors - The film has recognisable actors which also makes us want to watch on because its obviously going to be a good film. However in the opening, we only see the villain. 

Props - In the opening, the villain uses a oxygen tank to kill one of his unfortunate victims. This is significant to the rest of the film and the villains personality

Settings - The setting is a deserted landscape in the western lands. This gives us the sense of loneliness, and when the victims are caught by the villain, we know no one will be around to help.  

The Manchurian Candidate

Another Thriller I watched is 'The Manchurian Candidate' (2004). This is a different type of thriller to the likes of 'North By Northwest'. It is a paranoid thriller about Sergeant Ben Marco who is trying the regain his sanity and solve what's going on. This film could also be classed as a political thriller.

The story of this film is about an army group, led by Sergeant Ben Marco, are captured and are brainwashed by scientists and are led to believe Raymond Shaw, a member of the team, saved everyones lives, for which he receives a Medal of Honor. The director elaborates and makes the film bigger than life; sadder, darker. Its purpose is obviously to entertain and provoke thought about politics and the idea that todays society could be corrupt. Throughout this film the audience are unsure on who's the hero and who's the villain which keeps us wanting to watch on.  

The 2004 differs from the the original in 1962 in many ways. Firstly, when Senator Jordon dies, in the original Shaw shoots him, where as in the new version he drowns him. The director said drowning represents the characters better, in the sense that their trapped.

Film Language

There are certain aspects and techniques which need to be considered when making a thriller, in terms of film language. I will hope to take these into consideration when I making my thriller, to get the best possible results.


Lighting
Lighting is used in films to create all types of effects.


Under lighting - is used, mainly in thrillers, to create a distorting, scary effect.
Back lighting - Again is mainly used in thrillers, and it creates a silhouette effect, which is very mysterious as we can only see the outline of the person and not there features; builds suspense.
Low key lighting - is also used in thrillers. This is when only back lights and key light are used and no filler lights. This gives a sharp contrast between light and dark areas. Making it seem scary. Low key lighting was used in film noirs.





Colour
Colours can be seen in two ways; through its denotation, or its connotation. A denotation is a literal description of a something, and a connotation is the assosiations and the ideas that it carries with it. For example the denotation of the colour blue is that it is the fifth colour in the colour spectrum. It's connotation is such things as cool, sad, cold, ect. In thrillers in particular, dark colours are used to suggest or foreshadow certain things, or to create a particular mood. A thriller wouldn't be a good one if it was filled with bright colours.


Sound
Sound in films is used to create a certain mood, build tension and express feelings of characters. There are two types of sound; diegetic and nondiegetic. Diegetic sound is sound which is part of the film world where everyone can here it, viewers and characters alike, for example, radio, dialogue or music, from a duke box or CD player etc. This may be on screen or off screen. Nondiegetic sound is sound that is not in the film world, and only the viewer can here. This can be in the form of background music or narrative.
Sound can also be parallel or contrapuntal. Parallel sound is when the images on screen match the music or sound being played with it, building suspense and tension. In contrast, contrpunctual sound is when the images and sound do not match, creating a sense of false pretence. For example, scary, dark, low music with images of children playing in the park would be contrapuntal.  


Camera framing
This is what can be seen within the frame of the screen, concerntrating on how far the camera is from the subject, and from what angle the shot is taken. The closer the camera is to the subject, the more emphasis there is on detail. When looking at angles, a  low angle shot is when a camera is placed below eye level making the subject look powerful, whereas in contrast a high angle shot is when the camera is placed above eye level making the subject look weak and vulnerable. Another type of shot is a point of view shot, where the camera shows whats going on, through the eyes of a character.


This is a extreme close up (ECU)


This is a high angled shot, making the boy look small and weak.


This is a high angle shot, making the basketball player look big and powerful.


Camera movement

The movement of the camera can be used to enhance our involvement in the film action, by directing our attention or emphasising a particular viewpoint. Camera movement can include:
A PANNING SHOT- where the camera moves from side to side on a fixed axis.
A TILT SHOT - where the camera moves up and down on a fixed axis.
A CRANE SHOT- where filming is done, mounted on a crane, or from a helicopter.
A TRACKING SHOT- where the camera follows the action on tracks laid out.
A ROLLING SHOT- where the camera moves diagonally , creating an askew image, often suggesting a character is ill or drugged

 Speed of editing
The speed of editing helps determine the mood of what is taking place. In an action sequence, the speed of editing will be really quick because it matches with what's on screen, where as if the actions on screen were slow and relaxed, the speed of editing would be slow. 

Style of editing
To make a continous piece of film which is fluent, the style of editing must create smooth transitions between scenes and shots. There are various methods used to do this. Amongst the several ways, those that myself, Beth and Dan will use in our thriller are a straight cut, a fade-out (where the screen fades to black- usually showing time passing) and a dissolve (where one imageis slowly brought in beneath another one).



This action scene in Spider-man 3 has quick edits.

Definitions

Recently in media, i discovered the definitions of some particular terms used in film making.

An autuer is a director with a clear style, often using specific techniques and similar themes throughout their films, for example, Hitchcock and Speilburg

Voyeuristic Viewing is when the audience is watching something that they feel they should not be watching something they should not, or would not usually watch.

North By Northwest

The first Thriller we watched as a class was 'North by Northwest'. This is a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1959 starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. It is about Roger Thornhill, a New York advertising executive, who gets mistaken for the mysterious George Kaplan by an organization. Many classic techniques are used in this Thriller such as:

MacGuffin - The organization trying to kill Roger Thornhill are trying to prevent him from interfering with there plans to smuggle the microfilm out of the country

Red Herring - When Eve Kendell pretends to shoot Thornhill, the audience think he is dead then we later find out it was a set up and he really isn't dead.

Cliffhanger - The audience are on the edge of their seats in the final scene on top of Mount Rushmore.

Furthermore many other techniques are used to keep the audience entertained like suspense, tension, violence, fast paced chases, action ect. I thoroughly enjoyed this Thriller because of these things.

There are also many famous scenes in this film such as the auction house, the pretend shooting and probably the most famous thrilling scene which will be remembered for a long time is the crop scene where Thornhill is being chased by the plane trying to kill him.

Our Project

This year in media, myself, Beth Berrett and Daniel Lawrenceplan to make our own thriller film opening. To make it a success, we will first research into examples of good thrillers, and componants of a good thriller. To get the highest marks possible we must use the range of techniques we have learnt about in class, such as different types of camera shots.

What is a Thriller?

Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film and television that includes numerous and often overlapping sub genres. Thrillers are fast paced with frequent action and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more powerful and better equipped villains. 

Devices such as suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers are used extensively. A thriller is a villain driven plot, whereby he presents obstacles the hero must overcome. The genre is flexible and can engage the audience through a dramatic rendering of psychological, social and political tensions. Hitchcock said thrillers allow the audience to "put their toe in the cold water of fear to see what its like".


Most thrillers have a MacGuffin. The term 'MacGuffin' was popularised by Alfred Hithcock. It is something in a film that is used to drive the story of the film, yet whatever the MacGuffin is isnt actually important to the audience. 

Welcome to my blog

Hello, my name is Tom and I have created this blog to keep track of my thriller coursework and what we did leading up to it, explaining in detail what we did, and why :)