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.