Snow

We have been unable to film due to snow and the early closure of the school meant that we could not rent out a camera and tripod. We will have to continue with the filming after most of the snow clears up and the conditions are good enough for us to film.

Case Study for Sub Genre (Horror-Thriller)

The sub-genre Horror Thriller plays host to many of the world’s best movies. For example The Silence of the Lambs, 28 Days Later, Psycho and the Saw series. The films The Silence of the Lambs, 28 Days Later and Psycho used to be known specifically as horror movies but have now become Horror-Thrillers. This is because horrors are now seen to be explicitly gory and have jump scenes or supernatural content.

Horror-Thrillers usually show a conflict between the main characters which are usually mental, emotional and physical. For example the Saw films. What makes a horror-thriller unique though is the main element of fear throughout the storyline or plot. This means that the main character is up against something that is stronger or more powerful than them only for them to become the victims.

We could put The Silence of the Lambs into the horror-thriller sub-genre because it puts an audience on the edge. You feel scared at what Hannibal Lector might do. You can also feel fear because by the end of the film Hannibal Lector escapes and you begin to worry what he is going to do to other people.

Psycho also has a good scene in which fear can be instilled within the audience.

This image from psycho shows can give a sense of fear because you can tell that the person in holding a knife but you cannot see the persons face. Not only does it make you fear for the victim, but the shot makes you fear for your life as well. This is one of the most iconic images from the horror-thriller genre.

Case Study for Director (Quentin Tarantino)

Quentin Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and loosely an actor. He was born on March 27^th 1963, in Knoxville Tennessee.  Many of Quentin Tarantino’s films have used some nonlinear storylines and violence.

He has become famous for many of his films. Such as Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill, Death Proof and Inglorious Bastards.  Although these are some of his most famous films there are others such as Sin City. Not only are his films a hit, but he they have been nominated for various awards.  For example Inglorious Bastards was nominated for 3 academy awards, 2 BAFTA’s, 1 Chicago film award, a Director’s guild of America award, a Golden Globe, a Palme d’Or and a Grammy. This shows how his films are highly well made, and how this became one of his more well known films, similar to Pulp Fiction.

Although it may not seem it, Quentin Tarantino had dropped out of school at the age of 15. He then went to acting school at the James Best Theatre Company, in Toluca Lake. At the age of 22 Quentin was working at the Video Archives, a video rental store in Manhattan Beach, where he spent all day discussing cinema and recommending videos to customers.

He began his film career after meeting Lawrence Bender at a Hollywood party. It was here that Quentin was encouraged to write a screenplay.  He was then the co-writer for a movie called My Best Friends Holiday in 1987. The final take was destroyed in a fire during editing but Tarantino’s screenplay had to led to form the basis for True Romance. True Romance was a 1993 romantic crime film, in which Quentin Tarantino had been the full writer for. This was not the first film of his to be released though. In 1992 Quentin Tarantino had screened his film Reservoir Dogs, at the Sundance Film Festival, which became a huge hit. The Sundance Film Festival is an annual festival that happens in Utah.

He has also been an actor in a number of films, including his own. Some films he was in were Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Sleep With Me, 2 of these being films written by him. He has worked on Broadway, starred as a guest judge on the program American Idol and on television shows such as Alias and Golden Girls. He was also the host of an episode of Saturday Night Live.

3 Analysed Thriller Openings

Kill Bill

Kill Bill is an interesting action thriller because its opening uses a lack of soundtrack, special effects and camera shots. Without these it is still a good opening sequence because it uses a lot of diegetic sounds, movement, and its simple use of editing.

To start with the camera is looking down on an injured woman with blood all over her face, which creates interest for the audience because they would be wondering what happened to her. It also introduces both of the main characters in the film within the opening as well. This is done by the fact that the woman calls “Bill” by his name and he calls her by her name. We also know that the film will be based around revenge, as the main character also says “Bill, it’s your grave”, this simple line tells us that the theme of the film is revenge.

Also suspense is made by the use of diegetic sound. The audience starts to become even more interested as you cannot see “Bills” face and you can hear him in the background, talking to the woman. The audience could also feel suspense because of the way that they used the noise from the shoes and the way he moved. This would affect the viewer because he moves at a slow pace and the tapping starts to get to the viewer making you think “who is he, and what has he done?”

Dead Man’s Shoes

This psychological thriller keeps the audience intrigued by a number of things. One of these being that the film jumps between the current time and past events which being taped by someone. This being achieved by special effects over the clips, so that they look like an old video camera. This also helps lay down part of the story in the film as the way it swaps makes you wonder if they are going back to a hometown or place in their memories.

It is also interesting as an psychological thriller because it does not use a thriller style song for the introduction, it uses the song “Vessel in Pain” as the opening which is not a thriller type of song. But it is used highly effectively for the way in which you can see the memories of the two main characters.

The film also uses a number of camera shots for the opening. The main shots used are extreme long shots, so that it can set the scene. For example there are two or three shots in which you can see a large field and road. It also uses panning shots, in which you can see the surrounding environment. Most of the old clips are close ups, which is usually done by people videoing their children, which can allow the viewer to relate to such a thing. It only occasionally uses medium shots for when you see the characters walking down a hill and through a forest.

Saw III

This thriller uses soundtrack, diegetic sound, camera shots and lighting to an amazing length during the opening. First of all the audience becomes engaged in the film because it starts off with a torch lighting up small parts of the room, leaving the rest of the screen black. This makes the audience wonder why it has been left there, or why it is pointing towards a gun.

This film uses a good soundtrack to add to the suspense in the opening. For example it uses very eerie and dramatic noises that give the feeling of fear and something dramatic is going on. For example when panning onto a dead body on the floor a more dramatic and louder sound happens compared to the rest of the opening.

The film also uses diegetic sound effectively. The way in which they use a soundtrack and diegetic sound at the same time gives it that edge over other thrillers in the sub-genre. For example the way in which you can hear the noises of the torch, rocks, taps and saw, give it the additional edge to it, as it makes it more eerie than it already is.

Camera shots are also used effectively. It uses a number of panning shots to give an idea of the small entrapped area in which the man is being help, and how dark the room is. It is also used to show dead bodies around him. A number of close ups are also used on the man to show how he is scared and worried that he will never get out. But they also use a high angle view most of the time to show that he is in a small and weak position. You get the theme of someone being in danger and that he is trapped because he is locked away.

Conventions of a Thriller

There are a number of characteristics that a thriller film must have. I am going to write about a number of these by using a number of bullet points.

. First of all a thriller film MUST keep the audience on a cliff hanger. They must always keep the viewer on the edge of their seats as the plot starts to build up, and then finally ends with the climax of the movie.

. There must be a continuous feel of tension. This is done through a number of ways. Tension usually arises when a character is placed in a situation, mystery or is part of an escape. This is also done by the main character is in a dangerous or potentially fatal situation, especially when he does not know it.

.  Thrillers usually contain a victim, assassin, murderer, criminals, stalkers, and characters with a dark background, psychopaths, terrorists, police, private eyes, detectives, and a whole lot more. Lately most thrillers are based around terrorism and pursuits.

. Thrillers usually take place in cities and suburbs. This may be done because it allows the viewers to relate to the areas. For example some thrillers are done in run down places in England, which we can relate to.

General Questionnaire

What gender are you?

Male

Female

What age group are you in?

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

50+

What films do you like?

Horror

Comedy

Romance

Thriller

Action

Sci-fi

Other

Why?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Do you go to the cinema often?

Yes                                                                         No

How often do you go per month?

1-2 times

3-4 times

5-6 times

7-8 times

9+ times

How do you watch movies?

Rent/buy DVDs

Download/watch online

Pirate DVDs

(boxes would be next to the choices)

For this I went to Croydon and gave out some of these questionnaires to passers by. For this I made sure that I handed out equal amounts to women as to men, and found that many filmgoers were between 21-30. I also found out that comedies and action films were most popular between the groups. This was because some of the people enjoyed the adrenaline rush of action films, whereas others like to feel more relaxed and have a laugh when they go to see comedy films. Out of the 10 questionnaires I gave out 6 went to the cinemas, but only went with 1-2 times a month. Also 3 of the people I asked admitted that they downloaded movies, but others rented them or bought them.

Specific Questionnaire

Have you ever watched a thriller?

Yes                                                                         No

If so which one/ones?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

What do you think makes a good thriller?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

So if I was to make a Thriller what would you expect from the opening sequence?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

What is your favourite kind of Thriller?

Action-thriller

Comedy-thriller

Other

 (Boxes would be next to the choices)

Again for this I went to Croydon to find out what people liked, but specifically about the Thriller genre. From the 10 that I handed out all of the people had watched a thriller at some point in their life. Many of the older people seemed to have seen films such as Psycho or The Silence of the Lambs, whereas the younger generation have seen thrillers such as Taken or Saw. After asking what they think makes a good thriller I had some mixed reactions, from things such as "a film that keeps the viewer occupied and interested in what is happening, or might happen" to "Something that I want to scare me or make me worry about when watching". Also after asking what they would expect from a Thriller opening I had gained responses such as "I would like to see an opening in which you can tell that something has happened, but doesnt give too much of the plot away, and will keep me interested for the rest of the film".

One to One interview

Me:  Okay so first of all what do you expect from a thriller film?

Interviewee: I expect to be kept on the edge of my seat. Not knowing what is going to happen but wanting to know. I like to have to use my imagination and try to work out who is the killer etc. For example some thrillers give away the killer at the start but I prefer to try and work it out myself.

Me: Some thrillers are in black in white, but some are in colour. Which do you prefer and why?

Interviewee: Well it depends on when its set, for example a Jack the Ripper thriller always seems better in black and white to me, as its puts you in the mood of that time. However depending on how graphic you want it to feel, then maybe colour can express this more.

Me: Do you think that a good soundtrack makes a good thriller film?

Interviewee: I think that it adds to the atmosphere, it can build up to an event happening and put you on the edge of your seat. By the music changing, you can tell that something is about to happen that is important in the film.

Me: So what do you think a good soundtrack for a thriller would consist of?

Interviewee: A mixture of music. Some soft gentle music for intimate scenes or family scenes. Building up to more dramatic louder music (drums etc) when something is going to happen. Something dramatic will happen, such as a murder, an accident.

Me: Do you like an open ending, or a closed ending?

Interviewee: I personally prefer an ending that is resolved. However if I really enjoy the film, I don’t mind an open ending, because then it leaves it open for another part of the film. A sequel.

Me: Thank you for answering these questions, it will really help.

Moodboard

Storyboard

We have not had a chance to get together and think about a storyboard yet as we have been thinking a lot about other parts the opening. This will be edited when we have been able to finish our storyboard.

Characters, props and location research

Our opening will only contain one person, as it is a person walking towards a door. As he is walking towards the door, there will be images and video clips flashing in between the opening scene, similar to mimics opening. We still need to think about who it will be walking towards the door.

For props we began to think about it being an old corridor. So to fit in with this we thought we may need to add in props such as old photographs/paintings on the wall, and old furniture e.g. sideboards, so that it gives it that old feel. We are also thinking about adding in torn wallpaper across the room, but it depends on where we will be shooting our video.


The wallpaper would look very similar to this.

This may the kind of painting we will be looking to use as it will give an eerie feel to the opening.

For the location we were thinking about a building of some sort in the London area. We chose London as the location because it is the capital of England and everyone knows where it is, and may be familiar with the area. This allows us to gain a larger audience, as well as making the film feel familiar to the English community or anyone who has been to England at some point in their lives. We are still thinking about a building we can use for the corridor in our opening clip, but we may still need to change location to suit our needs for shooting the video.

Audience Profile

The audience for our film will be for people who love to watch thriller movies. For example the kind of people who love to watch films like below:

Psycho

The Silence of the Lambs

Mimic.
These films all have an interesting twist on films, and for our film we want to go the same way. So we would like to have an audience who enjoy films like these.
If we were going to look at the demographics, I believe that the ages would range from around 15-21, the film would be for both men and women, for people of all classes, any race and for people who live around the London area, as it will feel familiar to a much larger audience that way.
As for psychographics we would say that the audience will need to have an interest in the thriller genre and the above films, or the audience may not enjoy the film. As for religious beliefs and values, I don't think they will be affected in our film, so it would not matter.