Group Idea

Our latest thoughts towards the film opening are the have a montage of shots and clips interupting the titles. Starting with the titles the clips of the dead body and murderer will fade in and out. Also there will be clips of the dead person running away from the murderer also appearing.

WM - Moodboard - Thriller

JP - Thriller Moodboard

JP - Genre Analysis

1. Our chosen genre is Thriller. There are numerous sub genres for this, which are:

· Action Thriller - e.g. Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum, 2002)

· Conspiracy Thriller - e.g. JFK (Oliver Stone, 1991)

· Crime Thriller - e.g. Inside Man (Spike Lee, 2006)

· Disaster thriller - e.g. Poseidon (Wolfgang Peterson, 2006)

· Drama thriller - e.g. The Prestige (Christopher Nolan, 2006)

· Horror thriller - e.g. 28 Days Later (Danny Boyle,2002)

· Erotic thriller - e.g. Basic Instinct (Paul Verhoeven, 1992)

· Legal thriller - e.g. Michael Clayton (Tony Gilroy,2007)

· Political thriller - e.g. Munich (Steven Spielberg, 2005)

· Psychological thriller – e.g. The Beach (Danny Boyle, 2000)

· Medical thriller - e.g. Awake (Joby Harold,2007)

· Spy thriller - e.g. Mission Impossible (Brian De Palma,1996)

· Techno-thriller -e.g. The Hunt for Red October (John McTiernan,1990)

· Religious thriller –e.g. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown, 2003)

2. For our film we are following the crime thriller sub genre and here are some films that can help us to obtain our complete idea:

Inside Man (Spike Lee, 2006) – The Inside Man is a very clever film and although our film will not be a heist like this it has some good techniques that we can work from, the voiceover style of the man talking about what happened before it has happened in the film, having the end at the start. This can be seen in throughout the Inside Man Trailer.

Taken (Pierre Morel, 2008) – The film Taken is more of an action thriller however it is quite a dark film with a tone that we would like, it is shown in theTaken Trailer. The music in the trailer is the same kind of effect that we want to have in our opening sequence. The music together with the fast cutting rate gives the clip a montage edit that we hope to achieve in our opening sequence.

Phone Booth (Joel Schumacher, 2002) – I like this film because of the simplicity of the location and how effective it is. I feel this film has inspired our film sequence because in the Phone Booth Trailer there is a high cutting rate in and out of the titles which is what we intend to do. Also this has helped us develop the idea of putting a phone conversation into our sequence.

3. A Typical Narrative of a Thriller is to have the protagonist and the antagonist having their feud throughout the film for example Batman: Dark Knight with ‘Batman’ and the ‘Joker’. The narrative would generally end with the protagonist winning. To create enigma or suspense in our opening sequence we could employ this by revealing the antagonist to the audience. We could also use other conventions of thrillers, e.g. action and a fast cutting rate.
4. For this type of film there are generally the following types of characters: Protagonist, Antagonist, Police/Detective (with one main policeman), a girlfriend. In our film we so far only have the ideas involving the criminal and the police however as we develop our idea we may introduce more characters.

5. Typical locations of a thriller films are in urban settings e.g. ‘Die Hard’ in an office building in LA. They are generally in major cities and involve money. They are made here because of the high population and all of the resources in a city, banks, etc. So as most films involve money and heists it is the ideal location. However we plan to take it out of the urban setting and have the majority of filming in a woodland area on a gloomy windy day which will give it a kind of chilling edge that will give the film darkness and help build suspense.

6. Classic iconography in a thriller would most likely be weapons, normally guns, used most commonly in "action thriller" films. A high tempo would be associated with this genre; a victim is often involved also. In action thrillers fighting is generally present e.g. ‘Taken’ he uses his own skills in combat more than guns.7. In this type of thriller people are often well dressed in suits etc. E.g. in the Inside Man, this gives a very confident and composed tone of a character, it helps the viewer see what kind of character he is. However in other films costume is completely different and the villain may wear a hooded top and look very anti-social.

8. In different thrillers lighting and colour can be used in different ways, however it is always vital in the effectiveness of the film. Villains are generally lit with low key lighting to represent their secretiveness with silhouettes, etc. In many films colour is very important because of the graphics involved in a high action scene with explosions etc, where it has to look as realistic as possible. Particular colours will connote different things:

Red – blood, danger

Black – dark, death, evil

White – light, good, happy

Orange – energy, enthusiasm

Blue – peace

Pink – feminine

9. Fonts for the opening credits and titles are very important for the tone of a film. Here are some examples of suitable fonts for a thriller:

WM - Genre Analysis

What is your chosen genre? Research your genre. What sub-genres exist? Are you following the conventions of a sub-genre? Outline some films which fit into this genre which you find interesting in some way.

Our chosen genre is Thriller; we are going to follow the sub-genre of crime thriller, this is one of many sub-genres. The thriller genre usually involves some sort of action or investigation, usually with a ‘hard man’ as the lead character. The genre involves many sub-genres including:

· Crime thrillers

· Action thrillers

· Physiological thrillers

· Disaster thrillers

· Drama thriller

· Conspiracy thriller

Some thrillers that I find interesting are:

· S.W.A.T

· 16 Blocks

· Inside Man

· Fast & the Furious

· Lucky number slevin

· Miami Vice

· Reservoir dogs

· The Transporter

· Phone Booth

· Bourne Identity

· LA Confidential

Pick three of these and outline specific techniques or style which you think might be useful for what you are planning.

By looking at the opening for ‘The Transporter’, the opening shot shows what looks like a broken TV with a green wash, then a white flash reveals the location, I like this as it adds suspense and tension as it is not clear where it is and what’s going to happen. The music is also effective as there is no dialog so it is the only sound playing; it adds tension as the high pitched noise is playing over some unrecognisable sound. The shot of the man in the car is also a nice shot as half is face is covered in shadow, this ads mystery.

During the opening of ‘Lucky Number Slevin’, I like the idea of the titles being separated with lines of action and shots in the middle; this is useful as this is part of our idea for the film opening we will be producing. There is no dialog within the first 3 minutes of a film, only low music and during the titles, some non-digetic sounds of a sports commentator. All these sounds add tension and mystery because the audience haven’t been shown anything to give them meaning. The opening shot of the telephone also seems odd as it seems to have no relevance to what is going on during the opening minutes. so the main thing I like about this opening Is the montage editing intermingled with the title clips as this is one of our ideas we may use.

L.A. Confidential has a slightly different opening; it starts off like an advert for Los Angeles by explaining how wonderful and amazing it all is. With upbeat music and lots of colours it seems to say nothing will go wrong, but towards the end of the voice over there is a twist when it is mentioned that there is a man who runs crime all over the state. The way it is all mentioned makes it seem not as bad as the voice seems happy and light hearted. Once again this opening is shot as a montage which is how we are looking to shoot ours.

What is a typical narrative for this genre of film? How could this be set up in the opening to create enigma or suspense?

Typical narratives of thriller films, or crime thriller films, are that there is a man or group that commit an action that is against the law, sometimes it is drugs or murder, but it all ends up with some kind of authority involvement. Usually there are two sides, the good side and the bad side, oh which usually the good side come out on top. Although there are two sides, not always is one for the law. In films like lock, stock and two smoking barrels there are two sides but both against the law, the audience is positioned with one side always as it gives them someone or some people to root for.

What kinds of characters are conventional to this type of genre? Identify archetypal heroes or villains, stock characters?

Usually in Crime thrillers, the main characters are the ‘hard men’ who are either investigating or find themselves involved in the action. Bruce Willis, a detective, was the main character in die hard who always found himself in tough areas.

Sometimes you find that it’s a regular person who gets dragged into the situation, for example Colin Farrell in phone booth. The archetypal hero is usually an attractive male while the villain usually looks different and/or strange. This allows you to judge the character by their looks as it is easy to tell which character you should be positioned with. Other stock characters that exist are usually close friends or family to the main character and sometimes work associates.

What are typical locations or settings for this genre?

The thriller genre often occurs in an urban location and an unfamiliar environment of the lead character, sometimes a foreign country. Usually the areas seem dirty or gloomy to add some suspense as you cannot see everything clearly.

The locations used often seem to be large with a lot of hiding places or places to run so there is always a way of escaping.

What iconography would you expect to see in this genre?

Guns are seen a lot in thriller films as they usually represent crime and violence. Also the concept of money or in the hunt for money is iconic in thriller films as it has the connotation of greed or the need to be rich.

Find examples of suitable costume

Costumes worn in Thriller films can be anything from smart clothes to a more military look.

How is lighting/colour used? What effects would you want to create with lighting? Identify connotations of particular colours?

Lighting in thriller films is like in any other film, it has to be done right. In some sequences there is great use of shadow to either hide someone’s identity or to add tension to the shot. Lighting can make characters look suspicious or mysterious; this means that the audience can see early on what the character is all about

Find examples of fonts which would be suitable for this genre for title sequence

WM - Technical Analysis of Dog Soldiers

Dog Soldiers (www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2X5RL-U8ec)

Opens with a plain black background with white credits fading in and out in capital letters; this is then followed by a sound bridge of running water giving anticipation of what is going to be seen. The river fades in and Scotland appears in the corner in a computerised font and sound. Cut to LS of man filling up a bowl with water and then another cut to MS of man walking in the woods past a fire. Pans round following man to show a tent and his partner, the man takes his hat off to revile his very short hair, his army like hair connotes a ‘hard man’ status. Cut to his partner to show his company, cut to CU of partners face showing happiness of the time off work he has got to spend time with her, cut to CU of males face showing the relationship between the two, cut to both of them sitting close together with fire in front of them. A cut to a MS of the couple so show the actions of the female, CU of male face shows surprise and shock as he is given his gift, the CU of the blade further backs up the idea of the man being part of the army. CU of the female face cuts quickly to male face showing the pairs emotions. The scene then cuts to the pair in the tent as the light outside seems to have darkened, the camera pans to the couple getting intimate showing there compassion for each other, the sound of the zip of the tent opening causes a cut to the faces of the two people in terror as they realise something is out there, cuts to a CU of the zip moving, the fast cutting rate after this and the unsteady camera, when the female is dragged from the tent shows the horror and panic they go through.

The opening starts with silence as the credits take place and then a sound bridge occurs towards the end to add continuity, the computer noise of Scotland appearing is added over the top of the initial background music of water running and birds singing, the man’s footsteps are also heard above this noise and his voice loudest of all, the sound s of the fire and cups on the floor add realism to the sequence, this is helped by the constant background noise of the fire. There is new music playing as the woman gives the gift to the man, the music can cause tension due to its slow tempo and high pitch. This music then goes into the next cut of them in a tent; the pitch seems to drop as the music gets deeper, this can be hear as a sign of danger as in the music in Jaws. The music then hits a long low note as we hear the zip of the tent. The sounds of the creature are heard level with the screams and panting of the humans trying to stay alive.

The whole sequence is continuity edited involving mostly fades, this sequence has around 30-40 shots, although most of these happen in the last 30 seconds of the opening as the cutting rate increase dramatically, the changes of cutting rate means audiences don’t get bored of the slow cuts and regular rhythm but also have to time to settle in between the areas of quick cutting. The beast that takes the female in this is not actually seen by the camera, this adds mystery and will hook audiences as they will want to know what or who took her.

Feedback #1

I love your title graphic! fantastic!
James - a good start for technical analysis, although the analysis of techniques is a little short. Consider camera movement, sound mise-en-scene in detail as well as cutting rate.

JP - Technical Analysis - Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001)

This is a technical analysis of the film Donnie Darko (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnKG8C-svaM&feature=related).

The film begins with a sound bridge of thunder over the opening credits, which means straight away the film is signified as a thriller. There is then an establishing pan shot of a landscape that then tracks in to a man laying on the ground whilst a constant note is being played over the top to build the tension to what the man is doing. It stays in the same shot as it tracks round him to see him getting up. It then cuts to an other panning shot of the landscape to emphasis where he is, isolated in a mountainous area. It also allows them to put the title over the top. The sun then comes out from behind a cloud and starts to cover the entire screen until it is white, which allows it to cut into a new scene.

As it cuts to a new scene music comes on, it is high paced and upbeat, it is a complete contrast to what we were expecting after the first scene. A dolly shot is now used to show him front on as he cycles down the mountains. Following this it cuts to a medium shot to the side of him with light breaking through the trees behind him which suggests it is the morning. It then has a motivated cut back to the previous dolly shot as he turns the corner. It then cuts to a point of view shot of him cycling down showing the road ahead.

There is then a jump cut to a close-up of a sign advertising a Halloween carnival, this suggests that this will be relevant later in the film. Then within the same shot it tracks right to see the same person on his bike coming towards the camera past the sign and then the camera follows him round as he turns.

Overall this sequence is made up of less than 10 shots which shows that you do not necessarily need a lot of cutting to make in effective, a good example of this the the opening shot as it films for 1 minute and 6 seconds without cutting. This means that when we do our 2 minute opening it is not essential for us to do high high cutting rate, montage like sequence, we can have continuity and a slow cutting rate, if we choose.

WM - Thriller Genre

Thrillers often take place in mainly urban areas, often in foreign countries or unfamiliar places. The heroes in most thrillers are frequently "hard men" accustomed to danger, e.g. law enforcement officers, spies, soldiers, etc. However, they also can be ordinary citizens drawn into danger by accident e.g. In the film Phone Booth. While most heroes have traditionally been men, women lead characters have become more common, e.g. Linda Hamilton in The Terminator.

There are many different sub-categories for the thriller genre, these include: Action thrillers, Crime thrillers, disaster thrillers and many more. There are some well known thrillers movies including the Bourne Identity, staring Matt Damon, which have gone on to become a huge success creating a trilogy.

JP - Research - Horror

Horror films are made to unsettle and frighten the audience, whilst maintaing a storyline that will entertain the audience. Horror films involve dark, primative, revolting traits. They are generally set in a rural environment rather than in urban areas like Thrillers. However the two genres can combine when they focus on the revolting and horrible acts of the killer/madman.
Here are some examples of very successful horror films:

• The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973)
• The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
• Saw (James Wan, 2004)
• 28 Days Later (Danny Boyle, 2002)

JP - Initial Ideas

Our initial idea is to have our opening sequence in the crime thriller genre. We think it may involve a crime scene opening which then jumps back into time for when the people find the body. We will locate it in a woodland area.

WM - Initial Ideas

Through our groups research and interests, the initial idea is to film our opening sequence as a crime thriller. The first thoughts we have involve an opening shot of a busy crime scene and a covered body. The opening then flashes back to an earlier event of a group of boys finding the body in a woodland area.