Research
History of Thriller
These are types of films known to promote intense excitement, suspense, a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, and nerve-wracking tension. Thriller and suspense films are virtually synonymous and interchangeable categorizations, with similar characteristics and features.
If the genre is to be defined strictly, a genuine thriller is a film that rentlessly pursues a single-minded goal - to provide thrills and keep the audience cliff-hanging at the 'edge of their seats' as the plot builds towards a climax. The tension usually arises when the main character(s) is placed in a menacing situation or mystery, or an escape or dangerous mission from which escape seems impossible. Life itself is threatened, usually because the principal character is unsuspecting or unknowingly involved in a dangerous or potentially deadly situation. Plots of thrillers involve characters which come into conflict with each other or with outside forces - the menace is sometimes abstract or shadowy.
Thriller films originate from the modern expressions of literary traditions that are entrenched in the history and aim to promote intense excitement, suspense, high levels of expectancy, increased expectations, ambiguity, anxiety and tension. A thriller genre has a narrative aim to pursue a single minded goal of thrills towards the audience as well as tension to keep the audience on the 'edge of their seats.' Throughout this analysis I will sympose about the background of thriller genres. As mystery classifies under a 'thriller' genre, mystery involves the narrative of a susceptible character who is drawn into a mysterious situation which is dangerous to their contemporary lifestyle. A mystery film's narrative unfolds through a series of revelations which build up to the conclusion of the film. The narrative contains persistence, resourcefulness and luck towards the hero or heroine who manage to over command the sinister anti-hero, resolving the film's narrative. Suspense films also centralise on the susceptibleness of the main protagonist who is caught up in an instantaneous danger which is lethal to the character's life. Hence, the similar narratives of mystery and suspense films are rife. However, a contrast to a mystery, the reasons for the 'danger' may not be elucidated to a full extent and hence, leave the audience with ambiguity. The typical conventions of a suspense film are chases, entrapments and escapes, so hence, a hybrid genre of action is present in these films. This action helps to promote the excitement, ambiguity, anxiety and tension towards the audience. Detective films revolve around the protagonist as a detective with a sceptical, aloof and intellectual aggressive investigator, in contrast to the endangered hero or heroine, who is seen to scared and in shock throughout the narrative. Hence, the narrative revolves around the detective's investigation into a 'mystery' e.g. a character being endangered (refer to above). The detective investigates clues, the characters of the people involved and the psychology of the criminal, which all help to build tension and suspense; the single minded goal of a thriller. The narrative conventions of a courtroom drama or action taking place in a 'police station' are widespread to these films.
Iconic Thriller Directors
Born: 13 August 1899
Died: 29 April 1980
Biography: He was a British film director, producer and cameo appearance actor. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood. He began his career with The Lodger , Jack the Ripper story, followed by his next thriller Blackmail, his first sound film. He had only made a few thrillers: Number Seventeen, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and The 39 Steps, Rear Window, Psycho, Vertigo and Shadow of a Doubt.
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Born: 18 December 1946
Biography: He is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as archetypes of modern Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking. In later years, his films began addressing such issues as the Holocaust, slavery, war and terrorism. He is considered one of the most popular and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. He is also one of the co-founders of DreamWorks movie studio.
Name: James Francis Cameron
Born: August 16, 1954
Biography: He is a Canadian film director, film producer, screenwriter, visual artist, editor, environmentalist and inventor. His writing and directing work includes Piranha II: The Spawning The Terminator ,Aliens , The Abyss , Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies , Titanic and Dark Angel. In the time between making Titanic and his return to feature films with Avatar, He has also contributed to underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies.
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Born: 27th March 27 1963
Biography: He is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker. His films include Reservoir Dogs , Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown , Kill Bill , Death Proof and Inglorious Basterds. He has earned an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA and as well as Emmy and Grammy nominations. His movies are generally characterized by stylistic influences from grindhouse, kung fu, and spaghetti western films. Tarantino also frequently collaborates with his friend and fellow filmmaker Robert Rodriguez.
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Name: Martin Charles Scorsese Born: 17th November 1942
Biography: He is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to film preservation. He has won Academy Award, Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and DGA Awards. Scorsese's body of work addresses such themes as Italian American identity, Roman Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption. directing landmark films such as Mean Streets , Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas – all of which he collaborated on with actor and close friend Robert De Niro. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for The Departed.
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Born: 6 September 1965
Died: 20 February 2009
Biography: He was an Irish poet and author, son of Joseph and Bernadette Nolan. He grew up in Mullingar, Ireland, but later moved to Dublin to attend college. He was educated at the Central Remedial Clinic School, Mount Temple Comprehensive School and at Trinity College, Dublin. His first book was published when he was fifteen. He won the Whitbread Book Award, for his autobiography in 1988. He was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters in the UK, the medal of excellence from the United Nations Society of Writers, and a Person of the Year award in Ireland.
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Born: 18 August 1933
Biography: He is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers." Polanski's films have inspired diverse directors, including the Coen Brothers, Atom Egoyan, Darren Aronofsky and many more. Born in Paris to Polish parents, he moved with his family back to Poland in 1937, shortly before the outbreak of World War II. He survived the Holocaust and was educated in Poland and became a director of both art house and commercial films. Polanski's first feature-length film, Knife in the Water , made in Poland, was nominated for a United States Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He has since received five more Oscar nominations, along with two Baftas, four Césars, a Golden Globe Award and the Palme d'Or of the Cannes Film Festival in France. In the United Kingdom he directed three films, beginning with Repulsion . In 1968 he moved to the United States, and cemented his status by directing the Oscar-winning horror film Rosemary's Baby.
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Name: David Andrew Leo Fincher
Biography: He is an American film and music video director who is known for his dark and stylish thrillers, such as Seven, The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room and Zodiac . Fincher received Academy Award nominations for Best Director for his 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and his 2010 film The Social Network, which also won him the Golden Globe and the BAFTA for Best Director. His most recent film is 2011's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
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Name: John Howard Carpenter Born: 16th January 1948
Biography: He is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.
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Name: David Paul Cronenberg
Born: 15th March 1943
Biography: He is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the psychological is typically intertwined with the physical. In the first half of his career, he explored these themes mostly through horror and science fiction, although his work has since expanded beyond these genres. He has been called "the most audacious and challenging narrative director in the English-speaking world
Typical thriller synopsis
A typical thriller synopsis follows the usual narrative structure of the protagonist finding themselves in danger due to conflict or finding themselves in rare situations in which they never knew of, this usually ends up exposing the protagonist's flaw. However for Crime thrillers the typical synopsis is; it usually focuses on the criminal or person trying to figure out the crime, its main concentration is on the crime that has been committed or the crime that is going to be committed, as I previously mentioned they emphasise on the action over the psychological aspects of the film, the crimes are usually murders, robberies, heists etc.
Conventions of a thriller genre
There are different types of thrillers such as Examples of these are:
>Action-Thriller
>Conspircay Thriller
>Crime Thriller
>Disaster Thriller
>Psychological Thriller
>Spy Thriller
>Supernatural Thriller
>Techno Thriller
>Action-Thriller
>Conspircay Thriller
>Crime Thriller
>Disaster Thriller
>Psychological Thriller
>Spy Thriller
>Supernatural Thriller
>Techno Thriller
I explored what a supernatural thriller was and me and my group presented it to our class
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When planning a thriller film, you have to take into consideration these conventions:
> A complex narrative structure, with false paths, clues and resolutions.
> A narrative pattern of establishing enigmas which the viewer expects to be resolved.
> Extraordinary events happening in ordinary situations.
> Themes of identity.
> Themes of voyeurism.
> Protagonist with a ‘flaw’ which is exploited by the antagonist.
> The opening scene often places the protagonist in danger.
> A crime at the core of the narrative (often murder, but not necessarily)
> A protagonist who is systematically dis-empowered and drawn into a complex web of intrigue by the antagonist.
Collage of iconography associated with the genre
These pictures represent the iconograpghy of thriller. The 'shadow' image shows that thriller can be a secret they don't show everything that is going to happen, the identity is left hidden which builds up suspense making it more exciting to watch. The 'two men holding guns' show that thriller usual involves violence and this includes action as well. All the other weapons shows that thriller is associated to death, blood and murder which shows conventions within a thriller.
Poster analysis
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Still frame analysis
Kill bill vo1 is a 2003 film directed by Quentin Tartantino
and it’s an action thriller film. This still frame immediately shows the high
level of violence that is has, all the characters in this shot are holding swords,
which is a weapon used to cause harm of even death. The protagonist is a female
which breaks stereotypes and she is wearing yellow with black stripes to show
that she is feminine but she is still hard because of her stripes on her
clothing, she doesn’t seems scared or frightened she look strong like a warrior
and the sword suggest she is defending herself and is a fighter to. The antagonist
are all in black suits which shows that they are dark and dangerous, also there
might be a special occasion going on as they are wearing suits but yet they all
have swords. Also there are a few antagonist that are on the floor which shows
that they have been defeated by the women and they are men again this breaks stereotypes
as its shown that the female character is strong or a better fighter than then
also she is on her own which shows that she mange to fight all of them and can
show that she is experienced and has had
a lot of training and that she has done this before because she is standing on
her own to fit and doesn’t need anybody to fight her own battles. Also some of
the antagonist are wearing masks to cover their identity and want to keep it
hidden and secret, whereas the women isn’t hiding nothing shows that she doesn’t
care and isn’t scared of nobody. She is also placed in the centre of the
picture to show that she is the focus of attention in the shot and is the main character
because she stands out. The positioning of her body is also quite open and wide
and standing with a lot of power and authority.
Certificate ratings – BBFC research
A ‘U’ film is suitable for audiences aged four years and over. ‘U’ films positive and shouldn't contain hardcore violence, threat or horror. U films are usual animated or family friendly.
'PG'- Parental Guidance films are suitable for audiences aged eight or above, although parents are advised whether the films is suitable for there children.
‘12’ films are suitable for those aged 12 and over. However, some scenes may upset children under 12 or contain material which many parents will find unsuitable for them.
'12A' films - No one younger the age of 12 may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult, and films classified ‘12A’ are not recommended for a child below 12. An adult may take a younger child if, in their judgement, the film is suitable for that particular child. In such circumstances, responsibility for allowing a child under 12 to view lies with the accompanying adult.
'15' films - can only be viewed by people aged 15 and above, anyone younger than 15 can't watch see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. 
'18' films- can only be viewed by people aged 18 and above, nobody younger than 18 can watch '18' films in a cinema.
Audience Expectations From The Thriller Genre
I decided to do a questionnaire to get an insight of what the audience would expect from the thriller genre, so that i can think about this whilst planning my thriller sequence and co-operate the results into it as it will be interesting for the audience more.
Below is the questionnaire used to collect people's information.
The diagram below of the pie chart shows the results from the questionnaire.
Existing Production Company Research- new line cinema
There are big six companies that dominate the movie market and have the most power int the film industry also many of these companies have links for distributing new media. The 6 big global companies are viacom, time warner, sony, the Walt Disney company, news corporation, comcast.
New line cinema
Documentaries Giving An Insight Into The Thriller Genre
Thriller Sequence Analysis
Vertigo (1958)
Vertigo is a psychological thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. At the start of the sequence an extreme close up of a women's face appears. As an audience we can immediately tell that a lady is being is being represented in the opening scene because her facial features are very soft, young and feminine. Also, she is scared (which fits into the genre of the film) and seems to be distracted as her eyes are shifting from left to right very fast, this indicates that she is afraid of something and is on the look out. But also, the extreme close up gives us a sense that she is trapped in a small space as we can not see her who body and her surroundings for her to be frightened. Therefore this builds up suspense and makes you intrigued to what will happen later on in the film. Minimal movement is done from the lady as maybe Alfred Hitchcock doesn't want to give too much away at the start of the film.
The titles are in white capital locks and appear over the women's face. They are very plain and old fashioned style font but also represent the year the film was made and reflects the genre as quite cold and mysterious. From the titles you can tell that the technology hasn't advance yet in the media industry and basic editing is used to make the opening sequence.
The titles then begin to change as the covers goes red and there is an extreme close up of the women's eye. The title 'Vertigo' is zoomed out largely. It’s bigger than the rest of all the tiles to show its importance to the audience because as it’s the title of the film. The red symbolizes danger and something evil and bad will occur later on also it can be associated to killings, deaths and murders as the colour red represents blood.
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Alfred Hitchcock is famous for spirals and most film he creates includes spirals. These spirals symbolize confusion and mystery which links into the genre. The spirals are very weird and creepy and represents what will happen in the film. The titles are also allocated at the left, which is unusual and different to other titles sequences.
Sound
The sound is non-diegetic and it's contrapuntal as the music seems comparison to the scene we are seeing. There is no dialogue said, which makes the music stand out more and visual to watch. The pitch of the music varies because when the titles appear it becomes high and loud, it emphasis's the title appearing which to catches the audiences attention for them to read the titles and when the title disappears it goes back to being low and quiet. The rhythm of the music varies as it increases and decrease which creates a sense of urgency and threat and its irregular so this confused the audience and makes you feel uncomfortable. All these elements of just the sound being included in the sequence add to the type of genre it is making you aware of it.
Editing
From the start of the sequence the text fades in and fades out. This is superimposing because the image of the mountains is behind and then the writing comes over, this helps increase the amount of information the viewer has in one shot. Also when the close up the frightened lady eyes turns red this is edited. There is a graphic match when the spiral comes out the women eyes and eventually becomes a spiral. This makes you more aware that it is a thriller because the fad in is slow and creepy which sets pace of the sequence build up tension. Also the graphic match leaves you wondering.
The sound is non-diegetic and it's contrapuntal as the music seems comparison to the scene we are seeing. There is no dialogue said, which makes the music stand out more and visual to watch. The pitch of the music varies because when the titles appear it becomes high and loud, it emphasis's the title appearing which to catches the audiences attention for them to read the titles and when the title disappears it goes back to being low and quiet. The rhythm of the music varies as it increases and decrease which creates a sense of urgency and threat and its irregular so this confused the audience and makes you feel uncomfortable. All these elements of just the sound being included in the sequence add to the type of genre it is making you aware of it.
Editing
From the start of the sequence the text fades in and fades out. This is superimposing because the image of the mountains is behind and then the writing comes over, this helps increase the amount of information the viewer has in one shot. Also when the close up the frightened lady eyes turns red this is edited. There is a graphic match when the spiral comes out the women eyes and eventually becomes a spiral. This makes you more aware that it is a thriller because the fad in is slow and creepy which sets pace of the sequence build up tension. Also the graphic match leaves you wondering.
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Mise-en-scene
The lighting has been used on the women's face and the background is black. the women's facial expression looks very scared and we can see this clearly as an emotion because its a close up of her face. It seems as if she is not wearing any make-up, she might be naive and innocent. The colours used are red and black mainly which are associated with dangerous things which fits into the thriller genre.
The narrative in the opening corresponds to the conventions of a thriller. The company that produced this film was Paramount this will affect the film content because its a world wide production company that produces very good films, so the film is expected to be outstanding. I can't tell what will happen in the rest of the film because it gives off minimal information.
Jaws(1975)
Jaws is an American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg. At the beginning of the sequence we are introduced to a large group of young people surrounding a camp fire at the beach in the evening. The atmosphere of the camp fire looks very lively and is being represented as quite positive as everyone is socialising and having a good time and behaving like young adults. Then the scene changes to two people running off into the distance they seems drunk and the girl decides to go skinny dipping, she then gets eaten by the shark but the boy is aware of what is happening to her because he is drunk and also has not concentrated on where she went. This is when the scene turns negative because they are both behaving irresponsible which leads up to the girls’ death. Also is being represented as negative as death happens early into the sequence. Although this would have caught eye of the audience and made them more intrigue to what will happen next. This fits into the thriller genre. We have already been introduced to what is going to happen in the film during the opening sequence.
The title is over the backdrop under water and this font is different and bigger from the rest of the text which stands out because it is the title of the film and has shown its importance. The font reflects of how the sharks’ teeth are as it looks sharp and big, chunky and bold which describes how the sharks teeth are.
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This seems thinner and smaller font but it’s the same background and its fits in with the thriller also the text is white.
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This is the same text but over a different scene in the sequence. The opening credits are shown over action from the film, thus the credit sequence serves also as an establishing sequence in which we are introduced to the setting of the film and some of the characters. This is the last credits to appear on screen as it’s the most important and the names will remain in the audiences head to show importance of who actually produced the film. The titles don't last long which builds an excitement for the upcoming events in the film.
Camera
At the start of the sequence there is a point of view shot from the shark which is used to enhance a sense of realism and audience involvement in the action. Also we are getting a sense from the sharks view and seeing what the sharks sees which is very usual and different because we are humans, so we have seen things from an amphibian points of view which fits into the thriller genre because we don’t actually see the shark yet. Also it is a deep focus shot because everything is in focus which means that the shark sees everything, which symbolises what happens later on the film. This is a hand held shot as we go through the sharks’ journey together and it makes it seem more realistic and makes us feel like we are part of the action. There is a panning shot of the young people at the camp fire followed by an establishing shot.
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Shot/Reverse/Shot
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Then is shot reverse shot of the boy looking at the girl whilst he is smoking and drinking and she is smiles back at him this highlights the fact that they camera has focused on these two characters which has made them stand out from the crowd to show that they are essential to that particular scene..png)
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There is a tracking shot of the boy running after the girl whilst they are taking off there clothes which follows them. There is a wide shot of the girl swimming in the sea.
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There is a close up shot of the girl looking frightened and scared we can only assume from what is happen from the girls reaction. She looks like she is in pain whilst she is screaming in agony
Sound
The music is played ‘main victim and first title’ by John Williams at the start of the sequence whilst the credits are coming up before the main scene start which builds up more tension for the audience. Also included in it is the famous iconic sound which associates to the film jaws, which is the sound motif. The pitch of the music starts of very low and the rhythm is slow and then becomes fast and louder as the opening sequence plays. There is dialogue after the next scene at the fire camp but it is not made out very clear just to show that they was socialising with each other and makes the scene seems more lively. We are then hearing more dialogue between the boy and girl having a conversation whilst they are running into the sea. When the girl dives into the water the sound has been enhanced. When they girl is in the sea the sound is diegetic so she will be able to hear everything around her. Dramatic music then begins to play which is non- diegetic whilst the girl is swimming and we can see underneath her from under the water which would be from the sharks point of view, so we know clearly that something dreadful is going to happen. We then hear the sound motif as the shark approaches to the girl which gradually increase as the shark gets closer and closer. We then hear the girl screaming in pain and the music together and she is splashing around and then everything goes quiet as soon as she is underwater. This shows that we didn’t know what happened only the music and sound made the audience clear to what had actually happened.
Editing
There is superimposing at the beginning of the opening sequence, which increases the amount of information the audience has in one shot. There is a cut when the girl is screaming for the boys help and is goes to him lying down on the beach where it is all peaceful and quiet. There is a linear narrative all the way through. The scene when the girl is getting attacked by the shark is a long take.
Mise-en-scene
The lighting is very low key throughout as it is set in the evening, which is good start for a thriller film because everything is dark. The facial features and expressions of the girl in the water were very vivid and she was scared, confused and panicking and she was in pain. The characters had props such as cigarettes and alcohol. The voice of the girl seems soft and flirty which shows she has a slight attraction to the boy. The location was set at the beach.
The narrative in the opening correspond to the conventions of a thriller film because, its got a lot of death and killings and seems scary and eerie interesting for the audience. The companies that produced the film was Zanuck/Brown productions and Universal Pictures. It produced quite a few films before jaws. Universal pictures is second oldest movie studio in the world and has a main interest in thriller films. From watching the title sequence I think that there will be more shark attacks hence the fact the film is called jaws because of the shark’s teeth, that’s its main weapon it uses to eat the humans and this will creating more awareness for the people that live in the area and will start to panic and be more cautions when going out to see or if avoided possible.
Panic room (2002)
The titles are big and bold written in capital locks and they come over the backdrop of New York City. The visual style of the titles complemented the film well, as they were shown as being company signs on the buildings so they would fit in well with the film and its genre and theme. The boldness of them and size also meant you could see clearly the actors and actresses names in the film.
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Panic room is an American thriller film directed by David flincher. This opening starts out with who presents it, the production, the actors and then the film title. It does not however show any shots of characters in the film, therefore creating an atmosphere to get the audience thinking what happens in this film. At the start the city is being represented and it’s not being represented as positive or negative but the music could add to the fact that later on something serious will happen because its sounds quite dramatic and adds tension. The plot can be referred to as a thriller as it has suspense with the short sharp cuts and a sense of not knowing what will happen next. There is no specific narrative as of yet in the opening sequence.
The titles are big and bold written in capital locks and they come over the backdrop of New York City. The visual style of the titles complemented the film well, as they were shown as being company signs on the buildings so they would fit in well with the film and its genre and theme. The boldness of them and size also meant you could see clearly the actors and actresses names in the film.
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The title Panic Room was cleverly put in mid air in between two buildings. This shows that the title is portrayed as being inside a room because it is in between walls of a building therefore linking with the title.
Camera
There are a range of different shots and angles used in this opening. The main three shots that are used throughout are establishing shots, wide shots and long shots. These are used for the audience to get used to the background and the setting. The long shots and wide shots are used to give depth and width to the surroundings and to put emphasis on the size of the city that the movie is set in. There is a lot of camera movement such as when the camera pans around a building. This is done so that the audience can see the setting in a 3D motion.
Sound
The sound is mostly non-diegetic through the opening. It is a dark sinister song that is very overpowering, to give the audience a sense of tension and suspense and fits in with the conventions of the thriller genre. There is some speech at the end of the opening which introduces two characters into the movie. The audience will assume that these are the main characters as they are the only characters in the movie so far.
Editing
There is a lot of use of transitions with the lettering that is used. The lettering fits in well with the scenery as it looks like it is a part of the background as it is constructed in a way so that it is parallel to the buildings. The shots are quite long and drag out a bit. This is done in order to get a clear view on the setting.
The setting is outdoors so we expect that artificial lighting is going to be used. However, the lighting in this opening seems too vibrant and there seems to be a slight contrast between light and dark. This could be symbolism for the fight between light and dark; also known as good and evil.
Mise en Scene
There are lots of skyscrapers and the billboards in the background which informs the audience that the movie is set in a huge city. The yellow taxis suggest that the city is somewhere in America. The short sharp shots of the buildings create a atmosphere of seclusion from the outside world. The height and overall look of the buildings show a dark side to the film. The cars and busy streets show that no one would hear or even notice these tall buildings which also tell us that maybe that is what the author is trying to create, a sense of loneliness and by the cameras showing the tops of the buildings a sense of maybe fear.
The opening does not give away much about the plot. There seems to be dramatic irony about the name of the opening as it is set in a wide and open space while the title ‘panic room’ seems claustrophobic as the word ‘room’ suggests a small space. Also, the title gives away a bit of the narrative as the audience expect it to be some sort of thriller to do with a room. The speech at the end of the opening also suggests that the ‘panic room’ is somewhere in this house that the woman talks about. Shows seem to be a theme in this opening this could therefore be relevant to the location in which the film is based and could also be a meaning, but they just don’t give anything away at the beginning.
The angles are low and high angle shots, they use this to create a sense that things are happening from the top floor or high up in the building as it also links in with the title Panic Room. The tracking around the buildings and the camera either panning up or looking down from the tops of the buildings show that maybe it is set on the top floor of a building. Also the pan of the streets and the ‘busy city life’, create an image in your head.
Title Sequence analysis
Once upon a time in the west
A sergio leaone film, a rafran-san marco production by paramount pictures corporation. They are introduced in the middle of the sequence and there purpose is to let the audinece know who produced it and distributed it.
2) list the information that is inclueded in the title sequence:
Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Charles Bronson, Gabriele Ferzetti, Paolo Stoppa, Woody Strode, Jack Elam, Keenan Wynn, Frank Wolff, Lionel Strander, screenplay by: Sergio Donati, Sergio Leome, story by: Clario Argento, Bernardo Bertolucci, Sergio Leone, music composed and conducted by: Ennio Marrione, sets and costumes by: Carlo Simi, edited by: Nino Bargalli, director of photography Tonino Delli Colli, prodcution manager: Claudio Mancini, production supervisor: Ugo Tucci. produced by: Pulvio Morsella, executive producer Bino Eicogna, directed by Sergio Leone.
3) Where exacelty is the film's title placed? Beginning,middle or end of the opening sequence?
The title doesnt appear in the opening sequence
4)Timeline-enter the start and end times of the opening sequence at each end of th eline and plot the sequnece along the line
Sherlock Holmes
1) State the production and distribution companies. How are they introduced? What purpose do they serve at the start of a film?
Production Companies: Village Roadshow Pictures/ silver Productions
2) list the information that is inclueded in the title sequence:
Screenplay , screen story, producers, Directors who this was created by, executive producers, co-producer, director of photography, production designer, editor, cast members, title, casting by, music producers and music by, costumes designer, visual effects supervisor,production and distributor companies such as;Warner brothers pictures presentation, in association with village roadshow pictures, silver pictures production, and, Guy Ritchie film,
3) Where exacelty is the film's title placed? Beginning,middle or end of the opening sequnece?
In the Middle
4)Timeline-enter the start and end times of the opening sequence at each end of th eline and plot the sequnece along the line.
Nypolen Dynamite
1) state the production and distribution companies. How are they introduced? What purpose do they serve at the start of a film?
3) Where exacelty is the film's title placed? Beginning,middle or end of the opening sequence?
Near the beginning
4)Timeline-enter the start and end times of the opening sequence at each end of the line and plot the sequence along the line.
Juno
Production- MTV films Distributor- Fox searchlight pictures and Paramount pictures
2) list the information that is included in the title sequence:
Distribution Companies: Warner Bros Picture, MTV FILMS, foxsearch light pictures, Paramount pictures, MTV films, Starring, As Napoleon Dynamite, Cast members, Casting by, Music by, Edited by, Production designer, Director of Photography, Executive producers, Producers, Written by, Director
2) list the information that is included in the title sequence:
Distribution Companies: Warner Bros Picture, MTV FILMS, foxsearch light pictures, Paramount pictures, MTV films, Starring, As Napoleon Dynamite, Cast members, Casting by, Music by, Edited by, Production designer, Director of Photography, Executive producers, Producers, Written by, Director
Near the beginning
4)Timeline-enter the start and end times of the opening sequence at each end of the line and plot the sequence along the line.
1) State the production and distribution companies. How are they introduced? What purpose do they serve at the start of a film?
Production- Fox searchlight pictures
Distributor- A mandate pictures, Mr. Productions
Production- Fox searchlight pictures
Distributor- A mandate pictures, Mr. Productions
2) List the information that is included in the title sequence:
Fox searchlight, mandate pictures & Mr. Mudd productions, Jason Reitman film, Juno, Cast members, casting by, costume designer, music and songs by, music supervisors, co producers, film editors, production designer, director of photography, exec producers, producers, written by, director
Fox searchlight, mandate pictures & Mr. Mudd productions, Jason Reitman film, Juno, Cast members, casting by, costume designer, music and songs by, music supervisors, co producers, film editors, production designer, director of photography, exec producers, producers, written by, director
3) Where exacelty is the film's title placed? Beginning,middle or end of the opening sequence?
At the beginning
4)Timeline-enter the start and end times of the opening sequence at each end of the line and plot the sequence along the line.
4)Timeline-enter the start and end times of the opening sequence at each end of the line and plot the sequence along the line.
Iron man
1)State the production and distribution companies. How are they introduced? What purpose do they serve at the start of a film?
A Jon Favreau film at the end.
A Jon Favreau film at the end.
2) list the information that is included in the title sequence:
Directed by Jon Favreau, Screenplay by Mark Fergus& Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum and Matt Hollway, produced by Avi Arad and Kevin Fegie, Executive producers Louis D'espotio, Peter Billingsley, Jon Favreau, Avi Arad, Executive producers Stan Lee, David Maisel,Director of photography Matthew Libatique,Production design by J. Michael Riva, Editor Dan Lebental,Visual effect supervisor John Nelson, Costume Designers Laura Jean Shannon,Rebecca Bentjen,Assoicate producer Jeremy Latcham, Music by Ramin Djawadi, Music supervisor Dave Jordan, Casting by Sarah Halley Finn and Randi Hiller,Robert Downey Jr, Terrance Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leslie Bibb, Shaun Toub,Faran Tahir, Clark Gregg, Bill Smitrovich, Sayed Badreya.
3) Where exacelty is the film's title placed? Beginning,middle or end of the opening sequence?
The title doesn't appear in the opening sequnece
Planning
Production company name/profile/logo
Photographs of group planning
The images below show are group planning our main ideas for our main task and we was all discussing and contributing ideas to what we was going to do.
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Initial planning ideas/brainstorms
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The photos above are the initial ideas my group constructed for our main task. Later on we added more ideas to our sequence which the brainstorm helped us developed our ideas more such as our logo design for our production name. We need managed to stick to our main plan but we only changed the setting and the script.
We did manage to develop are main idea to fight into the conventions of a thriller. We made the antagonist and protagonist much clearer and have more purpose, which seems to make it more beneficially for our opening sequence.
During the planning process we had so many different and creative ideas towards our opening, we came up with several different ideas and we discussed which was best and which one was suitable for us to actually create. We did add more ideas along the way as we thought that it would connect with the audience much better and be instantly recognisable as a thriller genre.
Photographs/footage of filming location
The canteen
The toilet
The bedroom
Synopsis planning
When trying to design a synopsis for a thriller film one has to take into account many different factors which will make the film appeal to the audience. Firstly I had to take into consideration the filming location and how that would have an impact end product. We set our thriller opening in the canteen. We were going to set it in the nightclub but it wasn’t available to us. We called our thriller ‘The obsession’ because its fits into the thriller genre and its obvious to the audience what will happen but it still leaves suspense and confusion to what will happen later on.
The opening sequence is set in the canteen, the main plot of our opening is that there are two teenage girls called Vanessa and Chloe who are the best of friends but little did we know Vanessa is extremely jealous of Chloe and actually becomes obsessed with her. Vanessa is very dependent of Chloe and is very attached to her but it’s because they are close friends that’s why this would be thought. However, Chloe is obvious to the fact that Vanessa not what she seems to be and then because a victim because she didn’t take notice of Vanessa as she trusts her. Chloe is more the miss popular character at school and everybody loves her because she feeds of that attention to make her feel more better about herself but this is used as a disadvantage to her because she does get the attention she desires not knowing that her friends Vanessa deceives, lies and eventually controls her out of her permission.
During a conversation the girls had about Chloe’s ex trying to get back into contact with, Chloe is in a world of her own because she is so happy that she might get together with her ex – boyfriend so she is unaware of her surroundings and doesn’t take notice to what is happening. Chloe reaches in her bag to show the text message that he ex sent her to show Vanessa, obvious Vanessa shows little interests and pretends to care because she doesn’t want anybody to have Chloe as she wants her all to herself. So Vanessa puts a pill into her drink and then shortly after Chloe drinks it and she feels weak, dizzy and she loses conscious. Vanessa does seems to be mentally disturb as she thinks about Chloe all the time and seems to be in her thoughts as she writes about her daily. Chloe then goes into the girls’ toilet to gather herself but she then becomes weaker leaving here confused and vulnerable and collapses. This allows Vanessa to take control of her, leaving Vanessa more or less satisfied with the actions she committed.
Script
The Obsession
Thriller opening sequence script
Chloe is sitting at the table in the college canteen with an extra (Chantelle Gregory), Vanessa walks towards the table they are sitting at.
Vanessa: Hey guys (waves and smiles)
Vanessa: Hey guys (waves and smiles)
(Vanessa sits down next to Chloe)
Chloe: Hey what’s Up
Vanessa: So tired
Chloe: I've got good news
Vanessa: What
Chloe: Guess what
Vanessa: What
Chloe: He text me
Vanessa: Who? (snappy)
Chloe: I’ll show you
Chloe: Hey what’s Up
Vanessa: So tired
Chloe: I've got good news
Vanessa: What
Chloe: Guess what
Vanessa: What
Chloe: He text me
Vanessa: Who? (snappy)
Chloe: I’ll show you
(Chloe reaches in to bag besides and gets her phone out to show Vanessa the text message whilst she does this Vanessa puts the pill into her drink and quickly returns to her normal positions, Chloe turns round again and shows Vanessa the text message.)
Chloe: He said come and see me
Chloe: Alright see you later
Chloe: He said come and see me
Chloe: Alright see you later
(Chloe gets up from her seat)
Vanessa: Where are you going?
Vanessa: Where are you going?
Chloe: Toilet
Vanessa: Oh okay
Vanessa: Oh okay
(Vanessa watches Chloe with a smile whilst she is walking up the stairs to go to the toilet, Chloe then starts to feel dizzy and weak on her way to the toilet and into the toilet Vanessa suddenly appears in the toilet behind her. There are endless flashbacks of Vanessa obsessing over Chloe in her bedroom. Vanessa then walks towards Chloe as she falls faint on the toilet floor.)
We had to change our script due to set problems. The script for the "The obsession had to be modified to suit available set. Below was the main script for 'The Obsession' that we was going to use first.
Chloe: Oh my Gosh! that was crazy (shocked)
Vanessa: I know right, I'm so tired, what's the time?(yawns)
Chloe bends down to reach for her phone in her bag as she does this Vanessa puts a substance into her drink and quickly returns to her normal positions as Chloe bends back up again.
Storyboard
The Obsession
Thriller opening sequence script
Chloe and Vanessa the club, they decided to go sit down in the corner of the club because they need a break from dancing most of the night.
Chloe: Oh my Gosh! that was crazy (shocked)
Vanessa: I know right, I'm so tired, what's the time?(yawns)
Chloe bends down to reach for her phone in her bag as she does this Vanessa puts a substance into her drink and quickly returns to her normal positions as Chloe bends back up again.
Vanessa: who
Chloe: Its 1 am...Oh my God he called me he called me I need to phone him back
Vanessa: Who, and what? 1am I need to get home now, lets finish are drinks and go
Chloe: Its 1 am...Oh my God he called me he called me I need to phone him back
Vanessa: Who, and what? 1am I need to get home now, lets finish are drinks and go
They both drink the drinks but Vanessa is curiously watching Chloe as she drinks it.
Chloe: Ok let’s go to the toilet first
Vanessa: Sure
They both get up to the toilet. Chloe then starting to feel weak and dizzy Vanessa starts to smile at Chloe as she falls to the ground.
Chloe: Ok let’s go to the toilet first
Vanessa: Sure
They both get up to the toilet. Chloe then starting to feel weak and dizzy Vanessa starts to smile at Chloe as she falls to the ground.
Storyboard
Physical timeline for opening
List of props
TITLE
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NAME
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TIME
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Trailer of film4 logo
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Film 4
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0:00- 6:20
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Production company logo name
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M’SG
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7:00- 12:12
|
Music
|
Music starts
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8:18
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Production company name
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M’SG Film Productions Presents
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12:16- 15:16
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Creator of the film name
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A Film by Failsha Merilla
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15:19 – 18:19
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The name of the film
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The Obsession
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18:20- 21:20
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Actress
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Starring Fallon Whyte
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21:22- 24:22
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Actress
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Gabrielle Adepitan
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25:00 – 28:00
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Extra, co-starring
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Chantelle Gregory
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28:00- 31:00
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Music
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Music by Devlin
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31:03- 34:03
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The film edited by
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Edited by
Merissah Adams and Micha Bronfield
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34:04 – 37:04
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Film produced by
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Produced by Failsha Merilla
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37:04 - 40:04
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Wrote the script and directed the film
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Written and Directed by Gabrielle Adepitan and Merissah Adams
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40:06 – 43:06
|
Music
|
Music fades out
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40:09
|
List of props
Pill – Vanessa puts the pill into Chloe’s bottle because she drugged, so she can take control over her.
Bottle – Chloe drinks from the bottle that Vanessa drugged, without her knowing that she did it.
Phone – Chloe shows Vanessa the text message her ex-boyfriend sent her, which is on her phone.
Bag – Chloe reaches into her bag to gets her phone to show Vanessa the text message.
Notepad and pen – Vanessa uses this in her bedroom, when she thinks about Chloe.
Ipod- Vanessa always uses this to view pictures of Chloe, shows how obsessed she is with Chloe.
Filming schedule
Friday 20th April 2012
2:00-2:30pm-Film canteen scenes
2:30-4:00pm-Film toilet scenes
Saturday 21st April 2012
10am-1pm-Film bedroom scenes
Editing schedule
When: Tuesday 24th April 2012 – Friday 4TH May 2012
Where: Mac room in college – room S204
Software: Final cut pro
Software: Final cut pro
Costume Planning
The characters Vanessa and Chloe are both dressed causal to show that they are average students and living a daily life. The clothing was very causal but suitable for the opening.
Target Audience
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As a group we have be able to conclude to come up with a suitable target audience for our opening thriller sequence. We have been able to make decision to what our target audience would be. To gain an insight into our potential target audience, we compared our film to thriller films with a similar rating to ours. We compared our film to 'Obsessed', it is a hybrid because it is a drama and thriller genre. we felt that this film was similar to ours because it had a similar plot synopsis to our film and also the name of the film 'Obessed' is close to ours ' The obession'. this title are mostly given because its obvious to the audience what it will be about roughly. 'Obessed' contains much more violence and sexual scenes than in our film, which is why it was rated a 12A. There are also high intense fighting scenes, high usage of alchol/drugs/smoking and high rate of offensive dialogue. Also death a key theme in the film 'Obessed' as well but could be seen as defence/aiccedent.
We believe that our film would be a 12A has it doesn’t contain strong content of violence and sex, also it contains mild use of drugs and the plot isn’t too complicated to understand and because it use drugs it would be suitable to under 12 children to be accompanied by an adult as we don’t wish to encouraged the use of drugs but it could certain make them think that it is unsuitable to use because of what happens during the film. Also we would get more people coming into watch it if our rating was moderate and we believe that 12A would bring a mass audience in. for our opening we felt that more young people would watch our film than adults as it is about youths and set in a college, this rating would allow more young people to watch it.
Understanding editing software
Understanding editing software
The software we used to edit our opening sequence was final cut pro on the apple mac. My group and I had no experience into how to use final cut pro so we used you tube tutorials to help us along how way. This was simply and easy once we followed the steps on you tube and we manage to discover other things ourselves whilst editing our video. We watched several of clips below which helped use editing our opening sequence using final cut pro.
We also found video that would help us during our editing; we wanted to change the colour of the bedrooms to black and white to make it clearer to the audience that it was a flashback scene.
Health and safety information
There are important things to consider whilst filming such as, not to film in dangerous places that could harm the cast and crew, if filming at somebody's else’s property ask for permission from them to be allowed to film to avoid problems, to film only people who wish to be filmed, which will make it more easier for the cameraman to film without any interruptions or disturbances, to be careful when standing on objects such as chairs when trying to catch high angle shots, to make sure you know all the fire exits just in case of an accident and when using a track make sure when not in use that it’s out of the way so people don't fall over it.
