Planning Thriller [Lesson 3]

In this lesson our group started planning our moodboard, I completed mine at home:

I have zoomed in on each separate section, so our ideas can be seen and read. 

Firstly the props; we chose that the biggest prop of all would be the ring, and the car, these are two big aspects, because without the audience would have no idea that the driver had changed, and they would not know the significance of this certain man. The fact that she will be carrying a bag and wine will establish to the audience that she is on a night out, and is in a vulnerable state.

Moving onto location; We have chosen 4 main locations (the car, the car park, the flat hallway and the stairway) Elle's sister owns a flat in Norwich, the stairway and hallway are very grotty and claustrophobic  which will be great to film the meeting of the two main characters. Again the use of a car will establish our thriller, by the fact that it is a claustrophobic space and there is no escape. 

After that we focused on the costumes of each character, we will have three people starring in our film (the femme fatale, the baddy and the girls friend). Our main aim is to show the audience that there is change between drivers of the car, we are doing this by having her friend dressed him normal everyday clothes, color  Then the baddy will be dressed as a bad guy would be seen in traditional noir thrillers; black cloak, black hat, dark. We immediately decided that the girl should be a femme fatale character, we though that she should be dressed very glamorous  The idea that she has red nails and lips suggests her danger and lust, the fact that she will be in a white dress shows her vulnerability and innocence. 

Continuing onto sound, we focused on what could really draw the audience in and establish to them that it is a thriller film. After much consideration we decided that when the girl goes back to her flat her phone should ring, however she chooses not to answer it, by signifying that this was a huge mistake, we will carry on playing the ringing until she realises that the driver is no longer her friend, as a result this will bring suspense. So we did not think too much about a soundtrack, because the phone ringing will take up most of it, however we have decided to include a disturbing soundtrack at the beginning of the film when the name is introduced and she passes the man on the stairs. 

The opening of Witness

Witness (1985)

Directed by: Peter Weir

Plot

A young Amish boy is sole witness to a murder; policeman John Book goes into hiding in Amish country to protect him until the trial. (IMDB)

7.5

Ratings: 7.5/10 from 43,146 users   Metascore: 76/100 

Reviews: 141 user | 66 critic | 14 from Metacritic.com

Straight away the audience sense that Samuel represents his calm and peaceful community he is leaving behind, and, like his community, he is hidden from the development of the world, resulting in him being unaware of simple things such as water fountains, to scary, deadly objects, such as guns and knives.

Location

Throughout the opening the audience can notice that each space Samuel and his mother enter are claustrophobic spaces, for example, the train has no escape, and the toilet block the child is in has only one escape, which will expose him to the murders leaving them to know he had witnessed the attack. Also the use of a toilet block establishes the fact that this city is dirty, un-glamorous, smelly and corrupt and it emphasis's how out of place Samuel and his mother are.

Camera Angles 

At the beginning of the film when Samuel and his mother board the train, there is a low angle shot of the train leaving the station, this suggests to the audience that the train is; big, powerful, threatening and it is leading them to a deadly place, it could be seen as a "ghost train". 

Inter textual link: Although Anna Karenina is not a thriller film, I noticed that there was an inter textual link between the train in Witness to the train in Anna Karenina; Like the train in Witness, the train in Anna Karenina is shot in a low angle and is presented as menacing and deadly. This makes quite a big link with Witness, because at the end of Anna Karenina, Anna in fact kills herself by the train. This suggests that trains could be transporting someone to danger or even their death. This is shown well through Anna Karenina and Witness. 

Once entering the train station, Samuel goes for a walk by himself, (a normal child who has been around the danger of city life, would probably not choose to do this). However he comes across a statue that he is mesmerized by; the low angle shot of the statue, emphasis's' how large and overpowering it is for Samuel, Amish people are not used to such amazing works of art, as they live in a basic environment, which means when entering an unknown place Samuel is fascinated and overwhelmed.

The next shot is an over the shoulder/high angle shot; this explores the idea that Samuel is an insignificant child in a big city. The fact that there is shot from the statues point of view suggests that the statue is seen as a guardian angel towards Samuel. Also there could be a small religious aspect to it, which could be linked with the way Samuel stands during the murder scene. 

When Samuel leaves his mother to go to the toilet, he slowly disappears showing a vanishing point in the shot.  This is effective because it represents Samuel entering another world, a world that he has never witnessed before, a place of danger and trauma, once entering this place, he may never see the world the same again. You also notice that there are not many people in the shot, which suggests to the audience that it is a perfect chance to commit a crime, as there is much more chance of getting away with it. 

There is an inter textual link with this shot, as it is also seen in Essex Boys but in a different way. A gain once entering the tunnel there is only one way out, which is the same with Samuel in the toilet. Also it suggests that the car is entering danger and fear of what is to come. Samuel and the car in Essex boys are both entering a different dimension. 

Murder scene

Sound 

Diagetic raw sound: Foot steps and running water, for the audience it brings a suspense effect but through a natural way, which can make it seem more frightening, as the sound is real. For example when one of the murderers is kicking open the doors, the sound of the doors banging open ads much more suspense for the audience. Will he find Samuel? What will he do to Samuel when he finds him? Will he shoot him?

Camera Shots

The use of quick close ups adds to the suspense of the film, and makes the audience feel as if they are there, and it also adds to the action, through the fact that it is intense. As the close ups only reveal part of the action each time, it encourages the suspense, because the audience do not know what is going to happen next. A thriller usually always consists of a murder weapon, this weapon is normally a gun, and however Weir has challenged generic conventions and has used a flick knife. This is a small weapon, which could seem powerless and less threatening, however, the way Weir has shot the 'flick' as the knife goes up, and cutting of the mans throat, draws the audience in and makes the knife more menacing, and lets the audience know that these two men have the power to do anything.

The extreme close up of Samuels' eye establishes to the audience that he is witnessing this murder, hence the naming of the film = Witness. He is completely hooked in by what is going on, being an Amish child, he has never witnessed such brutality before. He does not know what to do other then watch and keep quiet. This is building a relationship through the audience and Samuel, they begin to feel sorry for him and want to help, but cannot.

The next shot puts the audience completely in Samuels shoes; they are shown exactly what Samuel is witnessing, Weir has gone into so much detail, by including the unfocused door Samuel is looking through. This shot completely engages the audience; they are part of the film. The fact that the door is between Samuel and the men, could symbolise the difference of worlds, Samuel safe in his Amish community and the two men deadly in this new world. The fact that Samuel is looking through a hole in the door, symbolises that he is getting a glimpse of the world; him and his mother have now entered.

Planning Thriller [Lesson 1]

The group began by listening to each individuals ideas;

* Elle thought that we could shoot some of the footage at an abandoned prison near her house. 

Our group thought this was a really good idea, as the prison is the perfect isolated, grotty location for a thriller. 

However the group decided this could not happen because it would be hard for the whole group to get there, as it is quite far away. 

* After watching Hunted I suggested that we could have a shot with pictures of a specific girl going about her daily life, all over the mans walls. 

* After that we had the idea of filming it like it looked like home footage, we got this idea from the film Blair Witch. We thought this could be effective because it can bring suspense, and make the audience feel part of the film, from their point of view.
However this became a difficulty as the audience may mistake the idea of home footage as just bad camera skills, so we have chosen not to use it. 

*Robbie had the idea of calling our thriller 'Simple Pleasures' because it would not be an artificial film, we wanted our opening not to be complicated, but for it to be pleasurable and intense for the audience.

Notes on Opening of Essex Boys

Essex Boys (2000)

Director - Terry Winsor

British thriller

5.9

Your rating:

  -/10 

Ratings: 5.9/10 from 2,134 users 
Reviews: 37 user | 11 critic    

Plot

The film is based loosely around events in December 1995 that culminated in the murders of three drug dealers in Rettendon, Essex, UK. On 6th December Patrick Tate, Craig Rolfe and Tony Tucker, three drug dealers well known to the police, were lured to Workhouse Lane, Rettendon. There they were blasted to death with a shot gun while sitting in their Range Rover. They had been lured to their deaths on the pretext of a lucrative drugs deal. The three bodies were found the following morning, 7 December 1995. (IMDB)

Characters 

Criminals, Prison inmates, Characters with a dark past

Locations

Claustrophobic Garage

This is the opening of the film, it is a perfect way to start a thriller, because the lighting is dark and mystical, and you cannot see everything inside the garage, only the outline of a car and the person about to enter the garage. Also the fact that it is in a claustraphobic space, suggests that for the man who has just entered, there is no escape, once he has entered he cannot turn back.

 Fish Market

The fish market is another good location, because it is a very public place, this shows that Jason does not care whether he is in public or not, he will hurt someone, nothing can stop him.

Essex Marshes 

The Essex Marshes are another good place, because although they are in a massive space, it is also quite claustraphobic purely because once Jason leaves the man, he will have no where to go, he will be stuck at the marshes. Also the marshes represent Jason himself ; he is a man that has no moral boundaries, just like the sea, his life is bleak, isolated and dreary.

 Props

"The White van"

- What/ who is in the white van?

Gun

Costumes 

Jason likes to strand out, you can tell my his outfit that he is a loud, confident man and likes to draw attention to himself.

Lighting

Noir lighting, it is set in a classic 1960's thriller

Opening

 The opening credits set the scene as a thriller, firstly because they are in black and white (noir), the black shows the darkness that is about to come. Also the white scratches on the screen, could represent the cutting of a knife, which again gives the impression that this movie is a thriller. It also makes the white stand out to the audience; if there was more color there would be less focus on the title, the title and the scratches are piercing and drawing the audience in. 

Also the fact that Billy does the voice over, connects him with the audience and builds a relationship, before the film has started its first scene, it has already created a relationship with the audience, this is very effective, because they will want to see what happens to Billy. His voice over is not a proper introduction to the film, but more of his own thoughts, this is again much more effective, because the audience will sense that they will see a lot to Billy in this film, and none of his emotions can hide.

Camera Shots

This vanishing shot is very effective, because it represents him driving into a barrell of a gun; he is about to take a journey into darkness, once he has entered there is no way out. He is entering moral darkness.

This shot is very effective because, this is the first time you see Jason, through the dirt on the window screen, suggests that he is a shady bad guy. The glass is between Jason and the audience which suggests that he is secretive, closed off and detatched from other peoples emotions.

The bars of light on the window represent where Jason has been (prison), and where Billy could be heading if he sticks with Jason. This is shot very well because they must have tried lots of times to get the car in the right place for the lights to hit the window, representing prison bars.

Opening of Once Upon a Time In America

Once Upon A Time In America (1984)

                                                                Rating on IMDB: 8.4

Storyline summary

'Epic tale of a group of Jewish gangsters in New York, from childhood, through their glory years during prohibition, and their meeting again 35 years later.' IMDB

Set during the Prohibition in the United States

Prohibition was a period of nearly fourteen years of U.S. history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor was made illegal. It led to the first and only time an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was repealed.

In the trailer you notice the fact that Prohibition is advertised, as the film was released at the end of Prohibition, this part of the trailer could suggest them celebrating the end.     

Directed by Sergio Leone

who is well known for his western films, especially The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Characters:

Innocent victims, criminals, people involved in twisted relationships, gangsters,femme fatale (she may be deviant)

Locations:

Dimly lit, noir lighting  - suggests the dark nature of film

chiaroscuro lighting

isolated/abandoned boxing club

The death of Eve, all took part in her, and her gangster lovers apartment, it is a place that she considers being safe and home.

The change of location from a stuffy apartment to a boxing club is big, because the apartment is a claustrophobic place, whereas the boxing club is a big echoing hall. However the way Leone has shot the scene in the boxing club, changes this stereotype  because, he has used extreme close ups and made sure that all the characters are surrounding Big Moe, which results in the scene looking claustrophobic with no escape. 

Props:

Guns, sterotypically used in thrillers.

Questions:

who are these three men?

Who are they looking for?

Is she the gangsters mole?

General Comments:

uncertainty

set in the 30s - paying tribute to classic 1940s noir thrillers like 'Gilda'

Darkness of color - reflects the dark nature of the film

Aural (sound) 

The first thing the audience will notice is that, whilst the opening credits are still running, 'God Bless America' starts to play as Eve enters her apartment. It is quite ironic that this music is used, not only because Eve gets shot in this scene but because Sergio Leone is an Italian director, so he is in fact making a 'dig' at the American lifestyle; to him it is not great and it should not be 'blessed'.

The music could be Digetic because the music could have been playing outside, but in my opinion it is most likely that the music is non-digetic, to purposefully set the scene.

'God Bless America' is also used in the film 'The Deer Hunter (1978)', which is also directed by an Italian director. So it is thought that Once upon a time in America, is a tribute to the end of the Deer Hunter. Which means that they are intextually linked.

How does Sergio Leone establish the thriller genre? 

The use of noir lighting lets the audience know that this is a dark film. Also the death of Eve straightaway at the beginning of the film, strongly establishes the thriller. The use of Eves red nail varnish and pearls (tears) symbolizes her femme fatale character.

The lamp symbolises Eves life, when she turns it on, it represents her life as full and bright, but just before she is shot, the lamp is turned to black through being shot. This shows that soon her life will wiver away just like the life of the lamp. Also with the name Eve, the audience can see the biblical reference; in the well known story of Adam and Eve, Eve is the temptress, breaking the rules and landing herself and others into trouble, which is exactly what happens with Eve in this film.

As soon as Eve enters the room, the audience can tell she is femme fatale character, because of her pearls and red lipstick; the red indicates, lust, danger and death.

Action Adventure and Thriller

The difference between Action Adventure and Thriller genres

Action Adventure films are a lot more unrealistic than Thrillers, for example, if a character fell down a cliff,  they would defiantly get up and walk away, with nothing but a little bit of dust on their shoulder. The character can basically defy gravity, and example of a 'defying gravity' character is James Bond, if it was real life, Bond would have died many films back.

The main target audiences for Action Adventure are 12-18 year old boys, this is because most Action Adventure films are based on video games, or comics (spider man, batman)

Action Adventures are clearly action lead, through the hard core chase scenes and pretty pointless plots.

There is not much of story line between each different action adventure, the plots are simple; there is a bady, a hero and in the end the hero defeats the bady. It is a linear plot, it is simple, goes from point A to B in the 1 hour and 15 minutes.

However Thrillers are much more realistic, there is much more thought and implied suspense put into a thriller then there is in an action adventure film.

The main target audiences for Thrillers are, 18-30 year old males. Because they are a lot more in depth so an older age will find them much more interesting and intriguing.

Usually in thrillers, the men live and the women die (for example, in Once Upon a Time In America and Inglorious Basterds) , however some directors are now putting females in their thrillers as leading roles (for example, in Jackie Brown).

Unlike action adventure films, thrillers are character lead, you learn a lot about your character  and you watch them grow through the film. Thrillers have a much more complex plot, you see flashbacks, the character going back in time, and sometimes they start the film at the beginning. Also when watching the thriller over and over, each time you can notice aspects that you could not see before.

Preliminary task evaluation

1) What planning did you do? How was this useful and how did you change from your plans? 

After our groups were chosen and the task was set, we began thinking about what our film would consist of. Due to me being sick I could not be there when my group were planning the story boards, but when I returned they filled me in on what they had come up with. Each of us created our own individual storyboard to help with the initial planning, and when finally evaluating, to refer back to. Also when making the film, we were able to look back on the storyboard if we had forgotten what shot or location we wanted to use. 

One of the problems with our storyboards were that we made no note of how long each shot would be; the aim for the film was to be two minutes long, but unfortunately due to us not making not of the time, once making our storyboard we had no idea if we had gone well over the two minutes or well under. So to make sure that we had enough footage we filmed far more than we needed, For example, when filming Robbie was walking through the corridor we made sure that we filmed him for about a minute, that way if we were under two minutes we had something relevant to add in. 

After that, our group then went onto delegating roles to each member; 

Acting: Robbie and Jackson 

Filming: Elle and Me 

I think that the storyboard did help me with filming, because without it I think that I would have forgotten what each shot had been planned and this would have left the group confused. However I do believe that it is quite time consuming as it took a whole lesson for our group to think of the plan and then draw it up in a storyboard, this could have been time we could have spent filming. 

Before starting the filming we also took some practice shots of the 180 degree rule and match on action shot, this was to build our confidence in filming when making the actual film. It helped us because we were able to decide which shot suited each scene best, for example, we felt that the match on action shot suited Robbie storming out of the door best, because it had more of an impact. The 180 degree rule would not have worked with this shot, but we would not have known that without planning. 

When planning we did not take into account what Robbie and Jackson should be wearing; as our filming took up two lessons, we forgot the fact that they were wearing different clothes the next day, which was a big continuity error. This took up a lot of time as rather than filming in just two days, whilst the other groups had started their editing, we had to film the conversation again, making sure that Robbie was wearing the same clothes he was wearing in the walking shots. 

All of the errors that occurred whilst planning we have taken into consideration when planning our next project. 

2) What camera skills have you developed? How confident are you with using the camera and has this confidence changed during the project? 

At the start of the course, aside from making fun videos with friends and family, I had never really used a camera to shoot videos. Since the beginning of the project I think my camera skills have improved tremendously, I now know the different ways you can use a camera, for example; the use of the 180 degree rule, match on match action and shot reverse shot.When watching films or television programs now I can point out and make note of the shots used and how effective they are, before learning about media I would just watch the film or program and not think that the shots made any relevance. At first when filming my camera shots, they were very shaky, but now I have built the confidence to hold the camera in a way that the film will come out well. I think that my groups film contained a lot of confident camera shots and angles, for example; when Robbie placed his bike into the bike rack we used a low angle shot which was very effective  because they gave Robbie, as a character, a high superior status. Also when Robbie was cycling into the school, we used a low angle tracking shot, which again showed his status, and let the viewer feel that their eyes were moving with Robbie as he went into the school. I have had some idea of what lighting can do to film, because of my knowledge of photography, but even more confident on how lighting and space can effect the mood and emotions of the situation. I think all of these new progressed skills will really help with my groups thriller. 

4) What editing skills have you developed? How confident are you with using the editing program? 

Before the project I had used windows movie maker to edit movies that I had made with my friends. But they were never taken seriously, and the editing software used for our films was much more high-tech. At first me and Elle did get a little bit confused about how we were able to edit our footage, but once we got the hang of it, we worked well together and managed to produce a well edited film. When coming across some continuity errors, we managed to fix them, for example, when Robbie was walking into the room, he closed the door, but with the shot from inside the room, it was not shut. We overcame this by editing out certain points which made this continuity error noticeable. We also added some transitions, when necessary, for example, when Robbie is walking through the corridor we filmed him form birds eye view aswell as an over the should shot, so we added a transition from the over the shoulder to the birds eye, to make the film smooth without any glitches. I think when editing our thriller, my knowledge will expand even further due to the fact that may add a soundtrack and some more effects, which will make my confidence grow even more. Overall I am very happy about the end result of our film, and I think my group worked really well together, so well that it has resulted in us working together for our thriller too. 

5) Other comments 

The 180 degree rule was used effectively when shooting the conversation, we did not break the rule, and when shooting we constantly kept it into account. I think our team worked tremendously well together and we made a successful film. 

List of Thrillers I have seen and my rating for them

- Inglourious Basterds

***

Spiral

**

Hunted

****

The Girl who played with fire

****

Quantum of Solace

**

The Lovely Bones

*****

The Matrix

*

Shutter Island

****

Fish Tank

***

Blair Witch Project

*

Skyfall
*****

Kill Bill
***

The Shining
****

Pulp Fiction
*****

***** = Very Good

*= Not good