Monday 31 January 2011

Images of Thriller Influences


















We went around the college sight taking photos of things that were relevant to a thriller genre. These images inspired some of our ideas, for example, we came across a picture of a ghost, this inspired us to base our thriller around the idea of an unseen ghost being present in a pub. We found all photos useful when brainstorming other potential ideas.

Wednesday 26 January 2011

Final Triller ideas

The Visitor
- Set in a haunted pub
- Shot of busy pub, then cut to empty, dark pub.
- Use a blackout with either screaming or heavy breathing played over the top.
- Objects moving without people touching them (using thin wire).

We decided to change our storyline for our thriller as our original idea was too common and had been done already. We wanted to make something original which kept the viewer interested and guessing what will happen next.

Company Name

The idea of our company being named after the effect of illusions. Illusions are : An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. While illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may occur with more of the human senses than vision, but visual illusions, optical illusions, are the most well known and understood. The emphasis on visual illusions occurs because vision often dominates the other senses.
This description of an illusion could relate to the description of a typical thriller as its based around mystery and the distortion of senses.

Initial Thriller ideas

- Our initial idea for the name of our thriller is 'The Following'. This creates a lot of mystery and unanswered questions straight away as the viewer is left thinking about who is being followed and why.

Mise-en-scene
- Our ideas for mise-en-scene include a graveyard, a forest and a girl walking in heels. The forest and graveyard are dark, scary places which instantly create tension.

Sound
- The first idea we had for sound was children's music over a scary scene. This is a juxtaposition which can disturb the viewer and make them feel uneasy.
- We also thought about using noises of chains as they could be associated with crime.
- Screaming, breathing and laughing could also be used to create tension. Screaming and heavy breathing are linked to thriller films and instantly put bad imaged in the viewers head. Laughing over a scary scene is also a juxtaposition and can make the viewer feel unease.

Camera work
- Tracking shot of the girl in the forest.
- A hand held camera shot from a characters point of view engages the viewer and makes them feel involved in the film.

Editing
- Lots of quick cuts will be used to create tension.
- Cuts from the film to writing.

Illusion Studios, Idea Three

Illusion Studios, Idea Two

Illusion Studios, Idea One


We chose this image because it is an illusion in itself. When this face is flipped upside down it becomes another face. We plan to animate this image so that the face spins around, enabling you to see the illusion. We also like the simplistic black and white theme.

Monday 24 January 2011

Trademarks

Disney
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. The Walt Disney logo, like the company, has served as a beacon for decent family entertainment and worldwide recognition. The Walt Disney logo is a ‘stylized version of the founder’s signature’ that signifies the brand name and promises secure, cheerful and quality American mainstream entertainment. The Walt Disney Logo clearly shows us who their aimed target audience is with the logo containing a picture of a fantasy castle. This gives us the impression they are aimed at entertaining children.

Wednesday 19 January 2011

The Interpreter



The opening sequence of The Interpreter contains crime which is one of the main thriller conventions. The shooting takes place just after we see the children playing football in a foreign country. Another convention of a thriller is the storyline where an extraordinary event takes place in an ordinary situation. For example in this film, Nicole Kidman is running from the "noise" at her everyday work situation. At this moment a tracking shot is used to create the effect that you are there running besides her in this manic situation. Throughout the opening sequence all 4 elements are used to create suspense and tension along with confusion of the plot. These for elements are Sound, camera work, editing and mise en scene. There was a variety of camera shots used throughout the clip which contributed to the thriller sequence. This included:
Establishing shot
Close up shot
Match on action shot
Reaction shot
Long shot

Analyse of group Q3-73



This opening sequence of Anonymous shows the audience straight away its genre of a thriller. The film clip does this through the Micro elements. The soundtrack used instantly creates tension through the use of violins and drums combined. The sequence also includes lots of fast cuts and fades which creates mystery and suspense. The high angle shots used create a plea of intimidation along with the tracking shots of the characters legs which creates the anonymous. The clip is based in a hospital environment which represents pain and stress and can lead to death.

Monday 17 January 2011

Momento: Christopher Nolan began making films at the age of 7. he has written big films such as "the dark night" and "inception". Nolan directed his first feature film, Following, in 1998. The film depicts a writer who is obsessed with following random people. Scenes are shown out of chronological order. Nolan made the film for just $6,000.

Summary of events:
The film "Momento" is based on a guy called Lenny who has a short term memory condition where by his memory wipes clean back to his incident every 10 minutes. The film starts in the present of Lenny writing notes everywhere in order to remember what he is doing, for example he has a picture of his car to remember thats his car. throughout the film Lenny is looking for the man who killed his wife and caused his memory loss.

Opening sequence:
The thriller starts off with, the main charcter, Leneord, in a dark room, sleeping. There is a voice over which represents thoughts in his head, of which contains confusion of where he is and what is going on. This is very representative of a typical thriller as it creates questions for the veiwer immediateley, such as "why doesnt he know where he is?". The cinematography in this opening sequence has quick cut, this makes you feel as though you are there and experiencing his confusion with him. The opening sequence of any thriller is important and i think this sequence is a perfect opening to this powerful film.

Key sequence: Another key scene in this film is the repetative sequence showing Sammy Jenkis giving his wife an overdose of insulin. Throughout the film the scene is repeated and the tatoo on Leanord's hand, reading, "remeber sammy jenkis" is also shown throughout the film, This creates mystery. At the end of the film the mystery is revealed that Lenny had infact subconsciously changed the memory in his head; it is in fact Leonard and not Sammy who gives his own wife an overdose of insulin. This scene is important as it helps to show the main plat of the thriller. It also emphasises the mystery of what is real and what is not.

Opinion: Christopher Nolan has been creating films for 21 years. I would deffinately recommend this powerful, intense thriller. The strange order in which this film is presented draws you into working out the mystery along with the characters. I would easerly watch it again.

By Hayley Takacs.

Memento

Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan was born on 30 July 1970 in London. Christopher is most famously known for his great skills for directing thriller films. His Style focusses heavily on the protagonist trying to understand the plot which is comforting because the audience regularly doesn't know either. He is most famous for directing Memento (2000), remaking of insomnia (2002), the prestige (2006), Inception (2010) and the batman film franchise. He has won many awards such as golden globes etc.
Memento
Leonard Shelby is the main character in the film. His main aim is to find his wifes killer who he thinks is a man called John G, leonard is a man suffering from a rare, untreatable form of memory loss which prevents him remembering what happened 15 minutes ago. His short term memory is due to an injury he got during his wifes murder. The film follows two story lines, one going forward in time and one going back over events. Leonard has learned to cope with his memory loss by writing himself notes, taking pictures and tatooing really important things on his body.
Opening Sequence
The opening sequence builds on the Thriller genre by its use of music and images. The non-diagetic sound in the opening sequence is a main factor which introduces the thriller genre because of its slow and low pitched sounding; the sound gives a sense of misery while the images of murder add to the idea of danger. The images also show how the story will develop. the main character can not make memories, and those he has fade unless he re-inforces them. The title sequence shows this as the polaroid picture fades and then starts to take us back in time as the picture re-enters the camera. The sequence also plays backwards the murder of a man, which makes the viewer intrigued, but also slightly wary and shows them clearly the genre of the film. After the opening sequence we see a rewound sequence of Lenard killing Teddy.
By Saffron Osborn

Conventions of a thriller

- The main convention of a thriller is crime. thriller films are always based around a crime such as a murder or a theft.
- The protagonist usually has a physical or psychological weakness which makes it hard for them to achieve their goal. This weakness is usually exploited by the antagonist.
- The name of the film is usually influenced by the main characters weakness, for example 'Vertigo'.
- The narrative contains extraordinary events in ordinary situations.
- All 4 micro elements are used to create tension and suspense.
- A common theme in thriller films is identity: mistaken identity, doubling/dopplegangers, amnesia.
- An important enigma is created in the opening scene, which is resolved at the end of the film.
- A thriller film provides thrills and keeps the audience cliff-hanging at the "edge of their seats" as the plot builds towards a climax.

By Jake

Sunday 16 January 2011

Memento

Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan is an English film maker who was born in London in 1970. He began making films at the age of 7 years old using his dads camera and a range of different action figures.
His films often contain British or non-American actors playing American roles. They also usually start with a flashback or a scene from the end of the movie. The main character in his films often has a physical or psychological handicap. For example in Memento Leonard has memory loss, in ‘The Prestige’ the main character hurts their leg and in ‘Insomnia’ Dormer has insomnia. The main characters are usually men who have a goal which they achieve by the end of the film. His films often have non-linear timelines for example in ‘Following’, ‘Memento’ and ‘The prestige’.
His other work also includes the huge hit ‘Inception’, which has many similarities to ‘Memento’.

Summary of events
In ‘Memento’ the main character, Leonard, has a condition where he can’t make new memories. This condition was triggered by the death of his wife as that is the last thing that he can remember. During the film his goal is to find his wife’s killer and get revenge on them. Due to his condition he has to write down every piece of important information that could lead to him finding the killer. He does this by taking photographs of things and getting information tattooed on his body. Due to his condition a lot of people take advantage of Leonard during the film. For example his friend Natalie made him angry so he would hit her. She then hid all of the pens in her house so that Leonard couldn’t write it down and he would forget he had done it. She then pretended that a thug that her boyfriend owed money to was the one who hit her. Leonard then beat up and kidnapped him in protection of his friend Natalie. Leonard eventually finds John G, who he believes to be his wife’s killer, and kills him.

How does the opening sequence introduce the thriller genre?
The opening sequence contains a murder which fits the thriller genre perfectly as the whole film is centred around this crime. Later on in the film we discover that the man who is murdered in the opening sequence turns out to be John G, Leonard’s wife’s killer. The opening sequence also creates mystery and unanswered questions as the viewer is unsure why the scene is playing backwards and why he takes a picture of the man he kills.

Key scene 1
This scene is contains thriller conventions as again a crime is being committed. We also hear a car alarm which we automatically attach to crime. It also highlights how Leonard’s condition puts him in dangerous situations and increases the risk of him getting injured or killed.



Key scene 2
This scene contains thriller conventions as something as normal as talking on the phone is tuned in to something that creates suspense and unanswered questions. This also reiterates the mistakes that Leonard makes due to his condition.



Opinions and recommendations
In my opinion this film is a great watch as it contains lots of good thriller conventions and gets the viewer involved in the film, which keeps you interested throughout. This is mainly due to the non-linear timescale, which can be confusing at times but usually makes sense again later on in the film as you discover new pieces of information. I would recommend this film to anyone over the age of 15 as the storyline is very interesting and keeps you on the edge of your seat as you can never guess what will happen next.

By Jake Page.

Monday 10 January 2011

Taken Conventions

The micro elements which make this film a thriller are:
- The storyline is based around a crime. The daughter gets abducted while on holiday with her friends, which is an extraordinary event in an ordinary situation.
- In the opening sequence it quickly establishes the relationship between father and daughter to make the loss of the daughter seem more tragic.
- We see the daughter in a number of dangerous situations
- Camera shots are fast moving to create tension.
- close up shots are used to show the characters reactions and emotions. This increases the sense of fear when the daughter is taken.
- quick cuts are used to create tension.
By Jake, Saffron and Hayley

Taken

Thursday 6 January 2011

Preliminary Task

For our Preliminary Task we had to show we could use a variety of different camera shots. This included :
Establishing shot
Close up shot
Match on action shot
Reaction shot
Long shot
and finally filming a conversation.
Once we had filmed our piece we then edited the footage so it fitted together smoothly.

Preliminary Task