Focus Group

The Questions we asked our 4 panelists:

1. Which of the following ideas do you prefer? (we then told them the 3 ideas)
2. Which one do you think will create the most tension?
3. Would you prefer it to be in Black and White or in colour?
4. Do you think it will be more effective if the scene had a powerful soundtrack or silence?
5. Do you think it will be more effective using Diegetic or Non-diegetic sounds?

The answers that were given to these questions are in the following clip.

Zodiac

• Conventions

enigmas, tension and shock

• Camera

tracking shot, slow motion

• Editing

slow cuts, low-key lighting, can't see the man

• Sound

non-diegetic music, car turned around

• Mise-en-scene

mysterious man, car, lights, body language is scared

Brick

• Conventions

enigmas and flashbacks

• Camera

close ups

• Editing

slow cuts, no dialogue, dissolve, flashbacks

• Sound

mysterious, non-diegetic

• Mise-en-scene

dead body, depressed body language

Memento

• Conventions

enigmas, cliffhangers 

• Camera 

close ups 

• Editing 

going backwards, black and white effect 

• Sound

diegetic and non-digetic, with dialogue 

• Mise-en-scene

blood, death and guns

Thriller Questionnaire

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's

Preliminary Task

Filmed By Jade Guest & Grace Nwobi

Starring Andrew Maloney & Leon Lindsay-Ayres 

Our Preliminary Task was to film a short clip showing all the different camera angles we learnt in class, and also to get used to editing videos to gain a better understanding. Therefore, we made up a storyline to help the clip flow. Enjoy. 

A Thriller of My Choice

A Thriller that I have decided to analyse in my own time is Inside Man. This is a film starring Clive Owen, Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster and many others. The story line is that Clive Owen and his team have come up with the perfect way to carry out a bank robbery. Denzel Washington acts as a police officer and has been assigned to the case. The way the film operates is very good, as the opening scene is showing the end, and throughout the film it is showing how they got to that stage, so it is playing it back to the audience. Throughout the film, it keeps skipping from present tense to past tense, which is very effective in this case. The suspense and shock is built up throughout the film which keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. On top of this, there are a few action/fighting scenes which also work well on keeping the audience focused. As well as excellent action and thrilling scenes, the actual story line is very good. Clive Owen claims he is going to walk out the front door of the bank with the money right at the start of the film, which creates suspense throughout the whole film. This is because the audience want to know if he is actually going to do what he says. This movie has every conversion of a Thriller, involving everything from Red Herrings and Cliff hangers, to Sub-genres and Complex characters. There is also a major plot twist towards the end of the film which also helps to create that edge-of-seat feeling.

   

Suspense and Shock

Alfred Hitchock was known as the master of suspense, as he became so used to creating Thrillers. A few quotes of Alfred Hitchcock are:

• "If it's a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience will still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on"
• "Always make the audience suffer as much as possible"
• "I am a typed director. If i made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach"

Most of Hitchcock's filmed started off with an opening scene of someone getting murdered, and the film will just escalate from there. He will use a lot of the Thriller conventions as i mentioned before. Things like:

• Red Herrings
• Cliff Hangers
• Suspense 
• Protagonist and Antagonist 
• Cat-and-mouse affect (Pursuit/Chase)
• Complex Characters 
• Maguffin 
• Sub-genres 
• Enigmas 
• Shock
• Paranoia 
• Plot twist 
• Deadlines 

If a Thriller have all of the above, it is definitely increasing its chances of being a success.

The main difference between Suspense and Shock is that with Suspense the audience are aware of something that the characters are not. Shock is quite self-explanatory, its when both the audience and the characters are shocked and caught off-guard.

Main examples of Shock and Tension that spring to mind are films such as Children of Men, Sabotage and Rope. These are all trailers of the films we have been studying in class. All of these films contain shock and suspense.


Children of Men  

That was the Children of Men trailer, showing shock and suspense. They are used very effectively in this film, as it keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. The main example of Shock in this film are all the explosions going off, gun shots firing etc.

Sabotage

In Sabotage, the bus scene is an excellent example of Suspense. This is because he is carrying a bomb on the bus, but is unaware it is a bomb. However, he audience DO know. It is set to go off at 1:45, and every now and then the camera will focus on the clock to remind the audience of the time and to keep the tension and suspense built, along with the non-diegetic music playing. 

Rope

Rope is a very good example of what Alfred Hitchcock was like as a Director. He created a typical "Hitchcock" Thriller in this case. It starts off with a murder, which sets up the rest of the film and gives the audience an automatic idea of what the film is going to be about and what the plot is. 

Road Runner

Chuck Jones was an animation director, and worked at Warner Brothers for decades making short movies starring popular animated characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck etc.

The roadrunner is another character who is a success in the Warner Brothers industry. It is famous for not using dialogue in its short, humorous clips. It basically includes Wile E.Coyote chasing a road runner purely because it annoys it. When they are both running it does build tension, as the audience are wondering if the Road Runner is going to be caught or not. The only famous words said on that program are "MEEP MEEP!" by the Road Runner. Creating a film with hardly any dialogue is something very hard to do, although it is a bit easier in animated programs/films, simply because anything that happens doesn't have to make perfect sense, and doesn't have to be actually possible. For example when the Coyote falls off the edge of the cliff, he always survives and returns to carry on pestering the Road Runner.

However, nevertheless Road Runner is still a good example of a Thriller, because it follows the rules of a basic thriller. The rules of The Road Runner are:

• The Road Runner cannot harm or upset the Coyote except by saying "MEEP MEEP!"
• The Coyote can stop at any time, if he wasn't a fanatic
• As i already mentioned, there is no dialogue except from "MEEP MEEP!"
• The obvious rule is that the Road Runner must stay on the road, otherwise it would confuse the audience as he wouldn't be a road runner if he doesn't run on the roads. 
• All materials must be obtained by Acme Corporation. So for example the tools, materials, weapons or even mechanical conveniences. 
• Whenever possible, gravity seems to be the Coyote's biggest enemy, for example there are always objects falling on him and flattening him, or he falls of the edge of the cliffs.
• The Coyote never seems to capture the Road Runner, and always seems more humiliated than hurt by objects falling on him or falling off the cliff.   

Most film makers claim there is no certain way to create a good Thriller. They tend to ignore the rules and will try and say that there are no film rules. However there are Thriller conventions that need to be followed to make the Thriller as best as it can. Conventions help the film be classed as acceptable to the mass audience.   

No Country For Old Men

No Country for Old Men is very successful film released in 2007, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film is basically about a man (Josh Brolin) who has come across a small fortune which does not belong to him. It is based on the "cat and mouse" drama. Josh basically has to escape the man chasing him (Javier Bardem), as well as the local Sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones). The film is based in Texas, and quite a large section of it was filmed in a desert landscape. The film managed to rake in $1,226,333 over the opening week. which converts to £761,182.     

Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock is an English film producer and director, and a very successful one. He carried out very effective film techniques in the Thriller genre, that set an example to other film directors. His techniques did influence and inspire many other film directors, as they were so successful.

Alfred Hitchcock also done his fair share of silent films, and even earlier than this; talkies. Hitchcock then realised his potential, and moved to Hollywood to join the most successful film directors in the world. He pioneered the use of a camera made to move in a way that mimics a person's gaze, forcing viewers to engage in a form of "voyeurism". He framed shots to highlight anxiety and fear, and used innovative film editing. He filmed over 50 featured films in a career lasting 6 decades. He is known by many people as the greatest British film director, and had feedback such as "got emotion from the audience like no other director".   

Vertigo

Alfred Hitchcock's classic starring Jimmy Stewart was a major success in the film industry. It is a typical example of what a thriller should be like. He took everything into consideration when he created a mysterious, gloomy, weary atmosphere throughout most of the film. Also, things like the scenery, what the characters are wearing, the dialogue, body language, lighting, camera angles etc. all sync together to create exactly what the director wants to create. Alfred Hitchcock tended to use graphic matches a lot to create that kind of James Bond impression. He has done this purposely, as he knows people are very familiar with the James Bond feeling of a Thriller, so he has done this so people get the impression of a Thriller with his film too, which was done successfully.  

Thriller Conventions

The basic plot of every Thriller is basically Justice vs Injustice, with a slightly blurred line of good and bad, enigmas, red-herrings, plot twists, cliff hangers, shock, Maguffin, . It also contains sub-genres, which is mystery, crime, psychological and political. Certain moods that are mostly created in Thrillers are the sense of murder, menaces, mystery and mostly frequently used; paranoia.

If there was a sum up of a standard Thriller then it would that there are characters taking part in a dangerous mission, risking their life. Escape seems impossible. It creates an Edge-of-your-seat feeling, as you are always anxious on what is going to happen next. Tension really helps to build this kind of feeling, as well as climax, suspense, chases, pursuits and deadlines. Also, there are complex characters, some are troubled, multi-faceted, and morally complex. And you may have also noticed that the Society is always dark and corrupt. This is done on purpose to create that Low-key lighting to create a mysterious, unclear feeling. The fact that you can't actually see some of the characters faces fully, really makes the audience weary and uncomfortable when the character is on screen.