We were asked to come up with an opening idea in the lesson to see if we could. We each had to come up with an idea and then in our groups we talked about it and refined our idea. This is the idea that i came up with and some aspects of it have been used in our final idea.
Intro
In the park a man is out playing with his son. He throws a ball to his son but it goes into the bushes. His son then goes to try and find it. Meanwhile in the bushes a man is peeking on the dad. POV shots of the dad. Suddenly the boy comes back and discovers his dad lying dead on the ground. The film would then go on to show the son much older as a cop trying to solve a similar case which turns out is done by the same man that killed his dad all those years ago.
Contingiency
Rain- film on another day or possibly move it into an indoor playground
spare balls in case we lose some in the bushes
Spare batteries
kid gets scared- make sure parents are there on filming
Talent
2 Person- 1 40 years old, 1 10 years old
Production staff
3 camera operators, Storyboard manager
Outline schedule
5 hours with talent
2 week edit
Equipment
1 camera, 1 tripod, 1 ball to throw, 1 microphone for sound.
Music
Diegetic sound of them playing. On POV shots have sinister slow deep strings from a violin.
Costume
Dad- Jeans, t-shirt and long over coat
Son- Jogging bottoms and football shirt with dads name on the back.
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Monday, 10 November 2008
Responce to "Chainmail"
As a piece, this was oe of the most sophisticated. From the titles you could tell this. instead of trying to be over complicated with ideas, they used a simple text shown over the action on film. Although others may have showns a scense of imagination they failed to seem real. If anything they seemed over hatched. This title sequence was simple, and more effective for it. They id however enhance the imagery of them by making them slightly contorted and abstract, but not over done. In some way this could go towards aiding the audience build an idea of what kind of a thriller it could turn out to be. One that is subtle but still sinister.
The camera work was interesting. It used a range of close ups and medium high angled shots for effect. The close ups of the moving chains and the quick cuts and changes helped add to the tension of the piece. Building up to something that the audience are expecting but never comes. Although this was one of the things that people seemed to hate about the piece i felt the opposite. I felt that it showed that the ilm makers had a controle of the audience; something that is needed from a thriller maker.
There was also a few uses of a high angle long range shot. On a few occasions the shot was used in the office room with the feme fatale in her work office. The camera was used used at a high angle and made her seem as though th killer was a fly on the wall or a preditor looking at her. This was also seen in the one of the beggining shots and the ending shot of a train going in and going out. It made it seem as though the stalker is always there, everyday, everywhere. In someway, using these shots in the way they have has created a scense of continuety. I don't know whether this was done on purpose but if it was or not, its there, and it looks good.
In the same office shot, there understadning of lighting came through, providing use with a shot that used noir qualities. Creating shadows and dark angles. The lighting made the audience feel as if there was something evil around, as if somehting bad as going to happen. This use of lights and an overall dirty looking set created a dark and unclean mis en scene, that made the audience feel uneasy and on edge. Like most thrillers, the mis en scene plays a big part in its aim. This was understood by the group and created the right embience for "Chainmail"
The narrative of the piece was a good chioce for a thriller, showing some classical generic themes that enhanced the piece. The idea of a chained up evil character was one that i as an audience member could easily identify, but at the same time original. It is an image that can stick with you; the moving chains and the dark areas around the building that also add the noir feel of the piece. The chains also enhanced the evil ofthe unvailed character. As if nothing could hold him down from what he does.
The image of a helpless female alone is one that is seen frequantly in thrillers. Someone that the eventual protaganist/ hero could maybe come and help or save. This is not to say that in thrillers, women are always the person in need, especially in modern day thrillers. Actors like Jodie Foster are leading the way for femal actresses to be somethin more than the person in need and in some cases the hero.
This was the first of all the pieces that didn't just resort to using a over playing track to create the tension in the piece. "Cainmail" uses the diagetic sound of the chain to build a scense of fear within us. We also heard the sounds of the computers turning as they worked in the office. All these diagetic sounds were really refreshing in some way from the others because there was something more to the sound.
Out of all the pieces this was one of few that i really enjoyed and challenged me as an audience member. I would have been interested to know what the ideas for the rest of the piece were because im sure they would have been really strong.
The camera work was interesting. It used a range of close ups and medium high angled shots for effect. The close ups of the moving chains and the quick cuts and changes helped add to the tension of the piece. Building up to something that the audience are expecting but never comes. Although this was one of the things that people seemed to hate about the piece i felt the opposite. I felt that it showed that the ilm makers had a controle of the audience; something that is needed from a thriller maker.
There was also a few uses of a high angle long range shot. On a few occasions the shot was used in the office room with the feme fatale in her work office. The camera was used used at a high angle and made her seem as though th killer was a fly on the wall or a preditor looking at her. This was also seen in the one of the beggining shots and the ending shot of a train going in and going out. It made it seem as though the stalker is always there, everyday, everywhere. In someway, using these shots in the way they have has created a scense of continuety. I don't know whether this was done on purpose but if it was or not, its there, and it looks good.
In the same office shot, there understadning of lighting came through, providing use with a shot that used noir qualities. Creating shadows and dark angles. The lighting made the audience feel as if there was something evil around, as if somehting bad as going to happen. This use of lights and an overall dirty looking set created a dark and unclean mis en scene, that made the audience feel uneasy and on edge. Like most thrillers, the mis en scene plays a big part in its aim. This was understood by the group and created the right embience for "Chainmail"
The narrative of the piece was a good chioce for a thriller, showing some classical generic themes that enhanced the piece. The idea of a chained up evil character was one that i as an audience member could easily identify, but at the same time original. It is an image that can stick with you; the moving chains and the dark areas around the building that also add the noir feel of the piece. The chains also enhanced the evil ofthe unvailed character. As if nothing could hold him down from what he does.
The image of a helpless female alone is one that is seen frequantly in thrillers. Someone that the eventual protaganist/ hero could maybe come and help or save. This is not to say that in thrillers, women are always the person in need, especially in modern day thrillers. Actors like Jodie Foster are leading the way for femal actresses to be somethin more than the person in need and in some cases the hero.
This was the first of all the pieces that didn't just resort to using a over playing track to create the tension in the piece. "Cainmail" uses the diagetic sound of the chain to build a scense of fear within us. We also heard the sounds of the computers turning as they worked in the office. All these diagetic sounds were really refreshing in some way from the others because there was something more to the sound.
Out of all the pieces this was one of few that i really enjoyed and challenged me as an audience member. I would have been interested to know what the ideas for the rest of the piece were because im sure they would have been really strong.
Thursday, 6 November 2008
Silent Whisper
We watched past examples of thriller openings from previous years to get an idea of what is required of us. One opening that i thought was particularly effective was one called silent whisper. The reason for this is the titles were in the opening. They were hidden on the walls and in the text which meant you concentrated more on what was going on. The opening was very abstract and didn't really have a storyline which i think was very clever because when you look at thriller openings not a lot happens because thrillers are all about keeping things hidden from your audience for as long as possible. They had a good variety of camera shots and i especially liked the close ups and the hand held work that they did because they didn't over use and it felt like it really brought something to the piece . however i didn't really like it when they used the zoom function as i think that it didn't really look very professional. I really liked the way that they used binary opposites with the two characters clothing to show the contrasts of good and evil. The white of the girls clothes was really effective because it shows her innocence but the fact that you never get to see her face does give her a weird feel like she may of done some bad in the past. The use of the rose petals give connotations of love and danger and betrayal which could give you ideas of what the film is about which i really liked. The soundtrack is also really effective and its composition is really well timed and fits well with the action. This group took a lot of inspiration from other thrillers particularly with the photos which are very much like Memento and all the writing on the wall that the credits were in which was like Se7en. i really liked this opening and think it thoroughly deserved the A grade that it got. i hope our groups piece is as good as this.
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
A list of Directors and actors that are involved in Thrillers
I thought it would be a good idea to write up a list of actors and directors that have been involved in thrillers thus far.
Actors:
Tommy Lee Jones ,62(Enemy of the State, Valley of Elah)
Awards: Academy Award, Golden globe, screen actors guild and Emmy
Matt Damon, 38 (Bourne Trilogy)
Awards:
Nicole Kidman, 41(The Interpreter, Dead calm, Bankok Hilton)
Awards: Golden Globe , MTV Movie, Berlin International Film Festival
Denzel Washignton, 53(De ja Vouse, Inside Man)
Awards: Golden Globe, Academy Awards
James Stewart, 89(Anatomy of a Murder)
Awards: Academy awards
Thriller Directors:
Steven Spielberg, 61(Encounters of the Third Kind, Minority report)
Awards: Academy awards for best director, Academy awards for best movie
D.J. Coruso, 43(Eagle Eye, Disturbia, Two for the Money)
Awards:
The Coen Brothers, 51 and 53 (No Country for Old Men, The Man Who wasn't There)
Awards: Academy Awards for Best Screenplay, Direcor, picture and editing.
Stanley Kubrick, died aged 70 (The Shining)
Awards: Golden Globes, Baftes, Oscars
Riddly Scott, 70( Hannible, Matchstick Men)
Awards: BAFTAs, Emmys, Golden Globes
From this information I can conclude that acting in thrillers isn't a young man's game generally because the average age of these A-list thriller actors is 50 years old. May be because thrillers usually have loads of puzzles to solve they need wize minds to solve them. The directors are of senior age but it seems that to get to the global market most of them need this experience.
Actors:
Tommy Lee Jones ,62(Enemy of the State, Valley of Elah)
Awards: Academy Award, Golden globe, screen actors guild and Emmy
Matt Damon, 38 (Bourne Trilogy)
Awards:
Nicole Kidman, 41(The Interpreter, Dead calm, Bankok Hilton)
Awards: Golden Globe , MTV Movie, Berlin International Film Festival
Denzel Washignton, 53(De ja Vouse, Inside Man)
Awards: Golden Globe, Academy Awards
James Stewart, 89(Anatomy of a Murder)
Awards: Academy awards
Thriller Directors:
Steven Spielberg, 61(Encounters of the Third Kind, Minority report)
Awards: Academy awards for best director, Academy awards for best movie
D.J. Coruso, 43(Eagle Eye, Disturbia, Two for the Money)
Awards:
The Coen Brothers, 51 and 53 (No Country for Old Men, The Man Who wasn't There)
Awards: Academy Awards for Best Screenplay, Direcor, picture and editing.
Stanley Kubrick, died aged 70 (The Shining)
Awards: Golden Globes, Baftes, Oscars
Riddly Scott, 70( Hannible, Matchstick Men)
Awards: BAFTAs, Emmys, Golden Globes
From this information I can conclude that acting in thrillers isn't a young man's game generally because the average age of these A-list thriller actors is 50 years old. May be because thrillers usually have loads of puzzles to solve they need wize minds to solve them. The directors are of senior age but it seems that to get to the global market most of them need this experience.
Preliminory exercise
What i have learnt:
Taking part in the behind camera elements meant that i have now become more confident in filming also learning new things like the importance of continuity, match on action, establishing shot and the 180 degree rule Diegetic/Non-Diegetic. Before we started filming i was not aware of how much we needed to do
What i have learnt:
Taking part in the behind camera elements meant that i have now become more confident in filming also learning new things like the importance of continuity, match on action, establishing shot and the 180 degree rule Diegetic/Non-Diegetic. Before we started filming i was not aware of how much we needed to do
My Thriller
To make my thriller of a good quality there are many aspects of the genre that i will need to take into consideration. This will be hard because the genre is really hard to pin down into what it is. You would identify that a thriller is something that has a fast paced narrative that aims to thrill the audience. however i do believe that this is the only genre that can be splti onto so many sub genres; spy thrillers, conspiricy, horror thrillers, crime thrillers and the list goes on. the key to our group making a good thriller will be trying to stick to what we deem as a good thriller but also what we can realisticaly achieve with the resources that we have.
Four key elements we need to think of when we are making our trillers are;
The theme
The narrative
Characters
A teenagers we aren't going to be able to have an actor that can play an old war s.a.s veteran or police workers like seen in most thrillers. However, youare seeing more character today that start as normal everyday people. In films like Enemy of the state with Will Smith show this brilliantly. This may be in order to make the audience have a greater connection to the characters if the can relate to the situations and the people that they are. In some ways you think of wheather it can happen to you.
The narrative is tradtionaly fast paced in thrillers, the narratives overlap with more twists and turns than the audience would have throught possoible. The protaganist would strive to stop aand opposing force from achieving their goal with a pulse raising climax. I doubt that we would be able to produce something like that. and seen as we are only doing an opening we cant unravel a full story. however thrillers fill their fist 10 minutes with intense narrative and action where the audience are never rarely board. This will be a tall order for us but i think we can do it.
The themes will have to be things that us as a group can relate to. things like crime, conspiracy suspence are constatly seen in thrillers and we will need to think of things like this to make our work creditable. They help to make thrillers what they are. This will be important in the script writing procces which might be the hardest of all the things that we will ahve to focus on.
I dont think that we can produce a piece of work that will shock the world. That would be impossible. But i do believe that if we stick to what we know and love about thrillers, we can use it to our advantage and produce something to be proud of.
Four key elements we need to think of when we are making our trillers are;
The theme
The narrative
Characters
A teenagers we aren't going to be able to have an actor that can play an old war s.a.s veteran or police workers like seen in most thrillers. However, youare seeing more character today that start as normal everyday people. In films like Enemy of the state with Will Smith show this brilliantly. This may be in order to make the audience have a greater connection to the characters if the can relate to the situations and the people that they are. In some ways you think of wheather it can happen to you.
The narrative is tradtionaly fast paced in thrillers, the narratives overlap with more twists and turns than the audience would have throught possoible. The protaganist would strive to stop aand opposing force from achieving their goal with a pulse raising climax. I doubt that we would be able to produce something like that. and seen as we are only doing an opening we cant unravel a full story. however thrillers fill their fist 10 minutes with intense narrative and action where the audience are never rarely board. This will be a tall order for us but i think we can do it.
The themes will have to be things that us as a group can relate to. things like crime, conspiracy suspence are constatly seen in thrillers and we will need to think of things like this to make our work creditable. They help to make thrillers what they are. This will be important in the script writing procces which might be the hardest of all the things that we will ahve to focus on.
I dont think that we can produce a piece of work that will shock the world. That would be impossible. But i do believe that if we stick to what we know and love about thrillers, we can use it to our advantage and produce something to be proud of.
Early Thrillers
Vilans: These films had to be respectable - law abiding institutions. the first film to break the law was 'The Great Train Robbery' - landmark 1903; they showed moral lessions that provedhow dangerious and unprofitable crime was. Thugs were shown usually with heavy blck make-up to be unshaven.
Heros were coloursless and the bad guy/villans wore the darker clothing and were the bulk of plot motivation. for example, 'The Lonely Villa' and 'A girl and her Trust' created tension by the heroine constantly menaced by the villians, with the occansional cutaways to the hero putting rescue plans into operation. At these times the motive was quite simple; robbery. All villiany was like this. It influenced alot of melodramatic, victorian novels. Th movies were full of such situations as a girl taking on a mans job and proving herself to handle all emergencies as well as a man including the outwitting of robers.
By 1910 the villians had become sophisticated villians, hoodlimus, brutes and other clearly defined types. then by 1914 the movies had changed quite a bit, they were on there way to becoming an art as they were already big business sprked by names like Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Helen Gardener, and Maurice Costello, the star system had arrived to sky high rocket saleries. Once a player/character became a star there was no fluctuating between good guys and bad gauys, he had to be somebody the audience had to root for all the time.
It was Panzer who conveniently encompassed severl different brands of villiany. First, he was ruthless, with no regard at al to humand life. Second, he wqas cunning and crafty. Like in 'The Perils of Pauline' playing Pearls guardian, he tried to kill her off from the first chapter to the last, and never once did pearl tumble to the double-game he was playing. He betrayed her at every turn, set her out to sea in a leaky boat, sprinkled barbed wire on the road hoping to wreck her racign car, and tried poison, time bombs, snakes, and every other conceivable mode of execution in his efforts to dispatch her. But, even in the final episode when his teachery had rebounded on himself and he had gone to watery grave, meanwhile Pearl seemed naively unaware of his perfidy. on the other hand, she didnt seem induly distressed by her guardians suden demise, either. Panzer, dressed to the hilt and usually sporting jack boots and a deer-stalker hat, gave his villiany a robust exuberance that seemed to have even greater gusto when compared with the rather underplayed heroics of Peal White. He'd grimace, shake his fist, pantomime his newest scheme, and gloat gleefully in anticipation of its succcessful execution. Panzer was in movies until the 1950's, somehow he always seemed to be playing Koerner and perhaps because of that never became a really important silent villain. Koerner was one of the last standing grand Victorian villian.
Reference ; Bok written by William K.Everson, Published by Citadel Press,
Vilans: These films had to be respectable - law abiding institutions. the first film to break the law was 'The Great Train Robbery' - landmark 1903; they showed moral lessions that provedhow dangerious and unprofitable crime was. Thugs were shown usually with heavy blck make-up to be unshaven.
Heros were coloursless and the bad guy/villans wore the darker clothing and were the bulk of plot motivation. for example, 'The Lonely Villa' and 'A girl and her Trust' created tension by the heroine constantly menaced by the villians, with the occansional cutaways to the hero putting rescue plans into operation. At these times the motive was quite simple; robbery. All villiany was like this. It influenced alot of melodramatic, victorian novels. Th movies were full of such situations as a girl taking on a mans job and proving herself to handle all emergencies as well as a man including the outwitting of robers.
By 1910 the villians had become sophisticated villians, hoodlimus, brutes and other clearly defined types. then by 1914 the movies had changed quite a bit, they were on there way to becoming an art as they were already big business sprked by names like Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Helen Gardener, and Maurice Costello, the star system had arrived to sky high rocket saleries. Once a player/character became a star there was no fluctuating between good guys and bad gauys, he had to be somebody the audience had to root for all the time.
It was Panzer who conveniently encompassed severl different brands of villiany. First, he was ruthless, with no regard at al to humand life. Second, he wqas cunning and crafty. Like in 'The Perils of Pauline' playing Pearls guardian, he tried to kill her off from the first chapter to the last, and never once did pearl tumble to the double-game he was playing. He betrayed her at every turn, set her out to sea in a leaky boat, sprinkled barbed wire on the road hoping to wreck her racign car, and tried poison, time bombs, snakes, and every other conceivable mode of execution in his efforts to dispatch her. But, even in the final episode when his teachery had rebounded on himself and he had gone to watery grave, meanwhile Pearl seemed naively unaware of his perfidy. on the other hand, she didnt seem induly distressed by her guardians suden demise, either. Panzer, dressed to the hilt and usually sporting jack boots and a deer-stalker hat, gave his villiany a robust exuberance that seemed to have even greater gusto when compared with the rather underplayed heroics of Peal White. He'd grimace, shake his fist, pantomime his newest scheme, and gloat gleefully in anticipation of its succcessful execution. Panzer was in movies until the 1950's, somehow he always seemed to be playing Koerner and perhaps because of that never became a really important silent villain. Koerner was one of the last standing grand Victorian villian.
Reference ; Bok written by William K.Everson, Published by Citadel Press,
Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock has changed the way film will be made for the rest of time. As a director and producer he took the ideas of thrillers to the next level developing the ideas of the psycological thriller and the tools of suspence. In his life time he directed over fifty films in a career that lasted for 60 years. He saw the end of the silent movie era into the introduction and development of sound and well into the use of colour. He had seen the potential of what film could be.
He strongly believed in the ideas of story boarding in detail. This was probably the reason his films have a great attention to detail. in a wide range shot in North by North west it is said that the camera angle is set to the same angle in the title. This hard working ethos helped him to become the most highly regarded director of his time.
Born in london in 1899 his early career started in Britain first as someone more behind the scenes but he worked his way up to direct films like Blackmail (one of britains first talkies although poorly dubd) which can be seen at the BFI. The film follows the story of a woman who is forced to kill a date she was on in self defence. Someone witnesses her and the man together and comes forth to blackmail her and her police man boyfriend.
He then went on to america and was under contract to the producer Selznick. He hated this. Hitchcock was the sort of director that liked having complete controle over his work and he didnt always feel likehe did. His first american film Rebecca 1940 ( set and written in england) about a young woman who moves into an big english home in the country. She has problems with a distant husband and the memory of his now dead wife Rebecca. The film won a few academy awards but not the best director.
Hitchcock was a director not to stick to the usual. He was known for his experimentational approach to film making. In films like Spell bound and Rope where new ideas for POV shots and extended one take shots were made, un heard of at the time.
Through his peak years ( 50 - 60's) he made films like North be North west, Psycho and The Birds, all three are hailed as some of the greatest thriller films ever made. He is a great influence and a man who has helped make the thriller genre and film what it is today.
He strongly believed in the ideas of story boarding in detail. This was probably the reason his films have a great attention to detail. in a wide range shot in North by North west it is said that the camera angle is set to the same angle in the title. This hard working ethos helped him to become the most highly regarded director of his time.
Born in london in 1899 his early career started in Britain first as someone more behind the scenes but he worked his way up to direct films like Blackmail (one of britains first talkies although poorly dubd) which can be seen at the BFI. The film follows the story of a woman who is forced to kill a date she was on in self defence. Someone witnesses her and the man together and comes forth to blackmail her and her police man boyfriend.
He then went on to america and was under contract to the producer Selznick. He hated this. Hitchcock was the sort of director that liked having complete controle over his work and he didnt always feel likehe did. His first american film Rebecca 1940 ( set and written in england) about a young woman who moves into an big english home in the country. She has problems with a distant husband and the memory of his now dead wife Rebecca. The film won a few academy awards but not the best director.
Hitchcock was a director not to stick to the usual. He was known for his experimentational approach to film making. In films like Spell bound and Rope where new ideas for POV shots and extended one take shots were made, un heard of at the time.
Through his peak years ( 50 - 60's) he made films like North be North west, Psycho and The Birds, all three are hailed as some of the greatest thriller films ever made. He is a great influence and a man who has helped make the thriller genre and film what it is today.
Monday, 3 November 2008
Get Carter 1971 director: Mike Hodges
This film is not only regarded as a british classic but also one of the most iconic thriller films in the world. It follows the story of jack carter played by Michael Cain on his return to the north to finsd out more about his brothers death.
It has a destinctive opening, in some ways an establishing shot, but not one of a place but of our protaganist. The camera slowly zooms in on him facing out towards us as the theme music plays over the diagetic sound of the wind. Imediatly you know who the story follows and recieve hints of a sinister storyline.
The opening scene is in a room with the characters gangster bosses and his contemporaries. Here you see the steriotypical characters showing power. They are over wait, wear black suits and smoke cigars. Commonly seen in films that a thriller/ gangster. They all sit back watching porn on a slide. You can imedialty see that Carter is different. He is lean, wearing a grey suit and drinks a some what more sophisticated whiskey. Our eyes are almost Blinded by the cut to the bright light coming from the front of the projector mixed with the diagetic sounds of the changing of sound work as a tool for the director to un ease his audience and create a sence of tension in the scene, something that you can also see in the subtext of the writing.
Hodges approaches the opening in a very noir esc fashion. The room is dark and shadows are created by the surroundings and the single light from the projector. Everything seems to have a hidden feeling of darkness just like the characters in the scene. It creats a evil mis en scene, the audience seem thrown into this world of the dark criminal underworld.
The dialogue is used here to start the story off. The audience is told where and why he is doing what he plans and in some ways how he is going to do it. The repetative warnings of "don't go" and "rethink this" from the people that suround Carter set up the idea that something is going to happen. It is also very interesting that this is one of the most important scenes in th whole film but it isn't played up to be. Like the rest of the film everything is done subtly. Without this scene the ending doesn't really make much sence.
Get Carter isn't just an iconic movie, it is one of the rare films that told its story with an unbelievable amount of truth. This is something hard to find in the thriller cinema of today. Get Carter helped to reperesent the generation in which it was made. With the fashion, the language and the over all mis en scene of the piece. It showed the britain of that time for what it was ; gritty and unforgiving, and it was enhanced and made better for doing so.
It has a destinctive opening, in some ways an establishing shot, but not one of a place but of our protaganist. The camera slowly zooms in on him facing out towards us as the theme music plays over the diagetic sound of the wind. Imediatly you know who the story follows and recieve hints of a sinister storyline.
The opening scene is in a room with the characters gangster bosses and his contemporaries. Here you see the steriotypical characters showing power. They are over wait, wear black suits and smoke cigars. Commonly seen in films that a thriller/ gangster. They all sit back watching porn on a slide. You can imedialty see that Carter is different. He is lean, wearing a grey suit and drinks a some what more sophisticated whiskey. Our eyes are almost Blinded by the cut to the bright light coming from the front of the projector mixed with the diagetic sounds of the changing of sound work as a tool for the director to un ease his audience and create a sence of tension in the scene, something that you can also see in the subtext of the writing.
Hodges approaches the opening in a very noir esc fashion. The room is dark and shadows are created by the surroundings and the single light from the projector. Everything seems to have a hidden feeling of darkness just like the characters in the scene. It creats a evil mis en scene, the audience seem thrown into this world of the dark criminal underworld.
The dialogue is used here to start the story off. The audience is told where and why he is doing what he plans and in some ways how he is going to do it. The repetative warnings of "don't go" and "rethink this" from the people that suround Carter set up the idea that something is going to happen. It is also very interesting that this is one of the most important scenes in th whole film but it isn't played up to be. Like the rest of the film everything is done subtly. Without this scene the ending doesn't really make much sence.
Get Carter isn't just an iconic movie, it is one of the rare films that told its story with an unbelievable amount of truth. This is something hard to find in the thriller cinema of today. Get Carter helped to reperesent the generation in which it was made. With the fashion, the language and the over all mis en scene of the piece. It showed the britain of that time for what it was ; gritty and unforgiving, and it was enhanced and made better for doing so.
Preliminary Excersize.
I found that the pre Liminary excersize more challenging than I had thought it would be. I had already used a camera before and the requirments seemed easy enough. however you would be suprised with how much you can forget, using a camera isn't like riding a bike. We also had a lot more things to think about with the making and editing of the piece. These include 180 degree rule, match on action and continuety editing.
We had gotten the cameras and desided to film in our calss room. We had our story board to refure to and evrything was planned, But the opperation of the camera was tricky. i had forgotten how to make sure our shot was level, how to tilt the camera and other little things that we needed in order to get the shots we wanted. Luckily the hero of the group Jack was there to ease our pains.
Operating the camera was a long forgotten worry when i was eventually standing infront of it. ( i wasnt just helping with the camera work i was also an actor in the excersize). i found it almost impossible to not make mistakes, causing us to waist time and film at least 5 takes of each shot.
There was a hitch during the filming. In our story board we had mis understude the idea of match on action which meant we had to do some rethinking and film some extra shots, but we handled it very well and with ease in my view. We almost had problems with the 180 degree rule untill Ms Williams stept in to look over what we had done.
In all i think we wroked well as a group and produced a coherent piece of work. I really enjoyed it.
We had gotten the cameras and desided to film in our calss room. We had our story board to refure to and evrything was planned, But the opperation of the camera was tricky. i had forgotten how to make sure our shot was level, how to tilt the camera and other little things that we needed in order to get the shots we wanted. Luckily the hero of the group Jack was there to ease our pains.
Operating the camera was a long forgotten worry when i was eventually standing infront of it. ( i wasnt just helping with the camera work i was also an actor in the excersize). i found it almost impossible to not make mistakes, causing us to waist time and film at least 5 takes of each shot.
There was a hitch during the filming. In our story board we had mis understude the idea of match on action which meant we had to do some rethinking and film some extra shots, but we handled it very well and with ease in my view. We almost had problems with the 180 degree rule untill Ms Williams stept in to look over what we had done.
In all i think we wroked well as a group and produced a coherent piece of work. I really enjoyed it.
What makes a thriller a thriller
The idea of a thriller is to thrill its audience. It will atempt to focus on one goal and there for take the audience on the journey to find this goal with the protaganist/ protaganists of the story. Tension is needed to keep the audience on the edge of there seats as the narrative comes to a thrilling climax. The characters will find that they come accross obsticles ie, situations or people (villians) that they must over come in order for the film to finish or continue it's narrative.
You will find that the thriller is very fast paced, keeping the audience guessing and edgy. This can be helped in the editing. Which is vital for a thriller. Quick cuts and changes of camera angle are alwasy sure to bee seen in a thriller film.
The sounds in the film are also destinctive and b=very important. Music and cinema are like two peas in a pod, but when music is added to thriller film it becomes a different ball game. Thrilers would lose at least 50% of there impact if it weren't for the music or sounds (diagetic or non-diagetic) sounds heard in the films. For example the high pitched strings are often used to bring tension, and this can be influenced by the tempo. Jaws has one of the most iconic musical tension building tracks. So does James Bond with its use of a great orchastra and brass horns.
Lighting helps to add to the mis en scene of a piece. This can indicate to the audience what mood the scene is and what may happen next. In films like Seven, it is always raining and dark. It sets the mood of the whole film being a dark and twisted story. This is a good example of how the director David Fincher has used sound (sound of the rain) and the lighting to affect the audience watching his film. The use of shadows in thrillers (also used in Seven) is another devise used to creat a more sinster enviornment.
The idea of using lighting to enhance the atmosphere of the film can be traced back to the film movment of Film Noir. A film i have seen recently that uses film noir ideas was Momento. In a scene where the protaganist is sitting in his room alone, you really feel like you can feel the darkness of his character.
You will find that the thriller is very fast paced, keeping the audience guessing and edgy. This can be helped in the editing. Which is vital for a thriller. Quick cuts and changes of camera angle are alwasy sure to bee seen in a thriller film.
The sounds in the film are also destinctive and b=very important. Music and cinema are like two peas in a pod, but when music is added to thriller film it becomes a different ball game. Thrilers would lose at least 50% of there impact if it weren't for the music or sounds (diagetic or non-diagetic) sounds heard in the films. For example the high pitched strings are often used to bring tension, and this can be influenced by the tempo. Jaws has one of the most iconic musical tension building tracks. So does James Bond with its use of a great orchastra and brass horns.
Lighting helps to add to the mis en scene of a piece. This can indicate to the audience what mood the scene is and what may happen next. In films like Seven, it is always raining and dark. It sets the mood of the whole film being a dark and twisted story. This is a good example of how the director David Fincher has used sound (sound of the rain) and the lighting to affect the audience watching his film. The use of shadows in thrillers (also used in Seven) is another devise used to creat a more sinster enviornment.
The idea of using lighting to enhance the atmosphere of the film can be traced back to the film movment of Film Noir. A film i have seen recently that uses film noir ideas was Momento. In a scene where the protaganist is sitting in his room alone, you really feel like you can feel the darkness of his character.
Addition to spy thrillers
In addition to the post on spy thrillers.
James Bond: quantumn of solace.
This is the latest addition to the james bond saga, bringing a new look to the originals and a faster passed narative. For once it can be said that this is now a thriller film.
Starting with a fast car chase that gets your blood pumping the story and the film doesn't stop thrilling you. The story line more complex than normal jams bond films, a tighter script and more realistic events if that is possible, to some this may be classed as the first james bond film to be credited as an actual film at all rather than a fars.
But what has made the producers want to make this change in the layout to the film?
This may be due to stiff competition in a relm that james bond once used to rule. In the last eight years films like the Bourne series and Taken have been released, challenging and thrilling the audiences. Although the special effects and technology for films have gotten smarter, so have the audiences. The expect something more than just a film they want something to think about. They want to feel apart of the world that is being shown to them.
James bond has shocked the worldwide box office with an overall take of $594 million. Its opening day in the US and UK gained it £4,940,000 and its opening weekend for the uk gained it $ 25,300,000. This film is long on its way to being one of the biggest grossing films this year.
However this is not the only franchise that has desided to take a darker, challenging and an overall more thrilling turn on the way it is made. Batman shocked audiences all over the globe with its more "sophisticated" cinematis approach. This broke the $200 million record.
James Bond: quantumn of solace.
This is the latest addition to the james bond saga, bringing a new look to the originals and a faster passed narative. For once it can be said that this is now a thriller film.
Starting with a fast car chase that gets your blood pumping the story and the film doesn't stop thrilling you. The story line more complex than normal jams bond films, a tighter script and more realistic events if that is possible, to some this may be classed as the first james bond film to be credited as an actual film at all rather than a fars.
But what has made the producers want to make this change in the layout to the film?
This may be due to stiff competition in a relm that james bond once used to rule. In the last eight years films like the Bourne series and Taken have been released, challenging and thrilling the audiences. Although the special effects and technology for films have gotten smarter, so have the audiences. The expect something more than just a film they want something to think about. They want to feel apart of the world that is being shown to them.
James bond has shocked the worldwide box office with an overall take of $594 million. Its opening day in the US and UK gained it £4,940,000 and its opening weekend for the uk gained it $ 25,300,000. This film is long on its way to being one of the biggest grossing films this year.
However this is not the only franchise that has desided to take a darker, challenging and an overall more thrilling turn on the way it is made. Batman shocked audiences all over the globe with its more "sophisticated" cinematis approach. This broke the $200 million record.
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