Compare and contrast your...

Compare and contrast your protagonist & antagonist with characters from a blockbuster thriller + include images.

• In Sherlock Holmes the protagonist is also a detective, as in our film. However, in our film the protagonist is a woman which makes it different to most crime thrillers because the protagonist is is usually played by a man.

• The opening of our film has been inspired by the film 'Identity' because of the way the protagonist has been filmed, which is in his home. We found that this scene helped establish the film opening as we are getting to know the character as he\she will be in their own surroundings.
• Also like identity, at the beginning , we aren't going to show the antagonist because this will build tension as to who killed the victim.

• Comparing our film to Terminator, the protagonist it obviously quite a physically strong character who is able to fight easily. Whereas, in our thriller film the protagonist is a woman and less strong than the main character out of Terminator.

Mise-en-scene Thriller

One choice of mise-en-scene in our thriller is the costumes and props. The main character is a detective who is at the crime scene and will be the protagonist of the film this is common in most crime thriller because there is always a detective who spends most of the film trying to solve the murder and then solving it at the end. The detective in our film differs from most because it will be a female which means we are not stereotyping and this could bring in a better audience. She will be wearing a simple long trench coat which a lot of old fashioned detectives wore to help link with the theme and make the crime scene seem more authentic here is an example of a modern film that uses a female as the main character from Silence of the Lambs.















We will also use a chalk outline in our crime scene. This links to help show what sort of time our film is based on because its very old fashioned. One thriller film in which a chalk outline is used is a film called This Man Must Die. This was used to show where a young boy was killed and the position his body was left in after his death, this helps create mystery as the police or detectives have to figure out how the boy was murdered. This has become very popular in crime thrillers and is recognized by most people This is the poster of This Man Must Die:

Presentation feedback

Today we pitched our thriller idea and got feedback and ideas from the teacher and the class. We still need to think of a location for the house scene. But have now thought of using Verity's house because it has a creepy driveway and it is a secluded location.
Holly liked the idea of doing an old fashioned crime scene because of the chalk outline. She also liked the idea of Bethan being the main character/protagonist, because it is different and interesting and is not common in modern films.

One question we got asked was what music are we planning to use in the opening sequence. We already knew the answer because it was included in our blog. The answer to this was music similar to the opening of Identity and our garageband version that Aidan and Adam created.

Another question asked was 'what are you going to wear Bethan? As you are a detective.' and Bethan said 'a macintosh' because it's traditional for a detective to wear.

Someone asked about how we plan to use suspect photos in our opening and who we plan to use. We said that we are going to have a tree of random people either from the internet or extra who are willing to be involved. Another person asked if it's just going to be bethan in the film, we answered "No, we plan to have other people playing police men or random extras." And also mentioned that there will not be any diegetic dialogue because it will ruin the atmosphere.

Presentation pitch

The main story line of our film is based on a murder and the protagonist being a detective trying to solve the crime, this is common to the crime thriller genre. The detective is the main character and will be played by Bethan, this character is a little but weird, serious but gets the job done. This is different to most thrillers as the main character is a female.

The film starts shows the scene of the crime with the chalk outline of where the body was then the real body flashing in to show the viewers what the body actually looked like and who the victim was, this will probably be played by an extra. The effect used to show the body will be simalar to a flash back using flashing imagery. The possible location for the body will be a secluded alleyway which is out of the view to the public.



Then we will show the detective in her house trying to solve the crime this will show how she acts in her home environment and how she feels about her job, you will see on the wall many different pictures of possible suspects and writing to show how she is going to solve it. Were not sure of the exact location yet.
We think we will use a 12 or 15 certificate because of the way we will show the body and how we feel the rest of the film will go, our titles will be shown in an eerie way with a typewrite feel/music.

The music we will use will both be diagetic and non diagetic so you can hear whats going on in the house but the non diagetic will bring an eerie effect, we will possibly use a piano as our instrument.

The reason why this film could be certified a 12 or 15 is because of the violence that might be shown

(12) Violence
Moderate violence is allowed but should not dwell on
detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood,
but occasional gory moments may be permitted if
justified by the context.




(12) Theme
Mature themes are acceptable, but their treatment must
be suitable for young teenagers.circumstances, responsibility for
allowing a child under 12 to view.

(15) Theme
No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is
appropriate for 15 year olds.




(15) Violence
Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction
of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to
be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also
unlikely to be acceptable.
There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence
but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and
have a strong contextual justification



This film could be compared to Sherlock Holmes but it will be more serious and have less comedy. The opening will also be similar to the opening of identity.

Using Photoshop

We used photoshop to create our ident. It relates to the thriller film because it's called 'Red Eye Productions'.

New line cinema research.

New Line Cinema/New Line was founded 1967 and is a major american film studio producing some of the best films, for example Austin Powers, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Lord of the Rings.
The indent is a simple and effective, played to music that links to the film and the logo consists of film strips combined to form the end result of the logo.
The logo is good as it is genre appropriate for the thriller film and many other genres.

Garage Band task

Sound terminology
Diegetic- We see the source of the sound
Dialogue- Tone/Accent/Phrases
Background noise e.g Tv/Radio
Ambient Sound- Natural Sound

Non Diegetic Sound- Sound that is added in.
Sound Effects
Sound Track- Character Moteifs

Asynchronous Sound- Sounds that contradict the images
Sound Bridge-Smooths the gap between the scenes.

Today we created our own opening piece of music for a 3 minute clip of the film Identity using Garage Band. The film is a thriller...

Garage Band Evidance

Today we used garage band to create a soundtrack to the film 'Identity'.

We used slow music to start of with to build suspense and tension and then the music got more fast paced as the clip progressed. We used different layers to make the soundtrack more complex.

We attempted to use diagetic music but we couldn't find any suitable in time. But if we were to do it again, we will try and put some in. The clip contained only non-diagetic sounds.

Constructive critisicm for 2 different thriller openings

Q2-47 Parrallel

The opening of the clip contains different effects such as split screen and dissolve, this is apparent to the thriller theme. The music links with the genre aswell, as it is slow and mysterious. The camera shots show places that aren't really necisary; for example a guys foot and they show close ups of this, which also links with the genre, because it's weird to focus on such things.
The screen splits occasionally, so you can see both characters doing the same thing which links to the title of 'parallel'. The blur effect added to the characters movements adds to their distorted feeling. The effect of changing character through a 180 degree camera movement adds to the whole theme of two parallel characters in the same place. The way this clip has been edited looks very professional because of all the cool effects and well used camera shots and angles. The two actors fit the clip well because they look older and do not look at the camera which makes its seem more natural. Also, the guys in the clip appear older than they look, and because thrillers are aimed at an older audience, this makes it appeal to the teenage audience and above.

Q2-43 Cracked

At the beginning, there is use of light and shadow techniques, and a sillouette of a girl smoking, which creates a contrast...

Thiller marking criteria

Top level 4 (48/60)
Demonstrate an excellence in the following:

• Holding a shot steady
  
• Framing a shot- excluding/including elements as appropriate
• Using a variety of shot distances
  
• Shooting material appropriate to the task set
• Selecting mise-en-scene.
• Editing so that meaning as apparent to the viewer
• Using varied shot transitions/effects
• Using sound with images
• Using titles appropriately (to reflect genre)
  

Analyzing conventions of the film Taken.

The film meets conventions of a crime thriller

as it involves a successful crime of trafficking

that is also a real life crime making the film

more realistic, there were many locations,

including a big city and seedy locations.

The main character has an ambition to save

his daughter and her friend, there is huge

rivalry from the people taking the girls

and the girls father, it is full of suspense.

The protagonist is the girls father, we know this

because he is not causing the crime and it is his

own daughter he is trying to save and become a

hero figure.

The antagonist is the characters taking the girls and

selling them off as sex slaves, you can tell this from the

trailer as the protagonist is killing them and trying to

stop them and get his daughter back.

Crime Thriller Conventions

-Suspenseful account of failed or successful crime.

-Involves murders, robberies, shot outs and double crosses.

-Can glorify the rise and fall of criminals, sometimes in real life.

-Often set in large crowded cities to provide view of a large secret world.

-characters have ambitious desire for success or recognition.

-Strong rivalry between binary and opposite characters.

-Often several locations, seedy interior locations.

Action Thriller conventions -

• Obvious antagonist
• Race against the time
• More violence than other sub genres
• Disruption to equilibrium requires the protagonist to use action to solve it
• ^must be skilled in some form of contact
• Usually involves a character of the opposite sex to drive the narrative
• ^however their loyalty may be doubted
• Often involves high profile actors

The Matrix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zGw7gnUtHY&feature=related
The Matrix fits in with the conventions of the action thriller section as it evidently has more combat than other thrillers as in the scene it is pure fighting. Also it is a race against the clock as he has to get back to normality as quickly as possible,

Analysis of a pyschological triller

Conventions -
-Drama/Mystery
-Danger on a mental level rather than physical
-Narrative focuses on 2 or more characters preying on the minds of each other to create conflict
or
1 solitary character in mental conflict with their own mind
-Characters try to discover their own purpose
-Characters have a fear or fascination with death
-Narrative confusion of what is real and what is not
-Non linear edits/flashbacks/montage



The Game -
It starts of with the main character battleing with his own mind, as he is made to believe that he is psychotic and he believes he is dangerous. But we find out it has all been a trick from his brother and he has been forced to being psychotic as he believes it is real, but it is shown to all be a trick which his brother has been playing on him. Therefore it matches and shows the convention of the narrative really well as it uses both and the viewer doesn't even know what narrative it is.
It also matches the convention of him trying to discover his own purpose as he doesn't know what is real or not anymore, it is also a mystery not just for the characters but for the viewer as well. It definately starts of as a danger in the mental level but it ends with a bit of mild violence

Analyzing the film JFK

> THE CONVENTIONS OF A POLITICAL THRILLER

A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of political power struggle. They usually involve various plots, rarely legal, designed to give political power to someone, while his opponents try to stop him from getting it. They can involve national or international political scenarios.

- Threat set against a backdrop of power struggle.

-Plots are designed to illustrate a possible power shift or give power to someone

- Opposing characters will try and prevent the person from gaining the power.

- 2 sets of character - ranked by authority.

- Often spans many locations.

> THE NARRATIVE

The film JFK examines events leading up the assassination of John. F. Kennedy. and alleged subsequent cover-up, through the eyes of former New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison.

> THE CHARACTERS

You have the smaller characters who give their point of view of what they saw during the assassination of JFK.

Then you have JFK who is the main character, and he's seen as the protagonist because he is a liked president because first impressions of him is that he's a family man

> EDITING AND CAMERA ANGLES.

The opening scene shows real footage of political

> THE LIGHTING
The lighting is quite contrasted from light, when the scene is cheerful, and dark when they are flashing back to whats happened in the past, which shows how Kennedy was assasinated.

> THE COSTUMES
The costumes suit the time period which is around the 1960's so they wear grey and trilby/bowler hats if they are wealthy. If they aren't wealthy people they'll probably just wear quite casual, patterned shirts.

Analyzing the film Seven

We will be analysing the lighting & costumes for the film 'Seven'.

> The lighting throughout Is dingy, this helps towards the 'Thriller' theme because not only does sound help with suspense, so does the dim lighting; fear of the unknown is what makes us scared. And with dim lighting, we are unsure of what's on the screen. Especially the scene where the 'fat man' is dead, the lighting is dark and Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman light up the room with torches, this makes the atmosphere creepy, because only parts of the room are lit up, and we are unsure of what's really happening.

> The costumes used are different for both Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Brad Pitt's character is more relaxed with the outfits he wears, which is a baggy shirt and tie and a loose jacket, and this reflects on his personality, you can tell he is more laid back than Morgan Freeman's character who's clothing represents his personallity. He wears more of a formal outfit (hat and trenchcoat, typical detective man style), showing he is more dedicated to his job.

>The music in the clip is used to add tension which is typical of this type of movie, in the title sequence it is very freaky music to build an atmosphere for the rest of the film. Before that there is a scene with morgan freeman in a bedroom and all you can hear is people talking in the background and a metronome ticking showing that he is a very simple man and has some weird habits.

>It begins with a eye level camera angle giving you an establishing shot, to show him at home is his own environment and how he acts.

Classic Thriller Analysis

we watched vertigo, meaning fear of heights, the scene consisted of a chase, of a man being chased by a detective and a police man, it begins with a close up of each character climbing up the ladder, this shows the feelings of the characters from their facial expression, there is tense music playing creating the atmosphere and tension and emotions when characters are at risk and when the detective is hanging of the side if the building.
~
you then see the protagonist in peril as he is hanging of the side of the building, the accompanying policeman choose to help the detective instead of catching the criminal, this then fails as the policeman falls of the side if the building when he tries to rescue the detective, the detective then looks down and see the huge drop, this then relates back to the title 'vertigo'.

In this video we have included camera shots such as: match on action, long shot, tracking shot, close up.

It involves two main characters, who are two teenagers in trouble at college, for cheating in an exam. Then they get sent to the senior tutor; Ann Jennison.

We have included effects such as fade out and cross stretch to make the video more interesting.

Make a post explaining what you would expect the conventions of the thriller to be?

discuss.

-Sets, locations, characters, narrative, dialogue, props.

"Action thriller: In which the work often features a race against the clock, contains lots of violence, and an obvious antagonist. These films usually contain large amounts of guns, explosions, and large elaborate set pieces for the action to take place. These films often have elements of mystery films and crime films but these elements take a backseat to action." - Wikipedia.

The location of a thriller is usually set in the city or town to add to the fast pace of the film. The majority of the characters in thriller movies are mainly men. Because there is usually allot of action in thriller movies, the props tend to be weapon related. Narrative usually includes money, sex, violence, drugs.

Pulp Fiction - Thriller Analysis

Sound -
The use of sound in this opening sequence to "Pulp Fiction" they use diagetic sound throughout the whole of the conversation this shows use that these two are the main people in this scene and there is nothing important going on around them, also this makes us concentrate on the conversation. At the end of the sequence there is music added which suits the scene this also makes us laugh as it is unexpected.

Editing -
There is continuity editing in this clip as otherwise you wouldn't be able to follow the story it is effective because you can now learn new things as the film goes along, also he has more screen time in the sequence as he is the one with the ideas showing he is the dominant character. The cuts between the two characters are very quick which shows it's about to be fast paced.

Mise-en-scene -
The costumes in this opening sequence show you when the clip as been set as they are wearing really flowery clothing and unconventional hair styles

Analyzing Fight Club

-Use of micro elements (sound/editing/sfx/mise-en-scenee/camera angles) within the clip. How do these create meaning? How do they represent the genre?

Here Brad Pitt is kicked to the ground. The sound effect includes the kicking noise and the sound of Brad Pitt's head hitting floor. The camera angle is on the ground at the level that Brad pitt is, which shows he is in a vulnerable position.

The lighting is also very dingy, which adds effect to the setting.

The clothing that Brad Pitt wears is casual and manly, whereas 'Lou' is wearing a suit and tie which shows Lou likes to dress smart and professional.

The mise-en-scene includes blood, and although you may relate blood to horror, the way its been filmed is more action related because he's being beaten up.

Brad Pitt is also laughing while he's being beaten up which contradicts how he is feeling, but then makes him seem less vulnerable, pretending that he's enjoying the situation, it also has a comedic effect. There is no music at this point, just sound effects and his laughter, which creates suspense; an element that makes up the genre, thriller.

The angle before he gets punched shows Lou's angry face and a fist coming down towards the

camera, and we do not yet see Brad Pitt's face. This also creates suspense.

Then you hear the sound of him being punched, then the camera shows Brad Pitt's mouth covered in blood.

Storyboard for preliminary task.

this was our original storyboard for the preliminary task. We discussed all the different shots we could use and put descriptions of what happens in the seen.

Shot types

This establishing shot is setting the scene and showing the main boat for the movie, it takes up the whole screen showing that it is extremely important. Also it shows where most of the film will be set.



This close up shot shows the expression on one of the main characters faces and links it to the theme of comedy because he has a destroyed face and a chicken behind him.





The part where it shows the tiger flows with the reaction of the guy who is scared as he is jumping up against the wall, it then cuts the tiger again who is still in the same place but from a different view.



This long show shows the location the character is in and also introduces a new character to the scene.




This over the shoulder shot shows the conversation of two characters and you can see both view points. The effect of this is that you know who is talking and you can see their reactions.





In both shots it shows both of them in the frame and you can see that they're both involved in the conversation.