A thriller is a genre of film, based around scaring the audience in different ways, this would be typically linked to a murder. There are many subgenres of thrillers, such as: Psychological, mystery, religion, eco, supernatural, medical, dystopian, action, romantic, political, and many more. We looked at lots of different thrillers before starting our own, and as a group came to the decision that a psychological thriller can be put across at many angles. We asked 10 people to fill in a questionnaire, regarding what kind of films/ thrillers they were most drawn to. From the questionnaire results we could see that most people prefered something that would keep them on edge and has a good build up of tension. We chose to do a psychological thriller due to the feedback from our classmates, and questionnaire results. Our audience expect something to draw them in and make them want to watch more. Further to that, I suggested to my group that they watch ‘The Lovely Bones’ and ‘Orphan’ as none of them had seen it, they are extremely good films with fantastic storylines, and it might give us some more ideas for our thriller. A typical thriller is generally set in a public place but by using an abandoned shack and adding gloomy, dark effects we are creating the right mood for a psychological thriller, we developed this by adding music to create the tension. We discussed using a voice over because at first we weren’t sure about music that would fit within our film, we really liked this idea and had even written out what would be said until we came across some music that we all thought fit in perfectly. In the opening to ‘Orphan’ everything looks hand-drawn, the music switches from slow and high to paced and low. The hand-drawn images constantly switch from normal to negative and it gives the impression that some of the drawings we see are actual events that may occur within the film.
By using props we are adding to the scene, we used bloody cloths to make the audience aware of what had gone on, images of young girls, maps of the location, etc to show this person is obviously a stalker, and a blanket to lay over the beaten, dead body. In the opening to a thriller, the use of flashbacks always works well, in my opinion. We discussed within my group, using a flashback but decided that our idea has other angles we can work from to make it look just as effective.
We used a variety of shot types, ranging in close-ups, extreme close-ups, establishing shots, over the shoulder, and long shots. For our titles we used still shots and when editing we focused on transitions to link the next shot, dimming effects and the speed when each shot moved onto the next. To start editing our film we had to ensure we were using i-movie, none of us had used this programme before so we all had to work together in order to make it a success.
Sound plays a big part in the opening to a thriller film, slow and eery music is often used and sped up to build the tension. However fast, paced music works just as well.
Our setting was found because of its calm, undisturbed feel to it. We didn’t want anywhere that wouldn’t pull off the vibe we were trying to put across.
Costumes weren’t planned as their were only two characters, and as we wanted it to seem natural we played it safe- not staged. You couldn’t see what the dead body was wearing as it was covered up by the blanket, and the girl who comes across the body just wore natural, everyday clothing- top, trousers, and a coat.
We made the title of our movie ‘Wrong Place, Wrong Time’ which will draw in our audience to find out what has happened, or what is going to happen.
Thriller Conventions
Camera Work
Typical shots used are establishing shots to show location, mid-shots to show characterization, close-ups to show disorientation and claustrophobic behaviour. The composition shows key props, while the framing creates the suspension. The camera movement and angles can vary for example high or low shots to show power/status. Depending on the perspective of the shot it can change the way we feel about it, eg. first person showing empathy.
Editing
Depending on the narrative it can show a complex narrative, which builds tension as the story converges. The editing can add tension eg. straight cut can build suspense and the pace. By adding flashbacks it can show key moments and also show the viewers connection to the story.
Thriller Opening Conventions
Within the first 2 minutes you need to add the drama by building tension and create an atmosphere, use of music is good for titles, name of the film, the crew and directors. It sometimes works well as an opening if you ask the viewers a question.
Sound
Sound is used to add atmosphere to the film. By using ambient sounds, music and noises it really sets the scene. A voice over creates a backstory and its better to avoid dialogue.
Mise-en-scene
For a typical thriller setting it is realistically isolated. The costumes don't always have to be 'scary' but are stereotypically ripped or bloody. When casting, the actors for villains are usually male, and the victims tend to be female. Props used would stereotypically be weapons such as guns or knives, and the lighting is low key, not much is shown and there are a lot of scenes which are based in the shadows.
Narrative
The start of a thriller can be part-way through the scene, which makes it disorientated. Flash backs, and even flash forwards add a certain element that draws you into the film, and they dont always have to be in chronological order.
Costume
In our group we have discussed what costumes would work accordingly to our thriller opening. We decided to go with casual wear (for the male)- perhaps a black hoody and jeans for our mysterious hooded figure, and (for the female) an innocent white dress for our victim. By choosing these outfits we are setting the scene for the unknowing audience.
Props
We are using discarded clothes on the floor of the woods because that is how the girl finds the shack as she follows them. This is typical to a thriller as it adds mystery and leaves the audience wanting to know more.
Our idea was to have a hand fall out of a door to give the audience something to think about. Why is it there? What happened? How long has it been there? This will intrigue the audience to carry on watching as they will want to know what happens.
We are using a shack-like building as that is where the story starts. We might change the shack into an abandoned building like a barn because of the convenience of the location but it will still be the main building in the opening. By using this kind of building it builds tension- lots of corners, and lots of abandoned rubbish to hide under.
We are using a footprint in the mud because that is another element that makes the girl go to the shack as well as the clothes. She does this as she is confused and wonders what it leads to. This was one of first ideas, so may not be included. However the footprint may give a clue to what kind of person it is. As it looks like a trainer, you would associate that with a male figure so this again leaves you in suspense.
We are using a mobile phone because after the girl gets locked in the shack she pulls out her phone to see if she has a signal. The phone will help create suspense as the signal bar will go down. This is typical to a thriller- a girl on her own, stumbling across an old shack, leaving the audience wanting to know more.
Location
We have had many ideas for our film such as, internet dating gone wrong, mental asylum/museum and then the idea that we decided to go with ‘the abandoned shed with a hand, the reason why we decided to go with this idea was it is a very unique idea that we can adapt with ease if needed, this was not the idea we originally wanted to go with, our first idea was the internet dating gone wrong, the reason why we decided not to go with that idea was because the internet stalker idea sounded a bit cliché and we wanted to try something different e.g. the shed in the woods idea.
· We have had many ideas for a location, one idea that we had was to film it in a wooded area.
· Some of the negative sounds of that would be the lighting may not be on our side as it could be too dark and we would not see anything that we had filmed.
· There could be some very bright patches of sunlight that come through the trees that may make some of our shots barely visible.
· We had a look at different wooded areas around Bourne and Thurlby and we couldn’t find any old sheds that we could use but we couldn’t find anything that we could uses that fits the thriller genre.
· We then had a look on Google maps to see if we could find any old farms with sheds and or barns in abandoned areas
· We found one on south fen road which if located just off the back of cherry holt road (behind the big Tesco’s)
We still need to ask about using the barn but it may cause some difficulties as there is no one around the area and also no houses so we wouldn’t know who to ask about the use of this location
No comments:
Post a Comment