There are many different sub-genres of Thriller movies however they all use different techniques and aspects of filming to create the main convention of a thrilling movie; suspense. Lighting, sound, editing, location and setting are used to create suspense within a Thriller movie. To give us an insight into Thriller films and what makes a good Thriller we studied the psychological thriller The Shining directed by Stanley Kubrick.
Kubrick uses camerawork, location and mise-en-scene to create suspense. However, the main feature used to create suspense is sound. During the opening sequence there is an ariel shot of mountains while a high pitched non diegetic sound is playing in the background. As the camera follows the car up the mountains; the volume, pitch and speed of the camera increases this in turn increases the tension and suspense. This is an example of how sound and camerawork creates suspense and tension.
We also stu
died a clip from 28 Days Later. Unlike The Shining, 28 Days Later uses location to create suspense. Set in the heart of London, we are shown Central London as an empty, desolate, lonely place. Due to our familiarity with London as a busy city, bursting with life, we are instantly aware that something has happened or is going to happen and therefore suspense is created.
Studying Thriller movies gave us ideas on what makes a good Thriller movie and how we can create suspense. In addition to watching Thriller films we also watched the Watching Documentary. From this documentary we were told what makes a good movie opening. A movie must instantly grab your attention but the opening should lead the audience into the film as smoothly as possible. Director Jean Jacques Beneix states that you should go into a movie slowly and then build up to the drama because if you start off too dramatic, you will not know where to go next because you will have to out-do the opening. Stanley Kauffman talks of the ‘Classic Opening’ which is still used in many movies today. The ‘Classic Opening’ begins with an establishing shot usually of a well-known location or landmark, the camera then goes up a building through a window, where we meet our main character. The purpose of the ‘Classic Opening’ is to introduce the main characters and gain a notion of the setting and location. We automatically know where the film takes place and the occupation of the character.
After studying the conventions of a Thriller movie and a good movie opening we tried to apply these to our own Thriller openings. In our film opening we tried to adapt a ‘Classic Opening’; however the order of shot are put together differently. Instead of opening with an establishing shot, we see our main character in action walking down the street, we then go on to have an establishing shot of the Tower Bridge and City Hall.
We also stu
died a clip from 28 Days Later. Unlike The Shining, 28 Days Later uses location to create suspense. Set in the heart of London, we are shown Central London as an empty, desolate, lonely place. Due to our familiarity with London as a busy city, bursting with life, we are instantly aware that something has happened or is going to happen and therefore suspense is created.Studying Thriller movies gave us ideas on what makes a good Thriller movie and how we can create suspense. In addition to watching Thriller films we also watched the Watching Documentary. From this documentary we were told what makes a good movie opening. A movie must instantly grab your attention but the opening should lead the audience into the film as smoothly as possible. Director Jean Jacques Beneix states that you should go into a movie slowly and then build up to the drama because if you start off too dramatic, you will not know where to go next because you will have to out-do the opening. Stanley Kauffman talks of the ‘Classic Opening’ which is still used in many movies today. The ‘Classic Opening’ begins with an establishing shot usually of a well-known location or landmark, the camera then goes up a building through a window, where we meet our main character. The purpose of the ‘Classic Opening’ is to introduce the main characters and gain a notion of the setting and location. We automatically know where the film takes place and the occupation of the character.
After studying the conventions of a Thriller movie and a good movie opening we tried to apply these to our own Thriller openings. In our film opening we tried to adapt a ‘Classic Opening’; however the order of shot are put together differently. Instead of opening with an establishing shot, we see our main character in action walking down the street, we then go on to have an establishing shot of the Tower Bridge and City Hall.
From the mise-en-scene and voice over we already know that our character is a possible agent on a mission to get a file that she does not have right. This immediately creates suspense because we know there is a chance of her getting caught or worse ca chance she may get herself into danger and therefore the audience are left on the edge of their seats waiting to see if she successfully collects the file.
In The Shining we are given hints about the events that will happen throughout the movie because the storyline is given during the interview with the hotel from this, the audience begin to think that this is what will happen to the family. This is quite suspenseful because as the audience we know what is going to happen while the characters do not and we are just waiting for it to happen. Similarly in our film opening the audience are given the context and narrative through the voiceover. This is a well known technique of Alfred Hitchcock (the ‘King’ of suspense) to create suspense. It is his idea of letting the audience ‘play-god’.
Our film opening challenges this technique/convention at the end of the sequence. The door is slammed and our main character jumps around. As the audience we know she has been caught but we do not know by whom because the person is not shown. This is the opposite of Alfred Hitchcock’s theory because in this shot the character has more knowledge than the audience.
Male are usually over represented in government corruption/ political thrillers. Due to our group being female dominated we decided to contest this representation and stereotype by try something different. The only character we are shown in the opening is a middle class, Latin, business agent in her early thirties.
This contradicts with the usual stereotypical representation of women in thrillers. Women are often shown as the gossip or the weaker character that is injured or dies first, where on the other hand men in suits are seen as powerful business men. In movies, Latinas/os are usually represented in a small enclosed community surrounded by crime and drugs. However our film opening shows the Latina as an independent and hardworking business woman.
Our thriller opening represents middle class women as independent and powerful. Although we are visually introduced to only one character, the character of the voiceover is also a female. Usually we are shown the men giving the orders to complete such a task but here we decided to use a female to give the orders and a female to receive and follow out the orders. Again, following the normal stereotype would have been difficult to show seeing as we were a female dominated group so the best option was to challenge the stereotypes and try something different.
I believe our film would most likely be distributed as a DVD release or a ‘made for TV’ film. The film was made on a very low budget with no real ‘Star’ appeals and so would not make it in Hollywood. Big Hollywood Blockbuster movies have a variation of UK and US actor/ess and also countries. Our film neither explores US actor/ess or US landmarks and so would not make it in the states.
The audience is an integral part of the decisions in every step of movie-making. Without the audience films neither makes back its money or a profit. The target audience of our thriller would be independent eighteen plus to middle aged women with the occasional feminist seeking for empowerment. However, due to the fact that this is a female dominated film, this will also attract the male audience, aged twenty plus to middle aged.
Our typical female who fits into the target audience would be Sara.
In The Shining we are given hints about the events that will happen throughout the movie because the storyline is given during the interview with the hotel from this, the audience begin to think that this is what will happen to the family. This is quite suspenseful because as the audience we know what is going to happen while the characters do not and we are just waiting for it to happen. Similarly in our film opening the audience are given the context and narrative through the voiceover. This is a well known technique of Alfred Hitchcock (the ‘King’ of suspense) to create suspense. It is his idea of letting the audience ‘play-god’.
Our film opening challenges this technique/convention at the end of the sequence. The door is slammed and our main character jumps around. As the audience we know she has been caught but we do not know by whom because the person is not shown. This is the opposite of Alfred Hitchcock’s theory because in this shot the character has more knowledge than the audience.
Male are usually over represented in government corruption/ political thrillers. Due to our group being female dominated we decided to contest this representation and stereotype by try something different. The only character we are shown in the opening is a middle class, Latin, business agent in her early thirties.
This contradicts with the usual stereotypical representation of women in thrillers. Women are often shown as the gossip or the weaker character that is injured or dies first, where on the other hand men in suits are seen as powerful business men. In movies, Latinas/os are usually represented in a small enclosed community surrounded by crime and drugs. However our film opening shows the Latina as an independent and hardworking business woman.
Our thriller opening represents middle class women as independent and powerful. Although we are visually introduced to only one character, the character of the voiceover is also a female. Usually we are shown the men giving the orders to complete such a task but here we decided to use a female to give the orders and a female to receive and follow out the orders. Again, following the normal stereotype would have been difficult to show seeing as we were a female dominated group so the best option was to challenge the stereotypes and try something different.
I believe our film would most likely be distributed as a DVD release or a ‘made for TV’ film. The film was made on a very low budget with no real ‘Star’ appeals and so would not make it in Hollywood. Big Hollywood Blockbuster movies have a variation of UK and US actor/ess and also countries. Our film neither explores US actor/ess or US landmarks and so would not make it in the states.
The audience is an integral part of the decisions in every step of movie-making. Without the audience films neither makes back its money or a profit. The target audience of our thriller would be independent eighteen plus to middle aged women with the occasional feminist seeking for empowerment. However, due to the fact that this is a female dominated film, this will also attract the male audience, aged twenty plus to middle aged.
Our typical female who fits into the target audience would be Sara.
Aged 23, studying law and aspires to be a successful lawyer, however their maybe the possibility that she I living her parents dream. Although her aspirations are big she struggles to balance her time spent on education and time spent having a social life. Sara fits into the niche audience and shops in Topshop and River Island. She loves going to bars and theatres when she is not studying.
Our typical male who fits into the target audience would be Andrew.
Aged 34 works in a banking office and has the stereotypical 2.4 average family. His constant love for his job keeps him away from his wife and children and so he seeks to the movie screens for female excitement. He is part of the mainstream audience and is classified as an achiever and shops in T.M Lewin.
Our typical male who fits into the target audience would be Andrew.
Aged 34 works in a banking office and has the stereotypical 2.4 average family. His constant love for his job keeps him away from his wife and children and so he seeks to the movie screens for female excitement. He is part of the mainstream audience and is classified as an achiever and shops in T.M Lewin.
To attract our audience I would market our film through the genre. This is because we have no real ‘Stars’ in the lead role. However seeing that we only made the opening to the film we could have a ‘Star’ introduced after the opening, maybe as the person that catches her going through the files. Genre and ‘Stars’ are the key aspects used to market a film, if the audience are not keen on the genre they will then look out for a movie with their favourite actor/ress. For example; Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, George Clooney in Oceans Twelve. 
The audience may not be interested in Action Thrillers however because their favourite actors star in the movie they will still go and watch it. I would advertise my film by trailers on TV but also on billboards and in DVD shops like HMV or Virgin Megastores.
Overall my experience on filming was quite interesting and informing. I learnt that a good film takes planning an organisation. From having a proper production schedule to the right props is key for making a filming session successful. Having previous preliminary tasks and practice made this experience a lot easier. However even with previous use, when using Final Cut pro to edit the final piece there was still aspects of the software that I had used for the very first time. For example; adding credits and re-framing. Simple software like Final Cut Pro made it able for amateurs to create a film opening, this just goes to show that with thorough planning and dedication it is possible for anyone to create a film or film opening. On a general note, the internet played a key role from the beginning. We used the internet to research for our plan but also to record the filming process on my blog and also release it on Vimeo and my blog. The internet has widened the potential audience for our film opening. Vimeo allows budding film producers to post their videos, this is where many film producers started off, by just posting their project on the internet.
Overall my experience on filming was quite interesting and informing. I learnt that a good film takes planning an organisation. From having a proper production schedule to the right props is key for making a filming session successful. Having previous preliminary tasks and practice made this experience a lot easier. However even with previous use, when using Final Cut pro to edit the final piece there was still aspects of the software that I had used for the very first time. For example; adding credits and re-framing. Simple software like Final Cut Pro made it able for amateurs to create a film opening, this just goes to show that with thorough planning and dedication it is possible for anyone to create a film or film opening. On a general note, the internet played a key role from the beginning. We used the internet to research for our plan but also to record the filming process on my blog and also release it on Vimeo and my blog. The internet has widened the potential audience for our film opening. Vimeo allows budding film producers to post their videos, this is where many film producers started off, by just posting their project on the internet.
Thriller films are suspense packed movies. Suspense is created by lighting, sound, editing and location. Looking back at our preliminary task I have learnt that for a film to be successful the planning has to be thorough and the target audience must be evident in every idea, plan and decision.
Storyboarding and planning are the base products to create a film, and if they are both not done precisely then problems will inevitably occur. If there was anything I would change I would have liked to have done a digital storyboard, therefore you could literally see what the film would be like when put together. After my storyboard was done accurately I would have made sure we stuck to our production schedule and storyboard. Looking back at our preliminary tasks I can clearly say that with practise things become well. Organisation, preparation and planning. Without those three aspects a film is destined to fail.
Audience Feedback
In general the audience really liked our film. This is because it was different from usual Thrillers and challenged a lot of stereotypes and conventions.
The audience was really impressed by out attempt to mimic the ‘Classic Opening’ using establishing shots of landmarks in Central London. They were also impressed by the shot of City hall through the Bridge and then the dissolve transition to City Hall, and the match cuts. They said that the actress came across very well and was extremely impressed by the thorough editing as we used four different locations and made the audience believe they were all in the same place. A member of the audience said this “worked flawlessly”. However our only downfall was the music. It was suggested that the music was played quietly under the voice over and the heartbeat should have ran into the music so that we had layers of sound.
Storyboarding and planning are the base products to create a film, and if they are both not done precisely then problems will inevitably occur. If there was anything I would change I would have liked to have done a digital storyboard, therefore you could literally see what the film would be like when put together. After my storyboard was done accurately I would have made sure we stuck to our production schedule and storyboard. Looking back at our preliminary tasks I can clearly say that with practise things become well. Organisation, preparation and planning. Without those three aspects a film is destined to fail.
Audience Feedback
In general the audience really liked our film. This is because it was different from usual Thrillers and challenged a lot of stereotypes and conventions.
The audience was really impressed by out attempt to mimic the ‘Classic Opening’ using establishing shots of landmarks in Central London. They were also impressed by the shot of City hall through the Bridge and then the dissolve transition to City Hall, and the match cuts. They said that the actress came across very well and was extremely impressed by the thorough editing as we used four different locations and made the audience believe they were all in the same place. A member of the audience said this “worked flawlessly”. However our only downfall was the music. It was suggested that the music was played quietly under the voice over and the heartbeat should have ran into the music so that we had layers of sound.
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