Images of location- why your using it/ how they fit thriller conventions

The house that I filmed in was good for my thriller as it fit most of the conventions. Although it was a light house, with the right lights it could look very disturbing. This would work perfectly when it is dark as it would create shadows that people could hide in. I am using it because it has a lot of sharp angles and also a lot of mirrors which could be useful when filming.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?safe=active&ie=UTF-8&layer=c&z=17&iwloc=A&sll=52.771604,-0.385012&cbp=13,199.0,0,0,0&cbll=52.771882,-0.384855&q=48+tarragon+way+bourne+lincolnshire+pe10+9na&ei=pKK0Uv_wJ5HY7AaFkoGIAQ&ved=0CDEQxB0wAA

How thriler openings are used

http://prezi.com/odq_o9jorsip/how-thriller-openings-are-used/

lighting plan

http://prezi.com/5lycyplxy2o8/edit/

Detailed shot list

Shot 1- close up- in this shot i wanted to create a feeling of tension. This was clear when you can see the light at the side of the room. This would set up for another shot later on. The reason that the room was dark was because i wanted to keep the focus on the door and on Kieran's face.

Shot 2-close up- in this shot you see the titles. I wanted to chop them up into different section as this would make it visually interesting and wouldn't make it look too gathered together. This is also to chop up the shots and create an atmosphere and help it to build.

Shot 3-close up- this shot is the same shot as shot 1. i wanted to keep the same shot as it would make it more dramatic when you see the girl in the background.

Shot 3-close up- this again is another shot of the titles. I wanted to make the titles differ from burning to just being charred.

Shot 4-close up- this is the same shot other than the girl in the back ground. I wanted to make it a more tense atmosphere and having the girl there will help create that as well as creating mystery. This will help later on in the film when trying to create the overwhelming feeling of being watched. This is a common factor that I will be using throughout the film as she is the main focus.

Shot 5- over the shoulder- in this shot you can see Kieran's reflection in the mirror. As he bends down to spit out the mouthwash you can see that there is nothing behind him.

Shot 6- over the shoulder- in this shot you see Kieran get back up from the sink and walk away. Behind him where there was no one before is the figure of the girl

Shot 7- close up/long shot- in this shot Kieran's character is walking down the stairs. It goes from a close up to a long shot as he gets further down the stairs. i wanted to do this to make it look like he was being watched as he went along

Shot 8- long shot- this shot is again of Kieran coming down the stairs but of him at the bottom of the stairs and going into the kitchen. In the right hand corner on the stairs you see the girl sitting there. This is to show that someone is watching him and because it is in a secluded place people will get a creepy atmosphere and they will only see her at certain places in the shot.

Shot 9- pan/point of view shot- this shot is of when Kieran is walking into the kitchen. It is from the girls point of view. This shot was to make the audience feel uncomfortable and to feel like they are being watched.

Shot 10- mid shot-  this mid shot is a shot i put in to show what it was that Kieran was doing. I thought that this shot would be better to use rather than a long shot or a close up as it shows that I have used a wide range of shots

Shot 11- close up- of the chopping board. this was to show what it was that Kieran was using and what it was he was getting out. The reason that it is white is because I wanted it to look pure.

Shot 12- mid shot- again this was a mid shot to show Kieran going around the kitchen. The object that he gets out is a knife. the reason that i wanted it to be a knife was so that it had the element of threat and danger.

Shot 13- high angle- i wanted this shot to be at a high angle because it shows dominance. I wanted to make the girl look like the dominant figure over Kieran so this is why i choose to do a high angle.

Shot 14- mid shot- this mid shot is mainly a reaction shot to the cupboards being open. i wanted it to be a mid shot because it would get the change of set and Kieran's reactions to the event. The cupboards opening makes the audience assume that the girl has been there and done this whilst Kieran was getting something out of the fridge. This makes the audience feel uncomfortable and uneasy.  

Shot 15- close up- this shot is purely a reaction shot to the knock at the door. The shot before this was creating the tension and the knock on the door releases the tension but also builds it back up again as you don't know who is at the door at that time. This follows the theme of tension and aggression as the knock is quite hard.

Shot 16- mid/long shot- in this shot as Kieran is walking to answer the door is a mid shot travelling into a long shot in one shot. I thought that this was an effective way of showing both the door and Kieran walking up to it.

Shot 17- point of view- in this shot you are Kieran walking down the corridor to go and answer the door. You can slightly see a figure at the door however it is not clear. This creates tension and makes the audience assume that someone is there.

Shot 18- close up- this shot is a close up of the keys that are in the door. I wanted to get a close up of these to make a break between him walking up to the door and him opening it.

Shot 19- point of view- this shot is from the girls point of view however Kieran can not see her. This is of Kieran looking confused as he thought that he saw someone there but they are not there anymore. This makes the audience feel nervous as they don't know what is going on.

Shot 20- point of view- this is from Kierans point of view as he looks around to see if anyone is there. This was used to have a change of scenery and also to make the audience feel uneasy as they don't know if anything is behind them.

Shot 21- pan shot/point of view- this shot is of Kieran turning around to go back into the house when he sees a girl standing in the doorway. This is to create dramatic tension between the audience and the characters on screen.

Shot 22- close up- this is a close up of the girls face. Her expression is angry. i wanted her to be this way as [art of the story line and to make her seem like she has something bothering her. i wanted to end on this shot as it is a dramatic moment in the film and i needed to have a jump scare to make it more thrilling.

Day of filming

For my thriller opening I decided that I was going to film on the weekend as that was the day that suited me and my actors time table. Unfortunately both of my actors pulled out last minute and I had to pull some people in and I ended up having Kieran Gabbitus and Jessica Hammond as my cast. I thought that they both fit the criteria that I was looking for in each character. For the day of shooting I decided to do it late at night as I feel that it would make it more aerie and create a bigger atmosphere. I found this important when watching 'The Woman In Black' as you only see her at night. Because its a night it could make the character uneasy as well as the audience as it can make the audience question what they saw. 'The Woman In Black' used shadows a lot and Ithink that it was that which made it effective as you were almost afraid of the shadows and I wanted to create that in my film as Ithink it is an effective part of a paranormal thriller.

I decided to film it in chronological order so that it would be easier when it came to editing. Also this meant that it was easier for the actors and it would make sense to them as well as myself later on in the process. we started off in the bedroom. I thought it would be a good way to introduce Kieran's character as you would associate your bedroom as being quite a safe place. this would create the tension throughout the film as it gives the impression that nowhere is safe. This would make the atmosphere very tense and that is the desired effect of the film. I wanted to make sure that i had enough footage with me so that when I was editing it would be easier as I would have a large range of shots and lengths of shots.

I found it helpful having both Kieran and Jess there to help me as they both study/studied media A-Level. They both helped me when watching the footage back and they helped me pick out what footage I needed to re-film and what footage I should use. This meant that i had someone from outside of the class room to give me advise and tell me what I should do in a constructive way.  

My Thriller

The thriller idea that I have decided to do is idea number one. I had chosen this one as I feel that it is the best one and I think that it will work very well with the environment that I have planned to film in. I think that it fits with the supernatural thriller/psychological thriller very well as I have included the typical conventions of a thriller. I felt that the reason why I would be better off doing a supernatural/psychological thriller as they are things that I personally am most scared off and I thought that I could use that and make it more exhilarating for the audience because its something that I culd relate to. My inspiration for the film was 'The Woman In Black' as that effeced me a lot through the use of lighting and fast edit and the use of shadows. The music in it was very effective and I felt that I could use some of those things that frightened me and use it to influence my decisions during the edit process.

Titles for my opening

The opening to my title was to have burning paper with the names of the actors/director and name of the film burning on them. I got the idea to do the titles like this when there were protests in 2011 for the 10 year anniversary since 9/11  and Terry Jones was threatening to burn 200 Quran's in honor of the people who died. One Quran was burned however Jones says that he had no part of it. I felt that the burning of the Quran would be something that would to relate back to as it was a significant event in time and I felt that it would be a factor of religious thrillers.

Preliminary VIdeo and Preliminary Evaluation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyfCt1azCHg

The preliminary task that was set for the group was to do a short film sequence of someone walking down a corridor, opening a door and having a conversation with someone else. As a group the things that had to be included was the 180* rule, a match on action shot, shot reverse shot and include continuity. Trying to include all of these was relatively easy, it was just knowing where abouts they would look best in the sequence.

the camerawork was pretty average. We had a lot of shaky shots and the movement shots were not smooth. The shots that we used were

• Long shot
• mid shot
• over the shoulder

All of the shots that we used made it visually interesting for the audience as we edited the shots to be at a fast pace. We decided that we would include computers and white boards to make it look more like a school environment. We found it difficult when moving the camera in one of the shots as the tripod was difficult to move as we were unaware of how to move it and loosen it up. One of the other movement shots that we used was going around the back of the actor. This was to show the change in the 180* rule. Unfortunately we broke the 180* rule earlier in the film which was very frustrating as this shows that we didn't think about it whilst we were filming. the steadiness of the over the shoulder shots were pretty bad as they were very shaky and i feel that we could have done it better and taken more time with it. Our strengths were the editing of the shots and mainly the tripod shots. i felt that like we had cleverly worked on the editing as it was visually interesting for the audience. our areas of improvements were to make the over the shoulder shots less shaky and to have a wider range of shots.

Our editing was pretty successful. I think we had done well to do this The sequence fit well together and all the shots joined well. We didn't stick to the 180* rule as we moved the camera without realising.We effectively used match on action in this particulare shot. Throughout the conversation we used shot reverse shot to show who was talking and the facial expressions. Thankfully the continuity was there. I thought that the titles were very basic and didn't really have a lot of effects on them as we felt that we should keep it very basic. We didn't really feel like we needed a lot of effects on the edit as we wanted it to be natural. The only thing we used was the fade in fade out as we wanted it to look more interesting. We used basic lighting as we felt like a complex lighting was not needed as we set it in a school environment.

The technical skills that I have learnt are how to use imovie on the mac, how to do a storyboard, shot types that work well together, how to effectively use lighting to create atmosphere. I want to improve on my knowledge of mise-en-scene for thrillers as i feel it will help me when it comes to making my thriller.

Planning: Actors

The original actors that I had chosen to be in my thriller unfortunately dropped out last minute so I had to re-cast. I have decided to use Jessica Hammond to be the person who plays the ghost. I thought that the ghost should be a girl instead as the audience would feel more sympathetic towards her in the rest of the film. I have also decided to use former student Kieran Gabbitus as the main character of the film. I felt that he was someone who would make a good addition to the film as he is an actor himself and he has the experience of being in front of the camera through his training and also as he has been in a media production before. Jessica has blond hair. this makes her look very innocent as a child and makes her more innocent to the audience. Kieran has brown hair and this makes him look very masculine. I feel that I have made a good decision with my casting and I feel that I am going to get a good result from it.

What makes an effective opening to a thriller?

The opening to any film is important as it sets the mood and the tone of the film. For a thriller film it is exactly the samehowever the pace of the openign would be faster and more like an action film in most cases.

What things do you look for in a thriller opening?
Camerawork~ the camera work in threillers you would expect to seee a lot of close ups, extreame close up, high and low angle shots. These are what you would most commonly see in thrillers as they have the most impact on an audience. The pace of the opening has to be quick cutting as it needs to have an effect on the audience to make them want to keep on watching the film and want to know more about the story and the charatcers. the camera work has to be effctive as the audience could get bored and wont continue watching it. In 28 Days Later the atmosphere in the opening scene makes the audience feel alone as does the charatcer. i had an area of mystery around it as you dont know why everyone had evactuate and he is left behind. This makes the audience more intregued to carry on watching it but also the camera work is very clever as the director has used a number of shots that are visually interesting.

Editing- as i said befer the editing has to be fast paced but not nessacerally action based. It can be jumping form one shot to the next in a quick motion or a tracking shot to follow the charatcers movements. In thrillers editing plays a very important part in making the film interesting as you constantly need the audience to be in a state of catharsis and you constantly need to surpirse them with shots and angles to show characters emotions and feelings.

Narrative~ the narrative in fims help the audience to understand what is going on or what has happened before that particular part in the story. The narrative is mainly a voice over which is done by the main character of the story. This introduces the story to us and also gives the audience an idea of what the charcter is like. Because the audience can only hear the charcters voice their imagination into what the character is going to look like has already been put into perspective. This gives the audience something to thing about diring the opening as they have not been fully iintroduced to what the charcter is like. This is an effective way of getting the story going and not giving the audience too much information but giving them enough to start their thought proccess into what the rest of the story could be.

Mise-en-scene~ this is one of the most important aspects of films in general. The costume,props, make-up, setting, etc is what makes a film. In a thriller film the costumes create a different between a good person and an bad person. You can be stereotypical with our costumes (white for good, black for bad) but you do generally see lighter colours on good guys and darker colours on bad guys however most of the thime they are not just black and white. Make-up plays a part in thrillers. For example, Dracula has a pale face but very defined cheek bones with sharp edges and darkened eyes. Where as Van Helsing has neutral make up. Depending on what type of thriller it is your props will vary. If you have an action thriller you would expect to see things like guns and high speed cars. If it is a horror thriller you would expect to see things like knives and face blood.

Shots I Will Use

Costume In More Detail

Clothing shades and colours

Ideas for titles discussion

In today's lesson I thought about the titles for my opening to my thriller. I really like the idea of getting burning paper/newspaper clipping of the house that burnt down there years ago. It is going to have the actors names burning on the paper to tie in the theme of the newspaper clippings. The speed of the shots will be sped up as the paper burning might take a while.

Things i have decided to do:

• Burn newspaper with names of actors etc
• Use pictures of an old house to fit the period on the newspaper
• The sequence that the storyline is going to be and a shot list

The Thriller Genre

Thrillers are films, books, TV programmes that use suspense, excitement and tension as its main conventions. They are designed to make the viewer feel a high level of anticipation, expectations and anxiety. Thrillers became most popular in the 1940s (just after WW2 ended). since then the story lines have become more shocking and relevant to everyday society. The most common sub-genres of thrillers are:

• Psychological
• Crime
• Erotic
• Mystery
• Paranormal

What conventions would you typically find in a thriller?

Camerawork & Editing~ you generally find a tracking or a pan shot at the beginning of your thriller. This is to show the action and so that the audience feel like they are moving with the characters if they were for example in a high speed chase. It mainly focuses on the character/ a group of people we should pay attention to. The shot that is most commonly used is the close up. It is used so that the audience can see the facial expressions of the characters or to put emphasis on a particular object.The two most common angle that are used are the high angle and the low angle. This create a dominance/innocence towards the character. For example, if your character is begin over powered by someone, you would usually use a low angle shot to show that that person is more dominant. However if you wanted to show someone being innocent then you would just a high angle shot to show the audience that the person they are looking down upon is innocent. The editing is normally very fast pased and uses a lot of jump cuts to show different events going on at the same time. This keeps the audience more involved with the story line and make it more exhilarating for them to watch.

Mise-en-scene~lighting is one of the key conventions in mise-en-scene as it creates atmosphere and tension. You mostly find that in thrillers the rooms are never really lightly lit. They are mainly dark spaces. Having dark space makes the audience feel very uneasy as they don't know if anything is in those dark spaces. The costumes depend on what type of character the actors are portraying. If you are an officer in a war thriller then you would be wearing an arm uniform. The directors use costume to make the main characters stand out if they are in a large crowd. It can vary from colours to fittings or even the complete opposite in style. The props that are used depend again on what type of thriller it is. If you are doing an action thriller then you could have props like knives and guns. The setting of the thriller depends on the genre/sub-genre. For example if you were using film noir then it would be set in a city where it is crowded and uncomfortable. But if you were doing a psychological thriller then it might be set somewhere far away from anything (towns or cities).

Sounds~ sound is probably one of the most important aspects in thriller films. Sounds create atmosphere and tension and set the tone/mood of the scene. The non-diegetic sound is mainly music that the editing team has put in there to create a mood. Some things like dialogue can sometimes be dubbed over after filming if the speech was not clear. The most common non-diegetic sound is the soundtrack that plays during the titles of the film. Diegetic sound is sound from within the film so things like footsteps and speech from actors. Footsteps can be used in many different ways in thrillers. They create tension and atmosphere for the charatcer and the audience as someone is walking towards the character. It creates catharsis and in some situations you can feel like you empathise with he charatcer. Another non-diegetic sound is narrative. Some film openings have voice overs to introduce charatcers and story lines. This is a very interesting technique to use as the audience cannot see where the voice is coming from but they know it is a character from the film.

How is gender represented in Shallow Grave?

In this particular scene in Shallow Grave the theme of gender is represented in different ways. The costumes that the characters wear give the audience a clear image into whether the character is an innocent or a dangerous. The character of Juliet has quite a provocative costume. Her dress is low cut and about knee length. This could suggest to the audience that she is deliberately trying to be provocative and that she wants to draw attention to herself. Also she stands out from the other females that are at the due as they are wearing bolder colours where as she is wearing plain black. You also notice that the other women are all wearing full length dresses which could suggest that Juliet has a lack of class and elegance. The costume that Alex wears in very casual however they are not in a casual environment. This makes the audience feel more drawn to him as they are surrounded with people who are smartly dressed and then you have someone who stands out from them all because the audience naturally assumes that everyone is going to be elegantly dressed and not in informal wear. However David is the complete opposite to these two. He is dresses quite elegantly and is very professional. This shows the audience that he is very self conscious and that he feels the need to impress all the time which is very ironic as this is quite a feminine thing to do.

The props that are used are mainly the champagne glasses and the champagne. Also there are roses shown during the scene. This shows the scene to be very feminine and quite romantic. This is son as the audience mainly sees a female dominated place. However the audience are aware that the content is not romantic and is quite masculine. The setting is very elegant and very wealthy. This shows the audience that the environment is very dignified and that gives the audience something to relate to as they could imagine themselves in that situation.

The shot types that are used represent gender in a very specific way. The specific shot that contradicts the obvious stereotype is the POV shot when Alex is on the ground. This shows Juliet to be the most dominant character and in a way to be more of a masculine role. You can see this because traditionally the men have a higher authority than the women and this is turned around in this shot. This makes the audience feel intimidated by her too because she is the higher authority and is looking down on the audience.

There is also a two shot. This shows that the characters are close but also it shows the contrast between Alex, Juliet and David. They leave him on his own which could suggest isolation from them. This shows your typical lovers type relationship however we know that they are not. The camera angles make the characters look more aggressive and threatening which is normally why the director uses these types of shots. The point in particular that this angle is clear on is when David is shouting at another man. The angle on David is almost on a slight tilt and this shows authority and aggression towards that particular person.  The framing that Boyle has used makes it clear that when David is having an argument with someone that he is the only one out of the three that is in shot. This could suggest that he is more of a dominant character. However it is contrasted beforehand because he seems to be the more feminine figure as he seems worried and afraid and Juliet seems to be the more masculine figure as well as Alex.

The diegetic sounds in this scene are mainly the talking. The conversation that goes on between Alex and Juliet is very coarse in that type of environment. This is against your stereotypical image of a woman as you would expect a lady to talk properly and have the correct mannerisms. However you can see a clear contrast in our character and our stereotypical woman. Having the conversations in there make it more interesting for the audience because they can relate to the conversation as the characters are talking and joking as someone more common would talk. This could suggest that the film is aimed at working class people and also that it is aimed for both males and females. Also there is a clear diegetic sound in the scene as the main music is coming from the band that is playing in the background. This is obvious as you see the band playing in the scene. The editing differs throughout the scene as the tempo of the music changes and this speeds up the pace of the editing. You notice that it is very slow at the beginning at does a cross cut from one conversation to the other. This shows a contrast in the classes and in the gender of the conversations. 

Overall Boyle represents the men and women as being the opposite in personality. This makes the audience feel uneasy as they are not fully aware of what the characters are about and what their true intentions are. This scene shows the audience that the characters are contrasting to what we would normally associate being the typical male/female. 

 

Sub-Genre

Sub-Genre: genre within a genre                                                               Hybrid: genre mixing

·
Action thriller: example- speed
·
Science fiction thriller: example- Aliens, Inception
·
Noir thriller: example- Sin City
·
Crime/Gangster thriller: example-
·
Religious thriller: example- The body
·
Psychological thriller: example- Seven, Momento, The Silence of the Lambs
·
Erotic thriller: examples- Basic Instinct, Eyes Wide Shut
·
Supernatural thriller: example- Paranormal Activity, El Orfanato, What Lies Beneath
·
Political thriller: example- The Ides of March, Enemy of State, In The Line of Fire
·
Dystopia thriller: example- The Hunger Games, V for Vendetta, The Matrix

When you choose a target audience you have to consider
·
Gender
·
Age
·
Level of education
·
Life style
　
　
　

Film Noir

Film Noir was the first purpose made thriller. It was highly popular in the day (WW2) and was highly influential on modern cinema. The reason that this is so popular is because of the effective use of lighting and mise -en-scene.

What is Film Noir about?
· A hero with a past
·
Fatal woman
·
Always set in big American cities
·
Most popular immediately after WW2
·
Themes- sexual politics, deception, crime

Hero
Ø
Man of middle years- about 30’s-40’s
Ø
Embroiled in a plot not of his making
Ø
Helpless to resist the sexual advances of female fatale
Ø
Usually dies at the end

Female Fatale
Ø
Sexually liberal woman
Ø
Gets the hero into trouble
Ø
Double crossing
Ø
Murderous
Ø
Hair draped over one eye

The City
Ø
A place where sin is rife
Ø
An impersonal setting
Ø
Capitalist
Ø
A dark place
Ø
Unfriendly
Ø
Modern

Post WW2
Ø
Male insecurity in returning to a female dominated world
Ø
Women have to use their wiles to regain control
Ø
Man is no longer a hero

The Influence
Ø
German expressionist cinema

Features of Expressionism
Ø
Archways (portals and doorways)
Ø
Shadows (often bars)
Ø
Mirrors
Ø
Windows
Ø
Sharp angles and lines dividing the shot
　
　
　

How does Wilder convey the character and their relationship in the penultimate scene in Double Indemnity?

In this scene of “Double Indemnity” Wilder uses film noir to show the relationship between the two main characters. Using film noir helps Wilder to create a dramatic effect which makes the audience question the characters motives.

One of the most important aspects of film noir is the use of shadows and in this scene Wilder uses it right at the beginning when you see a silhouette standing in the doorway of the room. This gives the scene a moment of mystery because you are unaware of who the person is that is standing there. It creates the tension between the characters and the audience. This is a classic technique used in film noir and makes the audience on edge and at a constant state of catharsis as the audience feels like they are not safe but they know they are. Another use of shadow that Wilder uses is when Walter is walking to close the shutters his face is constantly going in and out of the shadow. This could suggest to the audience that he is quite a mysterious character and that he shouldn’t be trusted. However there is a lack of shadow on Phyllis’ face which could suggest that she is innocent but we know that she is not as Walter talks about her killing her husband. This could mean that she is open about what she has done but Walter is more enclosed about it. This could suggest that the characters relationship is strained and that they are having a hard time during this scene due to conflicting emotions.

At the beginning of the scene when Walter emerges from the shadows into the room you notice a big black chair that is sitting in the corner of the room. The chair is very prominent in the shot which would suggest that this was once the husbands chair and also because the colour of the chair is very dark it could suggest that this represents his death seeing as there is no light on it. The chair is empty which creates quite an eerie environment and I think that this was why Wilder used this in the composition. Also the chair represents the lack of authority that is there now because the chair is empty and is also in the corner towards the back of the room. In a way the chair overlooks the scene and the events which follow because it is one of the largest objects in the room and this makes the room look more intimidating and more frightening in quite a mellow way.

The camera angles that Wilder uses create a tension between the characters. This shot in particular of Walter going behind the chair that Phyllis is sitting on; the camera is on a low angle. This makes Walter more intimidating towards the audience because he is the authoritative figure. Also this makes the audience feel threatened because they have to look up to the actors and this is quite a vulnerable position for the audience to be in because they feel like they are being looked down upon by Walter.

The framing of the scene is very interesting because in the first part of the scene they are in the same frame however when the topic turns quite serious the framing changes and then they are not in the same shot for a while. This creates a tension between the characters because you can see that their relationship is strained but also it creates a tension between the characters and the audience because you are not sure what the other character is doing at that point. Wilder has used this to create a wall between the audience and the actors and this makes the audience feel uneasy because they feel like in a way they are being excluded.

The shot types are quite basic and yet they create a lot of tension. One of the more dominant shots used is the close up on Phyllis’s face before she gets shot. You can see the emotion in her face and the lighting is very clever because is emphasises the tears building up in her eyes. Wilder has used this shot to make the audience feel sympathetic towards her because she is made to look quite innocent and vulnerable. The emotions on her face are in a contrast to what her character is like normally because she is quite a strong willed person who doesn’t seem to be moved and affected by a lot of things. However in this shot Wilder has made her look like she is scared and afraid. This could suggest that this is her true emotions coming out and she feels as if she needs to be comforted by someone, which again is in contrast as she is alone before. In a way she is almost childlike in character here because when a child is scared the first thing they do is cling to the older figure and that is what she is doing here. This again is a classic technique used in film noir as this character clearly falls into the feminine fatale state as she is quite manipulative and aggressive towards the character of Walter.

How does Hitchcock use cinematography to create tension in the Parlour Scene in Psyco

Hitchcock uses a number of techniques to create tension in the parlour scene. He uses framing to create a barrier between Marian and Norman because they are never in the same shot together. This creates tension between the audience and the characters because you are unaware of what the other person is doing in the scene. The use of framing becomes apparent as soon as they go into the parlour because from then on you don’t see them in the same shot. That physical barrier between them makes you feel distant from the characters that are not in shot because you find yourself searching for them and trying to figure out what they are doing and whether or not they are in danger or planning something. You are never quite sure what the other person is doing and this makes the audience feel uneasy also it makes the characters a bit mysterious. This also makes the scene more intense.

The lighting that Hitchcock uses is very interesting in this scene. You can see that there is only on source of light and that is from the tiny lamp on the side table. The shadows that are created make the room look more cramped and more claustrophobic than normal. You notice the shadows the most on the characters faces than anywhere else. On Marian, there is no shadow. This shows her as being more innocent and that she only has one side. But we know that she is not 100% innocent because of the money she stole. However, Norman has a large shadow running across his face. This makes us feel anxious because he almost has another side to him that we can’t see; a darker side almost. This makes us feel threatened by him because he has a different side to him that we don’t know about which could also say to us that he is not innocent like Marian and could possibly have a dark past.

The shot types that Hitchcock uses don’t really change throughout this scene however when they start talking about Norman’s mother the shots drastically change into a close up and suddenly everything gets really tense because Norman also leans forward. The reason this makes us feel uneasy is because you feel like Norman is getting in your face and he is at an uncomfortable position in front of the camera. This also makes Norman the dominant figure in the shot because when it cuts back to Marian she is intimidated by him and is still in the same shot and in the same position. His tone changes too, its sharper and to the point. The fact that Hitchcock uses a close up shot shows the emotion on Normans face and also it makes his face the main focus in the shot because there is not a lot else in frame at that point. Also the light on the shadowed side of his face gets a lot darker which shows he is more intense and that his darker side is coming out. The tone in his voice changes too and this makes him sound aggressive towards Marian. However when he sits back in the chair again the shadow grows less intense which shows that he is back to his normal self again.

The composition in this scene matter a lot because they all play a part in making the tension build. One of the more dominant objects in the scene is the owl in the top left had corner of the frame. The reason for it being one of the more dominant objects is because the owl has its wings fully extended which show us its size and already makes us feel intimidated. This shows that the shot is being dominated by a predator. However you also see that the owl is looking directly into the camera. This makes the audience feel like they are being watched at all times and makes them feel intimidated because they are being over powered by the owl because it looks a lot bigger than them on screen. It is also the second biggest thing in shot, the first being Normans head. However there is not much in it which shows us that there are two dominant figures in the shot. Also in the shot there are two picture frames. The pictures that are on them are of two naked ladies and fully clothed men. This could possibly foreshadow the upcoming events of the shower scene.

The camera angles don’t really change that much in this scene. However when Norman gets angry with Marian the angle only slightly changes. It goes from a pretty neutral to a very slight high angle shot. The reason that Hitchcock did this was because he wanted to make Marian look intimidated and vulnerable to the audience. Also this would make the audience feel more like the dominant figure as they are looking down on her. This shot creates tension without the audience realising what has happened because the way the shot changes is almost unnoticeable. I think that this was a good decision to only have a small change in shot because it wouldn’t look right if both of them had really elaborate shot changes because it would make it too dramatic. Using different angels makes it visually more interesting for the audience because it keeps them interested for longer and it engrosses them deeper into the story and also makes them feel more intimidated and overwhelmed by the shots.



　

How does Thompson create an atmosphere of threat in the school yard scene in Cape Fear (1962)?

In this scene of Cape Fear Thompson creates the subject of threat the main feature of the scene which is created by the character Max Cady. Thompson has used many techniques to show this with his use of cinematography and mise-en-scene. The shot types that he uses are clever and make you feel sympathetic towards the character of Nancy. He uses a tracking shot to follow her when she gets out of the car and starts running. This gives the audience the sense that she is being followed and that someone is getting closer to her. This shows the character of Cady to be very threatening because he has made her feel uncomfortable and scared without really doing much. This could suggest that he is also quite a dominant character as he shows quite a threatening posture and facile expressions.

The composition in this scene is very interesting because at the start of the scene all of the actors are going in different directions across streets and around the town. However the intensity starts to build up is when Cady starts to walk towards Nancy in the car and everyone starts to walk away from her. This makes the audience feel uneasy because you feel like he is bearing down on you and this makes him more threatening towards not only the audience but towards the character of Nancy. Because he is walking towards the car in quite a calm fashion the threat begins to grow because he is walking with a purpose but you are unsure of what that purpose is exactly. This is a kind of contrast from what Nancy is like towards him as he comes closer because she starts to panic and run and is quite a fast paced where as Cady stays at the same pace.

The shot types that are used in this scene differ a lot to create a threatening atmosphere in the scene. The main shot that causes a lot of effect is close ups because you can see the characters expressions and see their emotion which makes them more relatable to the audience and you feel more attached to them. The shot where you find Nancy looking quite vulnerable is when you first realise that Cady is walking towards her and the camera is on a high angle on a tilt. This makes her look very vulnerable and makes the audience feel sympathetic towards her because you know how young and how oblivious she is to the world at that point. There is a very clever shot that Thompson has used and it is an over the shoulder shot. This shot in particular makes the audience feel catharsis towards the character of Nancy because you are aware of the threat that Cady lingers on her however she is not aware that he is coming towards her. It makes the audience panic because they almost feel helpless to her and you feel the urge to help her and warn her of the opposing danger.

The use of shadows in this scene is very important. There is one specific scene where Nancy is in the car and her face has a lot of shadow on it. This foreshadows the fact that she will be over powered by Cady and the shadows could represent his looming figure that is hovering over her. This again makes her look more vulnerable and more child like because it shows her innocence.

The sounds that you hear in the scene differ from diegetic to non- diegetic. The most dominant diegetic sound that you hear is the footsteps of the characters. Cady's footsteps are very calm and at the same pace all the way through this scene. This creates quite an eerie sound because his calmness in a way makes you feel uncomfortable. However Nancy’s footsteps are very childlike and clumsy when she runs because she is afraid and you can hear that in the heaviness of her footsteps and how uneven the beat is. Another sound that you hear is the hissing of the fountain. We generally associate hissing with snakes and in Christianity the snake is a symbol of the devil. This sound is only present when Cady walks passed the fountain. This could suggest to the audience that he is the devil and is pure evil. The non- diegetic sounds that you hear are in a minor key which gives it a very uneasy feel about it. The tempo is a staccato and this makes it very fast paced and because it is like this it helps to create a threatening atmosphere because it is almost like a very fast heart beat. The dischord notes and the staccato help to create a dramatic tension between the characters and the audience. The reason that this makes it threatening is because they are quite dangerous sounds.

The costumes that the character wear are really important to the idea of threat in this scene. The character of Cady wears all white. This would stereotypically be on someone who is pure and innocent; however we know that this is not the case. It is ironic for this scene because you would expect Nancy to be wearing white as she is the most innocent person there. Nancy’s costume is again really important because she looks like a 15 year old child who goes to school. This brings out her innocence even more because she looks like your stereotypical 15 year old back in the 60’s. This makes Cady’s presence even more threatening because she is a young girl.

Thriller conventions

Thriller Conventions

Camera Shots- mid shots- reactions, emotions,

                       - close ups- involvement, concealment, claustrophobic

 Editing- typical transitions- dissolves to link events, fades to black/ white to show flashbacks/time movement, quick cuts to create tension

Thriller Opening Conventions- titles- actors directors camera, etc,

                                                - Ident- film company

                                                - Introduce key characters

                                                - Create an atmosphere

                                                - Plot introduction (key event)

Sound- music or soundtrack to create the atmosphere

          - enhance plot

          - ambient style

          - avoid dialogue, perhaps a voice over?

Mise-en-scene- props hint at the plot

                       - setting need realism, something that looks realistic to the audience

                       - characters- male dominance (hero/villain) women- generally the damsel in distress

                       - lighting- use of light and dark for atmosphere

Narrative- ideas about revenge, justice, crime,

               - time sequences often change, chronology- psychological effect

Sub-Genres- techno, supernatural, crime, religion, action, psychological, film noir, science fiction, conspiracy, disaster, Eco, medical, mystery, political, romance, spy