Questionnaire

This is the copy of our questionnaire which will be printed and handed out to potential audiences.

                                                                                                                                                    Conventions of thriller films: The Taking of Pelham 123 (1974)

Convention	Example from the film clip
Good v evil (protagonist v antagonist)	Antagonist looks suspicious with a package of some sort. Could be something dangerous Weapons/bombs
Vulnerable victims- often a female (damsel in distress)	A woman sitting on the train minding her own business but a man comes over and touches her- putting her in a vulnerable situation.
The two main characters are normally a protagonist and antagonist	Antagonist- trying to hijack the train- putting everyone in danger on the trains.
The story often begins peacefully, which is then interrupted by a major event	Start of the train station everything seems normal. There are busy trains- then it goes from calm to tension building when the man holds a gun to a mans head.
The main aim is for the protagonist to restore peace while the antagonist is trying to destroy it	Antagonist sneakily comes onto the train looking suspicious with packages which could be bombs or some sort of weapons.
The protagonist is usually a brave male, while the antagonist has a hidden identity and is often seeking revenge	Civilians on the train seem to be the protagonist; however no main hero is noticeable.
Low key lighting	Low lighting show they’re on the underground train/ subway. There is harsh lighting on the station.
Quick cuts in the edit	Cutting between the characters e.g. antagonists to the children
Shadows	Shadows on the antagonist to show his bad side. Hides the man’s emotion- mystery. Low key lighting result in a lot of shadows which is good for thriller films.
Tense Music	Diegetic sound of the train breaks and dialogue but shortly cuts to silence in the train station. The title music soundtrack sounds like an old cop or detective type film.
Changes in camera angles and shot types. There might be a lot of close ups or extreme close ups of the protagonist to show their emotions	Close ups of the antagonist to show their sneaky/ emotionless expressions. Establishing shot of the busy town with all the cars and traffic. Wide shots to show the train pulling into the train station.
Costume- antagonist will often wear dark clothing whereas the protagonist wears everyday clothes	Antagonist- wearing typical fake moustache, hat, glasses and long coat which makes him looks like a detective. As the characters try to hide their faces, it makes them blend in with society. All the antagonists all wear a similar dark uniform to show that they’re all a part of the same gang or working for the same person.

Treatment- Detonation 180

180

Our film title will be called Detonation 180. This is because we have planned to have a terrorist attack in our film and the name 'Detonation' links to the bombing of the train as the bomb is detonated. We have decided to have the number '180' because in a series of films the number 180 signifies the idea of doom and destruction.

Cast

False antagonist- Janna Lowe
Waitress- Grace Such
Customer- Lisa Taylor
Pushed pedestrian- Laura Chapple

We will also have in our film, a number of extras that will be sitting next too the false antagonist on the train to add to the atmosphere of being on a busy train.

Research on Flightplan

Whilst watching Flightplan in the opening sequence I noticed that the first thing that you see is the production company’s name Touchstone and there logo before the credits start. Following this it comes up with ‘image entertainment presents’. In the opening sequence there is a use of a white text on black background. The credit sequence is combined with different shots; the credits mirror the objects in the shots. For example, in one of them the credits move with the door. The credits are in a simple font and appear in the right hand corner of the shot, the credits include the actor’s names for example Jodie Foster. The title sequence is quick and flashes like the movement of the train and continues slowly throughout the entire opening sequence. The credit sequence also includes ‘music composed by’, ‘edited by’ and ‘directed by’ at the beginning of the film.

The opening sequence creates many questions- why is she at the train station? Why is she reluctant to get on the train? Why is she in a mortuary? Whose body is in the coffin? The first character we see in Flightplan is a mysterious woman. The woman is in the train station and appears scared and anxious. This is reflected in the clothes that she wears are dark and makes her look miserable and like she is in mourning, creating a dark atmosphere. Also her face is pale and looks like she is ill, suggesting that something has happened to her or is going to happen. The women talks in a foreign language and subtitles are used, this creates a sense of mystery as we wonder why she is not speaking in English, is she trying to hide her identity? Flashbacks are also used In Flightplan, we see flashbacks of her and a man, making us wonder who he is. We later learn that it is her husband in the coffin and she is having flash backs throughout the sequence, remembering the times when he was alive. But how did he die? We are left wondering and for what reason?

The story is confusing and is told in flashbacks and at the beginning of the sequence there is a wide shot of the woman waiting for a train. It begins zooming into her back. She is wearing simple clothes- dull colours and a black jacket, setting the mood. We also meet various other mysterious German men, all in black. We then see a coffin and finally, a bird’s eye view of her dead husband. We can infer this as the use of flashbacks gives us the idea that she was once with this man as it flashes back to happier memory of them together, suggesting that there are or were a couple.

There is no music at the beginning just the sudden burst of the train to build up the atmosphere. It is tense and quite then a slow eerie music begins to play over the sound of the screeching train. During the flashback the non- diegetic music turns calm with a slow piano to create a dream like effect that is brought back into harsh reality as she fades out of her flashback into the real world, back to the scary, suspenseful music The only diegetic noise is the train and a little bit of dialogue which is in a foreign language, this is used to create a sense of mystery.   

A large range of shots are used in the opening sequence- wide shots to show the surroundings and give the audience a clear idea of what is occurring; close ups, to show the expression of the characters; mid shots to show her body posture and clothing. Low angle shots are used to make the character look intimidating and high angle shots are used to make the audience/ character feel powerful and superior, and simple camera movements such as zoom, track and arc are used to create an atmosphere for the audience.  

  

Other Thriller Films

We researched the following films to help produce a storyline idea for our own Thriller film opening sequence:

I have discovered that Source Code is a Thriller Film about a soldier called Captain Colter Stevens who wakes up on a train to Chicago. He has no idea where he is and what he is doing there. The woman with him keeps calling him Sean and seems to know him. However, whenever Steven looks into a mirror he sees Sean as his reflection. Suddenly the train blows up and the scene cuts out. Source code uses many Thriller conventions such as, mistaken identities, innocent victims, characters with dark pasts and it brings a sense of uncertainty.

The Sixth Sense is a thriller film about a boy who can see ghosts- at first we are uncertain if he is lying or not, but later it is revealed that he is telling the truth. He is visited by Doctor Crow, a child psychologist, who is having relationship problems after he was shot by one of his ex-patients, to help convince him that ghosts aren’t real. The boy seemed quite scared by the doctor, but manages to convince him that ghosts are real. Dr Crow tells him to help the ghosts move on. The end reveals a huge plot twister- Dr Crow died when his ex-patient shot him and the boy helped him move on.

The Bourne Identity is about a man found by fishermen with multiple shot wounds and a microchip displaying a code for a safety deposit box. When the man wakes up he has no idea who he is and is chased by multiple people, but he doesn’t know why.  He takes the name of Jason Bourne when he finds an ID card. Through his adventures involving crime, suspense, intense excitement, he has to find out who he is.

Fight Club is about an unnamed narrator who suffers from insomnia. To gain relief, he attends all support groups, pretending to be one of them. He soon finds a woman just like him and they discuss a schedule. He later meets a man called Tyler, and they start a fist fight. They become friends and Tyler lets him move in. Tyler and the Narrator continue the fistfights and soon get an audience- this begins Fight Club. Tyler and the narrator fall out due to the woman he met at the support groups and Tyler becomes the leader of all fight clubs around the world in the group he calls ‘Project Mayhem’. The Narrator tries to join the project, but Tyler disappears. People start calling him Tyler, the huge plot twist shows that Tyler is him and that they are one- he was his disassociated personality and that Tyler was in fact controlling his body.
 The Narrator blacks out and wakes to find that Tyler was going to bomb all credit card companies to help stop all debts. The Narrator tries to stop them, but is subdued by his other personality. ;ater he is held at gunpoint by Tyler, when the Narrator realises that he himself is holding the gun. The Narrator shoots himself in the cheek, killing Tyler with a wound to the back of the head. Project Mayhem members’ hand the woman to ‘Tyler’ and the Narrator and her watch, holding hands, as the bomb goes off.
It includes the following conventions; intense excitement, suspense, uncertainty, plot twister, innocent victims, suspicious individuals.

Researching Thriller Films

Butterfly Effect

The Butterfly Effect is about Evan Treborn. As a boy, He suffered from memory black outs, where he suddenly finds himself somewhere else, confused. Everyone thinks he fakes them to get out of trouble. He keeps a diary of his black out since the age of seven. But when he reads one of his diaries, he is taken back in time to his black out- with the freedom to change what happened in his past, he changes his future. Any which way he turns of tries to put right wrongs, he always hurts people or ends up unhappy.
It includes the codes and conventions:

·         Suspense

·         Uncertainty

·         Anxiety

·         Mysterious Situation

·         Plot Twister

·         Characters with Dark pasts

·         Innocent Victims

·         Suspicious Individuals

·         Loss of Memory

·         Mistaken Identity

Falling Down

Falling Down is about William, also known as D-FENS. William just wants to get home to see his daughter for her birthday. Unfortunately, nothing is going right for him. First, there’s a traffic jam, then the unhelpful shopkeeper and soon, William begins to crack and starts fighting everyday injustices he encounters on the way home. He acquires a few weapons and smashed up the shopkeepers shop and demands a burger that looks like the one in the picture at gunpoint. His actions attract a retiring officer, he tries to stop him.
It includes the codes and conventions:

·         Intense excitement

·         Dangerous situations

·         Down on their luck losers

·         Suspicious individuals

·         Crime

Identity

Identity is about Malcom Rivers who has been convicted as the perpetrator of several murders and is about to be sentenced to death. However, his lawyers and psychiatrist claim that Malcom is insane. This new evidence results to a meeting with the prosecutors to judge the verdict. Meanwhile, ten strangers are stranded at a desolate Nevada Hotel during a nasty rainstorm, when they realise they are being killed off one by one. We soon realise that the ten strangers are in fact Malcoms alter egos and he is suffering from schizophrenia. His personalities fight for survival from the mysterious murder personality, but which one will make it out alive?
It includes the codes and conventions:

·         Uncertainty

·         Suspense

·         Dangerous Situation

·         Plot Twister

·         Woman in Danger

·         Murder Mystery

·         Assassins

·         Innocent Victims

·         Characters with Dark Pasts

·         Prison inmates

·         Crime

·         Being Chased

·         Mistaken Identity

Codes and Conventions of a Thriller Film

A thriller is a type of film genre that uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements. This is because when you watch a thriller you are meant to be left ‘cliff-hanging’ and on the end of your seat. Tension builds up and causes high level of anticipation, uncertainty and anxiety with the audience.

To create this high level tension thrillers often use devices such as red herrings, plot twists and cliff-hangers.

·        A red herring is something used in films which misleads or distracts the viewer from relevant or important issues in a storyline so you are left in shock when the actual storyline is revealed.

·        A plot twist is a sudden and unexpected change in the direction or outcome of the plot of a film. A way of ‘falling’ the audience in this way is to include a false antagonist/ protagonist and presenting the character at the start of the film to be the main character. Then however you then ‘dispose’ of the character, normally by killing the character. This could also be seen as a red herring.

·        A cliff- hanger is a devise often used in thriller films and is often created by putting a main character in a dilemma or life or death situation. As a viewer you are then left in suspense and shock and you want to know the outcome.

·        Thrillers also frequently use enigmas. Enigmas are the mysteries of the plot in thriller films. These are used because as an audience we question what is happening and why it is happening, this is done to create tension and mystery.

Thriller films often put the main characters/ character in a strange or dangerous situation. Common things of thrillers are usually crime, being chased, loss of memory, mistaken identity and being wrongly accused of something.

 The typical types of characters found in thriller films include convicts, criminals, stalkers, assassins, down on their luck losers, innocent victims, prison inmates, characters with dark pasts, cops and escape cons, suspicious individuals and people involved in twisted relationships.  The characters that are often put into dangerous situations are usually innocent victims. For example, this can be seen in Hitchcock’s film Rebecca, as Mrs Danvers tries to persuade Mrs De Winter to leap to her death.

Thrillers commonly take place in ordinary suburbs and cities. However, they are sometimes set in exotic settings, for example foreign cities, deserts, Polar Regions or the high seas. The settings help to create tension and a sense of mystery.

Some common thriller subgenres are psychological thrillers, crime thrillers, erotic thrillers, mystery thrillers and spy thrillers.

·        Crime Thrillers- incorporates the suspenseful aspects of a thriller with a crime film plot. Crime thriller plots usually centre on a serial killer, murderer, robbery, or man hunt. The storyline usually focuses both around the criminal and the protagonist.

Examples- The usual suspects, the fugitive, jagged edge.

·        Psychological thriller-incorporates elements of drama and mystery films. The suspense usually comes from the mind, rather than from a physical threat. The protagonist in psychological thrillers usually rely on their minds to solve the puzzling situation. They usually cross over into the horror genre.

Examples- Momentum, Rear window, Taxi driver

·        Science fiction Thriller- They include science based themes into the plot of the film. Usually they would include hero, villains, unexplored locations, fantastical quest and advanced technology. They explore ‘future-gone-bad’ theme

Example- Aliens, Inception, District 9

Brief and Aims

We have to produce an opening sequence for a new Thriller film, including titles and a storyboard. The maximum length is 3 minutes.
 All video material has to be original and filmed by us, except music or audio effects.
 We will all take on individual roles such as director, camera operator, editor and actress.

Introduction

Hello! Our names are Lisa Taylor, Janna Lowe, Laura Chapple and Grace Such  We are all currently taking A-level media and we will be posting all our work on this blog so you will be able to track our progress as we make our way through the course and complete the tasks set. We believe that our group is to our advantage as Grace, Lisa, and Janna were all GCSE  Media students, and we all achieved a grade B. This is beneficial to the group as we have good knowledge of the subject and we have the basic skills required, such as how to use the camera and how to edit our film. Laura is also a benefit to the group as she is a current drama student and also took the subject at GCSE and achieved a grade B. This is to our advantage as she will be a of good use when it comes to making our film as she is a good actress.    

Preliminary Task

This was our first task- we were asked to produce a short clip which includes a few basic rules applied in Media; 180 degree rule, match on action and Shot Reverse Shot.
 This is our final production after editing the filmed clips which used the rules above. We had a short amount of time to complete the task, we improvised the script and used our initiative when creating the shots.
 We also had limited time for editing the clips. This gave us a first insight on using the Corel Video Editor.