What is a thriller?

Thrillers tend to play around with the audience’s experience of the film; so thrillers commonly create tension and suspense to make the audience unaware of what will happen next to cause shock and excitement.

This genre of film usually includes a lot of action and physical and emotional violence at a fast pace. Generally the plot also involves a protagonist in danger from an immoral villain. On many occasions, the villain has the upper hand through most of the story as they often have information that the protagonist doesn’t, which is used to their disadvantage. Sometimes, the information is even hidden from the audience so their surprise is heightened.

Although the feelings created by thrillers are very similar, there is a large range of sub-genres in thriller films including conspiracy thrillers, science-fiction thrillers, crime thrillers, psychological thrillers, action thrillers, spy thrillers and supernatural thrillers.

A conspiracy thriller involves the protagonist unravelling a vast plot (often without meaning to) and ends up with them confronting a powerful group of enemies.

‘Awake’ is an example of a conspiracy thriller film. The story focuses on a man who suffers from anesthesia awareness and finds himself awake, but paralysed, during heart surgery. As a turn of events unravels around them, his mother tries to uncover the story hidden behind her son’s wife.

‘Snake Eyes’ is another conspiracy thriller. It is about a shady police detective who finds himself in the middle of a murder conspiracy at an important boxing match in an Atlantic City casino.

A science-fiction thriller incorporates science-based themes into the plot of the film. Classically, a sci-fi film will have heroes, villains, unexplored places, unusual missions and advanced technology. Often, a sci-fi will explore the theme of the future going bad, including plots that contain alien invasions, dystopian settings, and super-diseases.

‘Inception’ is an example of a sci-fi thriller. It is the story of a thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology and is given the task of planting an idea into the mind of a CEO.









‘District 9’ is also a sci-fi thriller and is about an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth who suddenly find a friend in a government agent who is exposed to their biotechnology.

A crime thriller shows a suspenseful account of a criminal with murders, robberies, chases, shootouts or heists. The storyline tends to focus on the protagonist as well as the criminal with a lot of action and psychological aspects to build tension.

‘The Usual Suspects’ is a crime thriller where a sole survivor tells of the winding events that lead up to a shocking gun battle on a boat, which begin when five criminals meet at a police lineup.









‘The Score’ is another crime thriller about an ageing thief who hopes to retire and live off his ill-gotten wealth when a young kid convinces him into doing one final heist.

A psychological thriller incorporates elements of drama and mystery film. The protagonists in psychological thrillers must rely on their mental resources to solve the situation. The suspense in this sub-genre comes from the mind, rather than from a psychical threat, until the often violent resolution.

‘The Machinist’ is an example of a psychological thriller film. It focuses an industrial worker who hasn't slept in a year and begins to doubt his own sanity.

‘Shutter Island’ is also a psychological thriller and is about a marshal who is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is thought to be hiding somewhere nearby.

An action thriller uses physical action to create excitement within the film. Like a traditional action film, it will commonly have physical stunts, chases, fights, battles, and races. Often, these scenes will add to the sense of danger that the protagonist is facing.

‘The Expendables’ is an action thriller about a CIA operative who hires a team of mercenaries to eliminate a Latin dictator and a traitor CIA agent.

‘The Bourne Identity’ is another action thriller film concerning a man who is picked up by a fishing boat, riddled with bullets and suffering from amnesia, before racing to avoid assassins and recover his memory.

A spy thriller is a thriller in which the protagonist is normally a government agent who must obtain political or military information and take violent action against agents of a rival government or terrorists. The thriller is usually combined with action and science fiction genres.

‘The Recruit’ is an example of a spy thriller film and is about an extraordinary young CIA trainee who is asked by his mentor to help find a mole in the agency.

‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ is also a spy thriller about an espionage veteran who, in the bleak days of the Cold War, is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6.

A supernatural thriller film brings in a paranormal element mixed with a lot of tension, suspense and plot twists. Sometimes the protagonist and/or the villain has psychic abilities or superpowers and the plot will revolve around that.

‘The Gift’ is a supernatural thriller about a woman with visionary perception who is asked to help find a young woman who has disappeared.

‘The Invisible’ is another supernatural thriller film. It is about a boy who, after an attack, is left invisible to the living.

Editing my prelim

From this experience of editing in Adobe After Effects, I have learnt how to choose the best selection of shots to use in the final cut from a long recording by watching through it and cutting and putting the shots together so that they would play neatly and coherently. I made these decisions mentally but I was also testing the editing of the clips to make sure the product looked good. The storyboard also helped me edit as I knew which camera angle and line of script should have been in each shot.

While editing, I found that many clips had strange sound swapping from left ear to right ear to both ears and loud background noise because other groups were filming their prelim's and so these clips were quite annoying and off-putting to work with. Additionally, I couldn't edit the prelim to get around continuity errors of movement and arm positions because we just didn't film enough clips where they flowed accurately.

I followed the storyboard according to the shots we filmed. The second shot was supposed to be an over the shoulder shot but is further away and more angled than an over the shoulder shot. The storyboard also showed some close up shots but we filmed these from over the shoulder except the last one. Lastly, we never filmed a wide shot of her saying "I won't wait for you", instead we filmed "It's got to be done/I can't wait for you/I won't wait for you" as an over the shoulder shot and so I edited in a wide shot we filmed of her turning around to walk away so there were more shots at the end.

We filmed extra shots such as low angle shots and high angle shots but I decided that I didn’t want to use them in the prelim as I wanted to stick to the storyboard as much as possible. However, we also filmed each shot we already filmed again to provide more clips for editing in case there was something wrong with what we filmed so I could use the additional shots for the prelim.

If I could have done this again I would have filmed the prelim in a place where there was no background noise. I would also have liked to film each shot more times with a variety of camera angles to give a bigger selection when editing, making it easier to follow the storyboard and certifying that we have all the correct shots we need.

Although we filmed as a group, we edited individually. This allowed us to experiment with techniques and practise and build our editing skills which will help when editing our thrillers in our groups.

Filming my prelim

We shot a prelim using the technique’s we had learnt previously. We unfolded the dolly and pushed down the breaks. After this, we extended the legs of the tripod to the height we wanted and attached them to the end of each branch of the dolly where we pulled the flaps over the bottom of each leg of the tripod. We then placed the camera on top of the tripod and it clicked into place. We put the battery in its gap and opened the tape slot, inserted the tape inside it, and then closed the slot. We took the cap at the smaller end of the lens off and twisted the lens into place on the camera and also took the other cap off the lens. Finally, we were ready to start filming by pressing the ‘start/stop button’. We used the screen (by flipping up the nearest part of the eyepiece) most of the time as it was easier for more of us to see what we were filming.

In our prelim, my group followed the storyboard to get all the different shots that it showed such as a wide shot or an over the shoulder shot. We also followed the 180-degree rule as we didn’t want it to appear like the two characters were switching sides on the screen. My role in the group was advising the person with the camera on how to get the right shot and also giving additional guidance to that of the director. From this experience, I have learnt how to organise the filming of sequential shots and how to incorporate the different shot types I had learnt into practise.

We had some difficulties such as confusion over which type of shot went with which characters’ line and how to frame the characters nicely. However we overcame these problems by checking carefully over the storyboard and adjusting the characters slightly in certain positions and seeing how they look. Considering that we had quite a large group in comparison to others, I would say that we worked fairly well together as we each had a job assigned to us and fulfilled those responsibilities which in turn allowed us to get the shots we needed.

If we did it again I would like to have taken more shots of the same scene just so that when editing later, we would have had a choice in what shots to use as some may not look as good as others.

This is my edit of the prelim which we shot. It includes a mixture of over the shoulder shots as shot reverse-shot to display conversation, close ups to highlight facial expressions and long shots to show movement.

'Four Weddings and a Funeral' - Editing Techniques

First lesson using the camera

In the lesson we had on the camera, we learnt how to set it up. You start by unfolding the dolly and pushing down the breaks to stop it from moving to make it easier and safer to set the rest of the camera up. After this, the legs of the tripod are extended to the required height and are attached to the end of each branch of the dolly where the flaps are pulled over the bottom of each leg of the tripod.






The camera is then placed on top of the tripod and will click into place (as will the red switch which is pulled down and twisted to remove the camera).

The battery is fitted into the gap and the tape is inserted inside the slot next to it which must then be closed to allow the camera to film over it.









The cap at the smaller end of the lens is taken off and the lens is twisted into place on the camera and may be swapped for a different lens by sliding the ‘lens release switch’ and twisting it off and the same process is repeated to put another one on.











The other cap is taken off the lens so it can be seen out of, either through the eyepiece or on the screen (by flipping up the nearest part of the eyepiece).







The ‘start/stop button’ is pressed to start or stop the camera from recording, as indicated, and you can zoom in (by pressing forward) or zoom out (by pressing backward) with the switch next to it or by twisting the nearest part of the lens.

There is also a white balance switch. In the automatic mode (‘AWB’) the camera tries to adjust to get the correct white balance. However, there are also ‘A’ and ‘B’ positions which the camera can be set to. These store two manual white balance settings by remembering the colour temperature of the light in the scene you want to shoot. This is done by using a white card or object. Place the card at the centre of your shot, then set the ‘white balance switch’ to the ‘A’ or ‘B’ position and press the ‘white balance button’ (button to the right of the ‘white balance switch’). The camera will then adjust so that the card shows no colour.

We also learnt about different shot types. This included the big close-up shot, the close-up, medium close-up, the medium shot, the medium long shot, the wide shot, the over the shoulder shot, the high angle shot and the low angle shot. However when filming two people the 180-degree rule should be followed. An imaginary line called the axis connects the two people, and by keeping the camera on one side of the axis for every shot in the scene, one person is always on the right frame and the other is then always in the left frame so they don’t appear to switch places on the screen.

 

Analysis of movie posters

Children of Men

The man is the only character we see in the poster which connotes that he is the dominant character in the film and is used to acting independently. He is standing behind shattered glass which implies that it is an action film as it has been smashed. It also symbolises a damaged environment and a world of destruction. The shape of the space that is left from the smashed glass looks something like an upside-down heart which may symbolise that he has a failed relationship, justifying why he became self-reliant. His facial expression is very stern which emphasises the seriousness and importance of the situation. The red writing could represent blood which could shows that the film contains a lot of death. Much of the poster is dark which indicates danger, while the light by his face suggests that he represents hope for the planet.

Plastic

The characters' body language shows that they think highly of themselves. The credit cards on the table also connote that they may steal money and are involved in theft and may be the reason for why they think highly of themselves. There is one man sitting alone on the couch with his arms spread out which suggests that he is the main character who has authority over the others and at some point in the film will become distant from the others due to him being the only one on the couch. All the characters are wearing quite plain clothing except the one man on the left who is wearing a vibrant, patterned shirt. He is also the only one who is sitting down out of the people behind the couch. This suggests that he may eventually turn against the rest as he opposes them. In addition, the exotic location in the background gives an idea of their lifestyle which is probably attained through theft.

Pulp Fiction

The colour red has been used repeatably in the poster such has part of the header and her lipstick. This could be used to represent blood and therefore death and violence. This contrasts with the bold, yellow writing (including the large title) which implies that the movie will be very loud and intense. The gun in front of her, like the red, conveys connotations of death. This is also symbolised by the cigarette that she is holding, although a lot more implicitly. The woman herself is presented as very feminine due to her tight dress, display of cleavage, lipstick, nail varnish, heels and provocative position on the floor. However, all the black she is wearing which suggests she is dangerous along with everything with her that represents danger indicates that the film involves deception.

Comparing the way the bride is presented in the two scenes in 'Kill Bill Vol.2'

In the scene where the bride is buried alive, we can here the continuous diegetic sound of her deep, fast breathing. Although for some time the screen is completely dark, this clear noise allows us to feel her terror without actually seeing it visually.

The non-diegetic, asynchronous, sad, sympathetic music at the beginning of this scene brings a grim and sombre aura which corresponds to what is happening and enables us to understand her suffering slightly.

While the coffin is being secured with the bride inside it, the diegetic, synchronous hammering of the nails is amplified to increase the fear and discomfort of the audience. This also helps to create an atmosphere that is almost equivalent to the bride’s as the hammering would be raucous from her point of view.

When the earth is being tipped on the coffin, the diegetic thundering noise gives us a sensation of being crushed. Additionally, there are pauses in this noise when we can only hear the bride breathing, only to cause a shock when the noise suddenly returns. These pauses build tension and suspense as the character and the audience probably both thought it was over.

The diegetic sound of her cries and screams of agony show the bride’s desperation to escape from the coffin but also display her hopelessness at this point. As we hear the car drive away which is also diegetic sound, she stops breathing as heavily as it appears that she has finally lost all hope of her escape. The silence except for her emphasises this as it shows that she is in a remote location where no-one is likely to find her.

The costumes worn are Texan as this is where the event is taking place. The bride’s clothes are duller and scruffier that the men who put her in the coffin, perhaps reflecting the dreariness of earth and foreboding her burial underground.

The lighting is very dim and gets darker as the coffin closes until the screen is completely black, only lit sometimes by her torch. This makes it more believable as it would not be light in a sealed coffin many feet underground. However, the fact that this part is in black and white makes it less believable, but it does produce a serious tone. The torch is shone round the coffin and shows how confined the space is which creates a uncomfortable, claustrophobic feeling. The torch is also shone at her face which allows us to see what she is feeling other than just hearing.

We can see the fear, pain and anguish on her face, but also her eagerness to escape. Although she cannot move much because she is limited to the restrictions of a small coffin, she tries to push and hit the coffin in order to get out, this further highlights her keenness to break free of her imprisonment.

The make-up used is mainly just the wounds on the bride’s face that we can see before she is put in the coffin which show that she is a risky woman. The lack of any other make-up may be because it is easier to see her fear without it.

The main prop that we can see is the torch that the bride holds on to. It is used as her light source and as a way for us to see her.

The coffin creates a very simple setting, but a very enthralling one too. There is nothing going on in the background and nothing else to focus on except the bride herself. This allows us to keep our attention on what is important.

In the bride’s confrontation with Bill’s brother, a low angle shot is used on him which gives him power an authority in this scene, and a high angle shot is used on the bride which makes her look weak and vulnerable and like she is in his control. When she is in the coffin, the camera pans once with the torch to show the space of the coffin, but otherwise the camera is very still by the side of her face so we can very clearly see her actions and expressions.

In the bride’s escape scene there is the diegetic, synchronous sound of her punching the wood where we can hear the effort and determination in her voice. As the earth pours into the coffin, it isn’t as loud as it was in the first scene as it was supposed to be more frightening then.

However, the main sound that we hear is the non-diegetic, heroic music which contrasts greatly with the sad music used for the other scene. This music is much more hopeful and shows that she will actually manage to escape. Although the music itself is asynchronous, the non-diegetic drum kick in the music is synchronous to her heart beat. As her hand arises from the ground, the music stops and clearly shows that she is saved.

This scene is not in black and white which it was before. This makes the scene happier and less dismal. The lighting is also a lot brighter so we can see what she is doing which also affects the mood of the scene in the same way. Additionally, the lighting here makes the coffin look a lot bigger than it seemed before.

The bride’s facial expression is a lot more cheerful as she is smiling. This shows that she is optimistic and confident that she will escape, compared to before where it looked like she had given up.

The props in this scene include the torch which she had previously, a rope which she has around her hands and we couldn’t see before because it was too dark, and a knife which she uses to cut off the rope.

A graveyard is the second setting to this scene as this is where the bride emerges from the ground after she has escaped from the coffin. This is ironic as it is a place where many people are buried underground and creates a feeling of relief that she didn’t end up like these people.

The camera pans across her body and makes her seem a lot bigger than she did before in correlation to the size of the coffin. There are close ups of her face which show her persistence, like in the other scene. However, the camera is also shown from her point of view, giving her perspective and making the audience connect to her situation. There is also a low angle shot from her feet as she is lying down which gives her dominance and status in comparison to the high angle shot before which made her seem feeble. But this scene allows us to see that this is not the case.

How horror and suspense are created in the opening sequence of 'Scream'

During the opening sequence of 'Scream' we see that the setting is very isolated - the perfect and stereotypical environment for a murder to take place in the horror genre. There are various objects which help reflect the genre of the movie, such as the phone, the knife and the swing-set. The phone ringing signifies danger as we know the person on the other line is the killer. The use of the knife is an example of dramatic irony as it is clear while she is playing with it that it will be used by the killer as a weapon which brings tension. The swing-set also does this as it is swinging without any wind, which isn't normal and shows that a serious threat is coming.

The music during this scene is intense, sinister and dramatic, signifying the genre and that the film will be scary. The screeching sound within it fits with the film's title, 'Scream'. The music increases in tempo as she becomes more scared and the pace indicates her heartbeat which also shows this. Suspense is created when the music stops and there is silence, suggesting that something dreadful is about to happen.

There are different camera angles used in the opening scene. A tracking shot follows the girl and shows her importance in this scene and also allows us to see that she is on her own. There is a close-up shot of her face at some points which connotes her fear and magnifies it for the audience. Additionally, a crane shot is used which lets us see that she is in the middle of nowhere and emphasises her isolation and the danger of the situation.

The lighting gets darker as her death is impending. The lighting also signifies her fear as the darker it gets, the more frightened she becomes.

As mentioned, during this scene alone a lot of suspense is created. It is also formed when they talk on the phone about horror movies as we know that this conversation means something as it is a horror movie itself. The film 'Halloween' is mentioned when they are listing their favourite scary movies which foreshadows how she will die as the mask the killer wears is from that particular film.

Mise-en-scène in the opening sequence of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone'

The two characters at the start of the opening scene are both wearing long gowns and pointy hats which are often associated with wizards and witches and so helps define their roles. Wizards and witches are naturally classified into the fantasy genre and so as their clothes help show what they are, they ultimately play a part in showing which genre the film fits into. The third character however is wearing a more scruffy attire, which unlike the smarter gowns of the other two, displays him to be much inferior to them.

In this scene the lighting is very faint. It becomes darker and darker as more street lights are put out as it appears that they are where most of the light is coming from. There is still enough lighting in this scene to create shadows which are used in this scene to show the substantial changing in form of one of the characters. The dim lighting throughout makes for quite an eerie, mysterious and ghostly feeling.

All the actors’ facial expressions look very concerned and apprehensive, giving a sense of seriousness to the scene. When they are together they remain fairly close to each other, showing that they all share the same emotion and require reassurance as a result.

Make-up is used on the third character to create a sooty effect which complements his untidy clothing and further shows him to be shabby, yet submissive.

One prop used in this opening scene is a magical piece of equipment which allows the character to remove light sources from his surroundings, verifying that this film belongs in the fantasy genre. Another prop is a motorbike which the third character flies to join the other two with. This also confirms the genre, as fantasy films often have elements of magic and supernatural events such as this.

The setting is just an ordinary street with some unsophisticated houses and a few cars. The fact that an obviously magical baby is being brought to grow up in such a normal area allows us to see that the story will focus on him and we can predict that he will be unaware of his background.

Mise-en-scène in the opening sequence of 'Children of Men'

The clothes that the character is wearing in the opening scene are dark, bland, dirty and dishevelled. This can be used to represent the darkness and misery of his life. Nobody either in the café or the street are wearing any vibrant colours which help show that there are no children and therefore a lot of the word’s youth and positivity has gone.

The lighting in this scene is quite dim and glum which reflects the atmosphere that surrounds him. There are also hints of blue lighting which is commonly used to signify the future and is also frequently applied across the sci-fi genre.

The character himself is shown as a mess. His facial expression remains the same throughout the scene and clearly shows unhappiness and desolation. He looks hopeless, distant and ambivalent to life. His slumped posture and sluggish walking shows his general awareness but neglect for what is happening around him.

There isn’t much make-up in this scene apparent enough to point out. However, prosthetic makeup was presumably used as the woman walked out of the exploded café. She appears to have lost an arm and has skin hanging off and prosthetic makeup was needed for this.

There aren’t many props that the main character uses in the first scene. The coffee that the main character buys is used so that he can pour alcohol into it to show that his life is in disarray and he is wreck who is incapable of angst.

The motorised rickshaw’s and animated bus advertisements allow us to see that this film is set in the future, but not too far into the future as nothing has advanced drastically. The setting is noisy and crowded which displays the complete and utter chaos and pandemonium of the time they live in.

About Me

My name is Sam Muller and I am a Media Studies student at JFS for AS Level, along with Photography, Maths, Dance and Psychology.

I love all the films in the 'Harry Potter' franchise (I can't pick one) because the story throughout is thrilling (as I also loved the books) and the editing, effects and cinematography are magnificent and help make what is impossible actually seem almost believable for a while.

My favourite television programme is 'Downton Abbey' because I really like the characters' individual storylines, but the production has captured the essence of the time period so perfectly with all the costumes, props and settings that it is entirely captivating and plausible.

Although I have many singers/bands that I like, The Script are probably my favourite because they sing, play their own instruments, write their own music and I really adore listening to their songs. The Script are probably the only artists who have an album where there is not even one song I dislike.

I wanted to study Media this year because I enjoy watching films and television and have always wanted to understand more about the process of making them and I think it would be fun to go into detail about everything you have to think about in order to produce an analysable piece of work with interesting connotations. I have also edited videos before which I enjoyed a lot and would like to do so again.