Preliminary Task

This is my preliminary task. we were asked to produce a short clip using such techniques shot-reverse-shot, match on action and the 180 degree rule.

Shot-reverse-shot is mainly used to show an interaction between to subjects, typically a conversation between two people. It can be divided into two main shots that alternate between each other for the duration of the interaction. Shot 1 shows the dialogue and shot 2 show the recipient.

Match on action is a difficult technique to master. When attempting to use it in a shot, your timing must be precise otherwise you would end up showing 2 shots with a repetition of the same action within each. If we use opening a door as an example, you must use your first set of frames to show the person approaching the door and putting their hand onto the door handle, you must time it perfectly to move to the second shot of the door opening from the other side. If you did not you would end up having a clip that shows someone opening a door twice which could have an adverse effect on the scene transitions and the "flow" of the clip.

The 180 degree rule is one of the most basic media filming rules. Its basis is that two subjects in one shot should always have the same left-right interaction with each other. The positioning should not change, on the diagram you can see that there is an imaginary line that should not be crossed otherwise it would become a reverse angle shot, which would be out of place.

Opening Sequence Analysis: Saw.

To find inspiration for my opening, I looked at the openings of other thriller films. I then analysed the opening, watching just over 2 minutes of each one to correspond with the time limits set for this task. Whilst not being strictly a thriller film, after watching the opening sequence for the first Saw movie I felt that as an opening it was quite effective.

Firstly the presentation of the production companies. The first company is Lionsgate Films. Before the reveal of the logo you can hear the sounds of a thunderstorm in the background, this kind of ominous noise is already building up tension. Then the Lionsgate Films logo appears onto the scream seemingly like a bolt of lighting accompanied by a loud crack of thunder, this was obviously intended to startle the viewer after slowly building the tension with the thunder sounds. Next is the logo for Twisted Pictures. The name of the company appears on screen before being covered in twisting barb wire. A large nail is then hammered in between the two words, the barb wire tightened and then suddenly released. This is a very effective device by the production company as the visual effect of the twisting barb wire will click with the viewers as obviously representing "twisted" pictures. Then the jerky movement of the wire tightening and releasing along with the sounds effects will also startle the viewer further intensifying the tension growing within them.

Next the credits begin to appear. The credits are written in a simple font and coloured a light blue. The light blue colouring of the letters stands out quite starkly against the black background, drawing the viewers attention to the credits. The names of the production company and director are in block capital letters, this too is another technique to draw them to the viewers attention. As the credits remain on screen they slowly begin to move as if they are submerged in water. This is supported by a slowly fading in non-diegetic water sound. You then see a close up of a mans face, he is completely submerged underwater illuminated only by a floating key-chain torch. This is quite an intriguing image, it would undoubtedly raise a few questions in the viewers mind such who is he? what's happened to him? etc...

After that the name of the film "SAW" appears in the same style as the credits. It is written in block capitals and begins to move almost instantly, the letters of the title are faintly reflected around the title creating quite a dynamic image.

Also while the title is on screen, a low ominous sound is played. This is to create a rising feeling of tension within the viewer. As the title fades we are taken back to the submerged man, he suddenly wakes startling the viewer. This is a deliberate device used by the director to frighten the viewer. As tension has slowly been building up to this point, a sudden shocking moment would startle the audience and then leave them on the edge of their seat afterwards as they are expecting another shock.

As the man gets out of the water, the shot widens to reveal a large rusted bath-tub in what appears to be an industrial bathroom. It is poorly lit and from what little you can see looks like its been unused for quite some time. Furthermore when the man tries to get out the bath he slips and falls due to a large chain shackled round his ankle. The prop of the chain would connote many negative things to the audience such as being restrained and held against your will.

Next the man attempts to get his bearings but is understandably too panicked. As he shouts for help he hears sound from the other side of the darkened room. After a while another male voice begins to speak. The voice is off screen throughout the exchange and the mans voice is low and raspy. I believe that having the other off-screen is a deliberate device by the director in order to further create tension. As the first man cannot see the other and neither can the audience, they will both be feeling the same thing. When the viewers see the first mans obvious distress at the situation a similar feeling of distress will be created within them.

After looking at this opening and the devices and techniques used within it to create tension, its my opinion that this opening is very effective at creating a tense atmosphere for the viewer and would undoubtedly make them want to watch further and find out what's going on.

Mood Board

This is my mood board. It is a collection of images that I felt visually represented the direction in which I wanted my opening to go. I felt that these images all represent an aspect of a psychological thriller and connote the negative emotions I was aiming for, such as fear.

Opening Analysis: Se7en

I decided to analyse the opening of the film "Se7en" as it has many techniques used within it to make it a successful opening.

We start off with the pages of a book being turned by an unseen person. In the background ominous music is playing from the get go. The name of the production company appears, it is written in a font I describe as scratchy, and is brightly coloured, almost illuminated on the screen to draw the viewers attention to it. Next the screen goes black as more credits appear. At this stage the credits are now even more bold as the brightness of the words against the dark background provide an stark contrast. This could be interpreted as juxtaposition to illustrate how light is the antithesis of dark, despite the dark overpowering background the words still break through and stand out.

As the credits appear on screen they go out of focus. This is quite uncomfortable to look at as you have to strain your eyes to read them properly, this will be a deliberate device used by the director as if the viewers have to strain to see something, you know you have their full attention. As the opening progresses we see an image of a razor blade being used to scrape skin off of someones hands. This would be an effective image to use as the prop of the razor blade would send out negative connotations to the audience.

Next the name of the film appears. At first it remains quite small, but then the screen blurs momentarily and the title is super-imposed at the front before returning to a smaller size. This is used as to ensure that the audience take in the name of the film.

Enigmatic imagery is used throughout the entirety of this opening. The shots quite rapidly change from object to object as to keep the viewers attention firmly on the screen. I believe that the use of enigmatic imagery was continually used as it can create quite an emotional response within the viewer. Images such as the razor blade and the picture being scribbled out would both send a message to the viewer. They will associate the razor blade with danger, death, pain and automatically become tense. This will then be added to by imagery such as the vandalised picture, typically in films when your picture is being scribbled out, your either the next victim or the grand prize.

Something that stood out to me in the opening was when the unseen man was cutting the word "God" out of the dollar bill and then the music in the background also said "God" this pulls the viewers attention in as they have just seen the word and then it also said back to them, also it would be significant in viewers mind due to its obvious religious connotations.

The soundtrack for the opening was very effective. The music was very ominous and created a feeling of great unease. Within you could hear a series of disconcerting noises such as, scratching noises, radio static. I felt that by having the music playing since the beginning was a very effective feature of the opening. When the soundtrack kicked in straight away, its like your throwing the audience straight into the action, giving them no time to get adjusted or ease them into it. Then by having the music playing throughout would keep the tension and unease sustained giving the audience no time to calm down or feel safe again until the opening is over.

Director Inspiration.

When your making a thriller opening, there's really only one person to whom you can look to for inspiration. Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense.

Born on 13 august 1899 in Leytonstone, London, he started his career in film as a title designer for Lasky. He got his first chance to direct in 1923 when the director of another film fell ill. The company were so impressed with his work they offered him a second assignment, however its British production was shut down before release.

After various other jobs and films, Hitchcock finally began to make his mark which led to the creation of one his most prolific and legendary films Psycho. In my opinion Psycho is the original thriller heavyweight. It paved the way for other directors to produce similar films, setting a bar that was hard to reach.

Psycho tells the story of Norman Bates, a man who's life was so controlled and dominated by his mother, that when she died he became mentally unstable. He developed a dual personality, within his mind there was Norman (himself) and also his mother.

Psycho is an example of inspiration to me as even today it still remains a great film. The iconic music in the shower scene is still used in pop culture. Psycho is a film that is very well thought out, the tension is always masterfully deployed, building the audience up to a crescendo that they know is coming but have no idea when.

I used Psycho as a guideline blueprint for my opening as I wanted to create a similar feeling of tension.

The Theories of Todorov and Propp.

Todorov's theory of the narrative is a simplistic model that can be applied to most if not all films. The basis of the theory is similar to a cycle starting with a pre-exising equlibrium and culminating in a new equlibrium being established. The cycle goes like this:
- Equlibrium
- Disruption
- Recognition of disruption
- Resolution of disruption
- New equilibrium formed.

The diagram below shows the stages of the cycle.

Propps character theory is similiar to Todorov's narrative theory in the way that they are both a simplistic model that can be applied to most films. The difference with Propps theory is that it revolves around the characters, not the narrative. Propp theorised that there are several character arch-types that are present in most films, they are:
- The Hero, a character that is actively seeking something.
- The Villain, a character that tries to stop and disrupt the heroes actions.
- The Donor, a character that gives something vital to the hero (sometimes crucial information, other times a crucial object)
- The Dispatcher, the character that sends the hero on his quest.
- The False Hero, the character that falsely assumes the role of the hero.
- The Helper, the character that gives help and support to the hero.
- The Princess/Heroine, the reward for the hero but also a character that needs to be protected from the villain.

The diagram below shows the different character arch-types Propp theorised were apparent in most films:

The Thriller Genre.

Thrillers are a highly successful genre of film, television and modern literature. One of the defining elements of a thriller is the feeling of suspense present throughout the entire narrative structure. Thrillers have become widely popular due to their ability to create a tense atmosphere that keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat, they are infamous for their twist and turns and duplicitous characters. Some conventions that can be identified in all thrillers are; aforementioned suspense, thrill and tension. Most thrillers contain something within the plot intended to shock the viewer and challenge whatever perception and assumptions they have created throughout the film, such big twists in the plot can typically be found at the end of the film. Some of the conventional character types within a thriller are; the hero, a character that is there to fix or resolve whatever has occurred to bring disruption to the existing equilibrium, and a villain/villains, characters that are there with the sole purpose of stopping the hero and/or causing some kind of chaos to the world within the film. There are several sub-genres within the general thriller genre, this has also been a key factor in their rise to prominent movie genre. The ability to create a multi-structured narrative within itself and bring so many different types of genre together within one film has put the thriller genre ahead of other types of film genre. Below you will find a list of some of the thriller sub-genres:

Psychological Thrillers: 

psychological thrillers are films that are intended to challenge the perception of the characters and viewers mind. Over the course of the film the director may present something in a certain way and then by the end of the film reveal that it was not an accurate perception of the real world. By doing this the director is pulling in the viewer, if they believe something is right throughout the film and that it is predictable the viewer will undoubtedly become bored with the tedious structure of the film, by completely changing what the viewer thought to be real the director is keeping them hooked and also make them challenge the way they perceive things within their lives. Another prominent feature of psychological thrillers is the presence of an unhinged character/characters. It will usually be a first person narrative to make the film feel more inclusive to the audience. Within the film there will usually be some kind of tragic past or hidden secret that explains why the character is now mentally unstable. A good example of a psychological thriller is "se7en" directed by David Fincher.

Political Thrillers:
political thrillers are films that typically focus on some form of government or leadership infrastructure, the plot of the film usually revolves around either an assassination, an attempt to expose a corrupt government or a rogue faction of society that intend to destroy the current way of the world. Political thrillers started to become more popular after the darker side of being in a position of power became apparent, over the years there have been many political scandals and tragedies, corrupt or harsh regimes have been exposed, politicians revealed to have been conducting back-door deals and using dirty politics to get ahead have all helped influence the rise of the political thriller. A good example of a political thriller would be "Enemy of the state" directed by the late Tony Scott.

Spy Thrillers:
spy thrillers are exactly what they say on the tin, a film revolving around the action packed lives of secret agents/spies. They typically include a hero, a spy that is constantly working against the schemes of his nemesis to "save the world", a villain who will stop at nothing to get what he wants and a duplicitous character; somebody who pretends to fight for good but is actually in league with the enemy typically for his/her own benefit. This type of thriller is similar to political thrillers as they both typically revolve around some form of leadership cast and the problems surrounding it. They also typically involve a lot of action sequences which differentiates them to thrillers for example in the psychological sub-genre. A good example of a spy thriller is "The Man who knew too much".

Paranoid Thrillers:
paranoid thrillers usually revolve around a group of "good" characters fighting against the "bad" characters. Paranoid thrillers are a more traditional sub-genre of thriller and usually contain stereotypical character types for example; women and children, they are often the victims of some kind of distress in a paranoid thriller. Paranoid thrillers can sometimes focus on the use of deception as a way to shock the audience, within some there is an integral "whodunnit" theme which in many cases often deliberately leads you down the wrong path. The film enables the viewers to decide who they think is the real villain or culprit by giving out specific information that relates to that person then more often than not the accused character is actually innocent and it was actually an unsuspected character all along.

Crime based Thrillers:
crime based thrillers usually focus on members of law enforcement and/or criminals/fugitives usually who are all linked to a crime that has been committed causing the main characters to typically be at odds. They often revolve around people working within the constraints of the law or using more illegal actions, in this case the character is typically in full knowledge of the illegality of their actions but chooses to disregard the consequences. In crime based thrillers the actions of the characters can sometimes be motivated by revenge, a main character suffers some kind of trauma or someone they love is targeted, then the character strives to seek retribution on those who committed the crime. The usual conventions of crime based thrillers are obviously crime, deceit, wealth, power etc... A good example of a crime based thriller could be "Taken" although it does also contain the conventions of the action genre.

Mystery Thrillers:
mystery thrillers are a more general type of sub-genre and are typically the most identified type of sub-genre. They typically revolve around the theme of revelation, usually a long buried secret or vital information that will solve a central dilemma. The film will usually revolve a central figure, that could be of a law enforcement background or not, attempting to resolve a key conflict within the narrative. There are typically 2 ways in which mystery thrillers play out, the first way involves key information being revealed to both audience and characters at the same time, the second way involves giving the audience a sense of omniscient power as information is revealed to them before the characters within. One of the main elements of mystery thrillers is the use of suspense, they keep the viewer on the edge of their seats constantly anticipating the next twist or turn.

Horror/Thrillers:
the horror and thriller genres often combine with each other in an attempt to create a richer film experience. Despite their often close relationship the thriller genre differentiates itself from the horror genre by using stronger elements of certain conventions. The thriller genre focuses more on psychological themes, pulling away from the intention to scare and focusing more on altering the audience perception. Also a thriller film usually contains an enigma, a certain character or aspect within the narrative structure that is completely individual and original. Despite being more than capable of standing as independent genres of films, when they do come together the resulting product is usually a very successful and effective experience for the viewer. A good example of this convergence is the highly successful "Scream" series which were directed by Wes Craven.