Edit Diary - Day 4

Today we started to focus on our titles.
After making a couple more small cuts making things more snappy we added in our titles. We are using a shot of a lamp which has been painted over so it says 'End Of The Line'. We played around with the titles to get them how we wanted them. First we had some very old-style computer font then a larger company name. When we looked over this we decided it would be better to stick to the same font and we all agreed it looked much better.
We made a start on sorting out our time lapse video. We chopped the whole 60 minutes into small chunks and as suggested deleted every 3rd slice. When we looked over this we were not very happy. It was also suggested that we did a cross dissolve of 3 different shades of light but as a group we aren't sure whether it will look good. If need be, we will take the time to cut the footage down to a little as we need.
We also reviewed our music track, it was slightly modified by Jesse. Flanna and I gave feedback on what we would like to change or hear more of. Hopefully we can finish a final cut early in the year so we can get the music in sync with the visual.

Edit Diary - Day 3

Today we continued to edit our opening, we sorted out the beginning so it is more snappy and now it looks better.
We found out half way through the lesson that our clip was to be no longer than 2 minutes, this caused a problem for us as our opening was past 2 minutes before it was finished. We managed to cut it down, it was easy as we could chop small part off lots of clips - the small changes made the big difference.
We may have found a solution to our time lapse problem. The whole thing is 1 hour long, so the computer is trying to read an hours worth of footage in 18 seconds, this is why we crashed every time. We had to make the decision to make the footage shorter anyway as we were over the 2 minute mark so we cut down to where the footage is quite dark. We will be using about 30 minutes of footage instead. If we chop this 30 minutes in lots of small parts, 2 minutes each for instance, the computer should be able to cope with the footage. Unfortunately the process of cutting the footage will be a long and laborious one, but overall I think it is worth it so our thriller looks as good as it can be.
We also had a first taster of the music, and the group agreed that it fits well. It will create a real tense atmosphere when you are watching. We won't be using a convention soundtrack, strings and low rumbling, but a dub soundtrack.
A problem we encountered this day was that our computer crashed near the beginning of the lesson. All our initial cuts were lost, this did not take long to rectify but it was annoying and put us back 10 minutes.

Music

Just a rough track for our thriller that i wrote! forget about the part after 2 minute as it is wrong!

Edit Diary - Day 2

In our second edit day we managed to finish a rough first cut! As a group we were all very proud of our outcome and we could already tell that it was going to look good. 

We decided that the street scene needs to be a bit more snappy. We also need to find somewhere to insert our title shot. Unfortunately we did not sort out our london eye footage, we were more concerned with looking at the general outline of our piece. We can keep going back over and over but I think we need something to look at first to keep interested and on task.

We realised that we could have done with a lot more location shots, to establish the scene. We can get by with what we have but we felt that if we had invested more time in taking beautiful shot, we could have had an excellent opener.

Edit Diary - Day 1

On tuesday we started our edit. We soon realised that the whole process would be a long and hard process.

We mainly stuck to our storyboard, but we added some things in where we felt that something did not work or looked bad. I couldn't imagine going into an edit without a storyboard now, it really is vital.

We were really happy with the quick cut parts of our opening. It looks stylish and as we intended. The walking down the street scene started to look good too.

We ran into problems with our london eye footage. The hour was condensed to just 30 seconds so it had to be rendered. Still after it was rendered we still faced problems, we need to look at how we can fix this in the next edit.

We started to think about music, Jesse and I had a quick look through the samples and soundtracks available for us to use. We are still discussing whether or not we should compose something.

We managed to make the first 2 minutes or so. Our main priority at the moment is to get a rough outline of our opening, once that is done we can keep refining it until it is near enough to perfect.

Reviewing the footage

Today we looked at our footage we collected over the previous week. As a group we were happy with most of the footage we shot. But, as with everything, somethings disappointed us.

Some of the footage we shot on location was quite shaky. We could have used the tripod to make it look better. However, we do have footage which demonstrates we can use a camera and keep it stable so the shaky camerawork will look like a style choice, as we originally intended it to do so.

Another problem was when I was shooting at the London Eye. As I said in a previous post, I was worried that the camera was jogged slightly when I showed the Police officers what I was filming. When reviewing the footage, looking at the first shot and the final shot I can see that there is not a visible difference and it shouldn't be noticed when it is sped up.

Finally, I realised that that an exposition shot was not taken, we forgot to plan it in our shot list. Although it is just one shot it is quite a vital part of continuity editing. However, I think we will have enough footage to sort something out.

Now all the footage is up on the computers we are ready to start the edit. Before we start however, we need to draw out a final storyboard. We had a rough one accompanying our shot list but we feel that a good storyboard will make the editing process much easier.

My Filming Experiences

When filming our thriller, i did most of the camera work. this is because both flanna and josh were both acting. i enjoyed this as working with camera's is something i think i'm good at. 

film days

On the two main days of filming my experience was good on the first day we used the meeting room as josh was the main character he tended to shoot less shots it was enjoyable but stressful as we had to remember continuity the main object was the clock as the time is significant to the story i had to keep setting the clock back it was frustrating but worth it we set up the room apropriatlyand kept tight to our storyboard there were a few things we have to tweek and we made a real effort setting up the room so it looked as authentic as possible because the clock was an important factor we had to keep resetting it, by shooting this i realised how much detail there has to be with certain objects.

Our Final Treatment

During the week I updated our treatment. I can now complete it with our new title and our change in synopsis.End Of The Line Production Treatment

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Our Thriller's Title

We had originally decided that our thriller would be entitled When The Cat Is Away, this was my original title and we couldn't think of anything with would suit it better. Whilst filming in the tunnel we saw a lamp which had been painted over, the lamp now read on it; End Of The Line. We all agreed that this would be a good title. Our titles would also have a more professional sense to it.

Filming Process

Today we have almost finished filming all of our footage so we can go into the editing suite in the week coming.

We started to film on tuesday. We set up in the meeting room and made it look like an office. We took things from the room and our teachers office to create the office atmosphere. We took a couple of shot but then we were told that it was quite dark. If our footage was too dark once we go into the edit suite our footage wouldn't look so good. We turned the lights on brighter and re shot most of what we had done, this only took an extra 10 minutes as we were sure of all the shots we needed. 

On Wednesday I went by myself down to South bank to film the London Eye. We decided tat for our titles we would film the London Eye in the evening from when it is light till dark. This would then be sped up. I encountered some problems whilst doing this shoot. I was approached by Police officers who enquired on what I was doing. I think I may have jogged the camera slightly while showing the officers what I was doing (I had the screen closed to save battery). Fortunately they did not make me stop recording when they spoke to me. Overall I think it will be OK.

On Sunday we did our shoot on location on the South bank. The entire shoot took about 3 hours to complete. We started at about 1 and did the shots on the street, our character coming out of a building and following him down the street. We then moved down the street into the tunnel where we shot the encounter with someone when the USB stick is stolen. On location we decided to change our plan. We decided that we wouldn't probably have enough for a good 5 minute clip. Luckily, Flanna was with a friend and we used him to steal the USB stick. We then decided that this man would give the USB to Flanna's character at a different location. We felt that this would make our opening much more interesting.

When we had finished shooting we sat down to review our footage. Unfortunately we had recorded over 2 or 3 minutes of footage we had filmed on tuesday. This was disappointing but we had earlier decided that we would need to film some extra footage anyway, we need to give the audience a sense of what was on the USB stick.

Tomorrow we are going to film our extra shots during our lunch time and that should be all the footage we need.

If all goes well we can start our edit in Tuesday's lesson.

Title Sequence

the title sequence to any thriller film is vital. it is the first part of the film the viewer see's and builds up and creates a mood for the film that you are about to see. 

we have decided on an idea for our titles. because of our location, waterloo area, we will film it near there by the london eye.

the idea is that we film the london eye from the grass at the bottom for a long period of time from about 4pm -6pm when the sun is setting. we then speed that up so it fits into a 20-30 second time scale and we play the credits over the top.

another idea was that we use the same basic idea of speeding a clip up. but we do it on a bridge over the thames filming the boats go past...:)

Our final idea - Synopsis

In class we wrote a brief synopsis of our opening. here it is:

Open with a man working at a laptop in an official looking building and office. The man is nervous, looking at the clock, waiting for the clock to reach a certain time so that he can leave. Clock reaches 6 PM and the man quickly closes his laptop, takes his USB stick and leaves hastily. Out side we follow the man down the street, the viewer will get the sense that he is being followed or watched. The pace is very fast, switching shots every couple of seconds to build suspense.

The pace slows as the man enters a tunnel but the tension is built again with the sound of footsteps as someone approaches our character. A woman bumps into the man, dropping everything she was holding, the man helps her collect her belongings and they connect. Shortly after the man leaves, anxious to get home. As the man leaves the woman stands up, smirks and we see she has the USB stick from earlier on. She walks off into the distance.

As you can see some camera shots have been worked into our synopsis, once we have a final shot list we can publish it and you can see how our thriller opening is coming together.

On Location

As I have explained in previous posts, the location is very important. Before we start to film we need to have a location in mind and we need to see what is achievable in that location.
I decided I would go to the locations we had chosen and to take some photographs so we had some visual reference when sitting around a table planning out our beginning.
The first location was on the Southbank in Waterloo. I liked this location as it has the official looking buildings but also the grimy underpasses. I think with the overpass across the road we can get some really nice high angle shots and we can use the pillars to create the feeling our character is being watched.

The second location is a conference room in the college staff room. We chose this because it is quite for most of the day so we can film for as long as we need. We also have a lot of space in there so we can fit our equipment into the room. Obviously though, we need to change some things around to build an appropriate mise en scene. We are fortunate as the room has black out blinds and dimmer lights. There is also a fan which could help us to build tension.

My treatment - When The Cat Is Away

I have been working on my idea for my thriller, entitled: When The Cat Is Away.

Below is the treatment of my original idea, since making this we have decided as a group on a different idea, but I thought it would be interesting to compare the differences between the original ideas and the final plan.

Group 3 Production Treatment

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Reviewing a previous AS class Thriller

In thursdays lesson we looked at previous classes Thriller openings. As a class we looked at 5 from the last two years and each chose one to review. I have chosen to review 'Silent Whisper'.

The colours seen in 'Silent Whisper' were very typical of the thriller genre, there were many blacks, whites and reds. As it was shot at night, the reds and whites stood out. The credits were disguised in the opening sequence, one of the characters was writing them onto pieces of paper or they were in the background.

I liked this opening more than the others because it didn't give away its story line as some of the others did, I felt that some groups wanted to fit a story line into their opening but the group that did 'Silent Whisper' left a lot to be decided on the audiences part.

We are introduced to two characters. First is a young girl. The girl is dressed in white and we first see her sitting by herself her back turned away. The white gown she is wearing gives the audience an idea that she is innocent. The white against the dark of night also makes her seem ghost like, especially as the way it has been filmed we can't really see her legs. We never see her face which makes the audience question her innocent look, she could be hiding something from us. The other character is very mysterious, we only really see his hands in the opening, and even then they are gloved. We see the hands writing letters and dropping rose petals. We feel that this man is some sort of a villain even though we do not see him do any kind of evil things.

The themes seemed to be Supernatural and could maybe incorporate Voyeurism. The Supernatural element was undeniable but we aren't given enough information about the relationship between the two characters to decide more, this already building interest and suspense.

The director chose very good shots and it was editing very well in my opinion. I particularly liked how some parts were sped up to make the girl look like a ghost, a technique often used in Hollywood films. Sometimes the camera work was shaky but I felt that this lends itself to the genre, it puts you in the position of the character and can simulate the fear the character would be feeling.

The musical score was also good, like any good thriller score it created tension and its main technique was to use jumpy high pitched keys to do this.

Overall 'Silent Whisper' was very effective, I was on the edge of my seat and genuinely intrigued as to the story behind the two characters. A very good opening in my opinion.

Thriller as a Genre

Thriller as a genre is what adds to make a thriller for example: types of characters , locations, what is the aim is it continuous, 

Characters that often occur in thrillers:

Convicts, criminals, stalkers, assassins, down-on-their-luck losers, innocent victims (often on the run), prison inmates, menaced women, characters with dark pasts, psychotic individuals, terrorists, cops and escaped cons, fugitives, private eyes, drifters, duplicitous individuals, people involved in twisted relationships, world-weary men and women, psycho-fiends, and more

The themes of thrillers frequently include terrorism, political conspiracy, pursuit, or romantic triangles leading to murder.

'Thriller and Suspense Films are types of films known to promote intense excitement, suspense, a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, and nerve-wracking tension. Thriller and suspense films are virtually synonymous and interchangeable categorizations, with similar characteristics and features.'

http://www.filmsite.org./thrillerfilms.html

Alfred Hitch-cock  was a very iconic and legendary filmmaker and director he first directed in 1925 and when he rose to become famous his films were well known as full of suspense and psychological aspects were always used this picture above is from a Hitch cock film called rear window which is also the fifth most popular thriller film according to IMDB votes.

Box office Figures

I have been looking in to box offices figures for thrillers, thriller is one of the hardest genres to classify there are so many types of thrillers for example: crime thrillers, sci-fi thrillers, action thriller and many more. I have research the Top 5 Thrillers in the Box office and what types of thriller they are to gage what sort of Thrillers are the most popular;
UK
1. Next - £795,012
2. Wild Hogs - £654,684
3. Fracture - £577,881
4.Mr Bean's Holiday - £507,064
5. Blades of Glory - £462,622
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6611675.stm
Source: Screen International

Top Rated "Thriller" Titles

1.The Godfather (1972)
2.The Godfather: Part II (1974)
3The Dark Knight (2008)
4.Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
5.Rear Window (1954)

http://www.imdb.com/chart/thriller

Looking At The Preliminary Task

The preliminary task was to introduce us to the equipment and editing suite. We were told to make a short clip demonstrating the 180 Degrees rule, shot reverse shot and match on action, all of which we incorporated.

First, we decided on our scenario. After 5 minutes or so we decided on something simple, a girl confessing that she is pregnant.

We then drew a story board which would be our guide to the shots we were taking and our narrative structure.

Location was decided on almost immediately, we chose a room away from classes that was big enough to film in and quiet enough so we wouldn't be disturbed.

The group was split into two, two of us were acting and two were filming. Although, We all helped each other when deciding exact points from where to film from.

We were efficient in our filming and had it done in one go, we were then ready to start editing. We all helped edit, that way we all gained experience on Final Cut Pro.

I was pleased with the outcome of our exercise, but there are a few things that I found fault with. I think the camera was tilted to one side in some of the shots, so the angles look a bit off and crooked. Sometimes the camera was a bit shaky too.

I feel that the over all outcome overshadows the faults however, the cuts are fluid and when watching you do not notice our mistakes.

The prelim was very important as an introduction to the course. We have learnt what we can do with the cameras and equipment. We also have learnt our basics in editing.

I look forward to exploring the possibilities of Final Cut Pro, it seems as though it has the facilities so we can make a really effective opening.

A Different Kind of Thriller - Death Note

Death note is a Japanese thriller film with a difference. Death Note follows the story of a young college student who finds a book which when a name is written in it, the person dies. Two teenage genius' are pitted against each other before one captures or kills the other. The film relies heavily on dialogue between the two main characters. The film was adapted from a popular manga novel.

Usually Thriller films are targeted at an audience of 18+ but Death Note has a target audience of about 12+. This once again shows how diverse the genre is and how its boundaries are being redefined all the time. This shows us that we can make a thriller that is suitable for people our age, it doesn't have to be gritty and dark. Death note is also a good example of a sub-genre within thriller, it is very supernatural orientated. The film inspires me because it has broken some of the rules of typical hollywood genres but none the less is a great film. Although it is a Japanese film it has been very popular in the US and Britain.

Death Note

Preliminary Exercise

Analysing An Opening

The Usual Suspects

I have chosen to analyse the opening of 'The Usual Suspects', directed by Bryan Singer and starring Kevin Spacey. I felt that this opening was the most exciting and stylish of the thriller beginnings we looked at as a class.

The opening shot is of fire, already this gives us the idea of danger. Next we see a man that is looking half dead, in front of a blazing fire behind him. I felt that the fire was reminiscent of the gates of hell, further setting the scene and giving a sense of danger and evil. There is also the ominous sound of running water.

We are already intrigued as to what is going on, when the fire is lit a trail sets ablaze to be stopped by some water being poured down. Next the viewer sees the dark, scary silhouette of someone. The man walks slowly, showing he is in power here, he isn't afraid of the fire. I associated the figure with the devil, the man seems to be in power of the fire, further reinforced when he lights the lighter, the darkness shrouds his hand and the fire looks to be produced from him. His power is once again reinforced when we learn his name, Kaiser. Kaiser being the German word for Emperor. Once again in the way that Kaiser hold his gun we see the power and attitude he has.

The two guns shots ringing out shows  how far away from anyone else these two men are, this makes it seem eerie and away from the rest of the world.

What really makes this opening effective is the music. The strings and low noises build a sense of tension. There is a clicking sound as well, it sounds like some sort of creeping, adding to the sense that this is far away and there aren't many people around. Just after we first see Kaiser there is a sound of a bell, much like a church bell. This adds to the religious aspect of the gates of hell and made me think of the day of judgement.

I would like to add that I really thought that the part prior to this, the opening credits, where also very effective. The camera is panning over silent waters, the waves slowly start to increase building the tension. The close shot of the matches breaks this silence and stillness which is really exciting for the viewer.

1408: Thiller??

I watched another film called 1408 (2007) Directed by Mikael Hafstrom.

the film is about a writer who writes books about haunted places. he is writing a book about haunted hotels and finds out about a hotel room in New York in the Dolphin hotel by an anonymous letter saying "don't stay in 1408".

he does his research and finds out that the room is evil and every single person who has stayed in the room has commited suiside or died.  so, fearlessly he persuades the extremally reluctant  hotel manager for him to spend a night in the room. at first he is fine but wierd things start to happen. the clock changes, windows open and he see's ghosts of the people who have died. he then trips out really badly and starts to see things including things about his terrifying past and that. it all get a bit over the top from this point and gets a bit confusing and finally ends on a cliff hanger that i didn't understand...

anyway, there werre elements of a phychological thriller film in it. it was all to do with the main character's mental conflict with the hotel room. however there were also elements ofthe  horror genre in the film as it was full of fear and it included a central villian, the room itself.

thriller or horror

?

Film Review: 'The Orphanage"

Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona (Pan's Labyrinth)

I saw this film in Spain under the name 'El Orfanato' as it is a Spanish film with English subtitles. It's a spooky supernatural thriller about a woman, Laura, desperate to find her ill, missing son. 

Laura persuades her husband to buy the abandoned orphanage for disabled children that she grew up in. Simon, her son, has HIV and is also an orphan. When he comes to the house he makes 5 imaginary friends. Soon, strange noises are made in the house, a weird woman is seen wandering the grounds of the house and Simon is lead on a strange treasure hunt made by his imaginary friends. Laura wants to re-open the orphanage to a select few children who are ill just like her son. During the 'open day' at the orphanage, Laura notices her son is missing. After months of Simon missing, Laura still wants to find her son and dedicates her life researching te house, orphans and the mysterious woman she saw sneaking around the house. She eventually realises that Simon's freinds are ghosts of the children who used to live in the orphanage....

Any more will spoil the film!

i really enjoyed the film and got so carried away with the intense storyline, i didn't even get distracted by the subtitles despite at the start i was contemplating wether or not to watch the film beacause of them. it's full of jumpy scenes and is actually quite scary. you really had to pay attention to the dialogue as its a film you will not understand unless you really listen (or in my case read!).

It is well worth watching, brilliantly casted, and an all round cleverly written thriller film!

Building a Thriller - Story

To make our Thriller effective and exciting we must look at what is achievable for 4 teenagers and the situations we can represent.
Thriller is a wide genre, so we have an advantage. I think that as teenagers we can best portray a crime, medical or supernatural thriller.
Location and the characters, two things I previously talked about, impact heavily on our scope for stories and narrative.
I would be most interested in doing a supernatural thriller, I think it will be easiest to achieve and look stylish and be effective. We could use our lack of professional camera equipment to our advantage, if we could effectively use shaky camera work, our production could be really interesting. Supernatural narratives usually incorporate a wide open space or a very small space so filming shouldn't be a problem.

I think a criminal drama would be easily achieved, we could take inspiration from the hundreds of stories in tabloids every week and adapt a convincing and thrilling story from elements of different stories. Each of our production crew lives in the city so we have locations we can use too.

This is the same for medical thrillers, there are constant horror stories in tabloids so inspiration should come easily. Location may be a big problem for a medical thriller but it doesn't have to happen in a hospital or doctors surgery. We would need to be smart to work out how this could be done.

As we are only doing the opening of a thriller film we have a slightly easier job, we do not need to think up a whole narrative with twists but we need to incorporate some elements of a whole thriller film so our opening is exciting and thrilling.

To prepare to start writing I will be picking up tabloids and looking at the stories. I will also start to make some ideas so we have something to do when we first go back. If the whole group brings ideas we should be in a good position to start working out our thriller.

Building a Thriller - Characters

To make our Thriller effective and exciting we must look at what is achievable for 4 teenagers and the characters we can play.

Obviously as teenagers we might find it hard to play adult characters, so we as a company are faced with a dilemma... Do we play characters our own age or characters older than ourselves?

Naturalistically, anyone in our company can play a character anywhere from 13-18 years of age. An example of a thriller involving a child/teenager is sixth sense. We know it is possible to have a convincing thriller with young people in. But the majority of thriller characters are 25+ so we might be in a position where we have to break some connotations of the genre. 

We could also bring in actors that are older or younger than us, to play a convincing adult or child character. The problems we might face are arranging and filming with adults who may have to work or actually getting them in the first place. Children may play about or not understand what is happening.

The best bet is to act ourselves. Being at a school that teaches theatre and having 3 actors in the group we are in a good position. We have a large choice of actors who as our friends should be wiling to help us.

Building a Thriller - Location

To make our Thriller effective and exciting we must look at what is achievable for 4 teenagers and the equipment that we are using. 

We are at quite an advantage as we are filming with HD cameras, meaning that quality will not be compromised if we need to film in a badly lighted or difficult place.

Being in London we have a wide range of locations we can use. We have a metropolis city and also quiet suburbs. London is also filled with open green spaces and wooded areas.

Thrillers are usually located in the inner city or places far out in the country. London is good as it has gritty areas that look dangerous and also very official locations. This would lend itself to either criminal or police dramas. It is also possible to do a political drama, as we have the official looking buildings and streets.

London has good links to the countryside and also has desolate urban areas, meaning we can easily get to a empty location to do a scene.

We might face problems such as obstructing the public or not being able to gain access to certain locations.  We can overcome this by contacting people, asking the college or filming at night. 

We may find that filming at night lends it self better to the mood of our thriller

Overall I can't foresee any big problems with location.

Alfred Hitchcock - "The Master of Suspense"

Sir Alfred Hitchcock (1899 to 1980) was and still is one of the most famous film directors of all time. He was nicknamed the 'master of suspense' and labelled the master of the thriller genre. 

he started making films in England in the 1920's and then after making a name for himself moved to Hollywood in 1939 due to the 'technical superiority" in a Hollywood studio compared to a British one. 

The 50's was seen to be Alfred's high point of his career. It was a period in which his art reached its full maturity with such superior thriller as Stangers on a Train (1951), Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), and Psycho (1960).

Psycho is probably Hitchcock's most notorious film and is still terrifying after 40 plus years. Hitchcock's murder set-pieces are so potent, they can frighten even a viewer who has seen it before. It was nominated for four Oscars in 1961 and won two.

Righteous Kill

Righteous Kill

This week I went to see Righteous Kill starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, two of the most recognisable thriller actors. Righteous Kill is about two high ranking New York Police officers who are also best friends. We follow the homicide cases the two are investigating and we believe that De Niro's character, Turk, is carrying out these murders. The film explores how Turk is getting away with these murders and the strains on the friendship as we believe 'Rooster', Pacino's character, knows what Turk is doing.

The opening sequence was quite misleading, it was much more like an action film than a thriller film. We are given a background on the two characters. Turk and Rooster are in a firing range shooting dummies laughing to each other as they do so. We understand that Turk is a tough guy, he coaches a kids baseball team and is in his precincts team. Rooster is set up as somewhat of a genius, he is playing multiple chess games at one time. This genius image is not exactly continued throughout the film. The colours that are used are very typical; Reds, Blacks and Whites.

After the opening sequence the first thing we see is Turk confessing on camera to killing a number of people in his time as a police officer. This commentary runs through out the film and becomes a narration to the action of the film. Sub-plots occur involving on-going investigations and disappointment between the two friends after events in the past. There is a drugs bust that the two characters are working on that progresses the plot and towards the end leads to trap which brings the film to its climax.

In the end I feel 'Righteous Kill' failed as a thriller film. The twist and mystery to the film was easily guessed as there was nothing else it could be or any other direction the film could go in. I also felt that there was too much comic relief between Turk and Rooster for tension to really build up. The only thing that saves the film is the two big actors, without them the film probably wouldn't have gone into production.

Thriller Directors and Actors

In this post I will highlight some of the main contributors to the genre of 'thrillers'. I will look at both Actors and Directors.

• Alfred Hitchcock - Hitchcock is seen as one of the pioneers of Thriller films and British cinema. He directed two of the definitive thriller films: 'Psycho' and 'North By Northwest' and the first British Talkie film; 'Blackmail'. Often referred to as the master of suspense, Hitchcock is said to have made his best movies in the 1950's.

• Ridley Scott - Ridley scott is a good example of a director that exhibits sub plots within the wide genre that is Thriller. 'Alien' is a good example, It is science fiction as the story takes place in a future where humans are space traveling and as the title suggests it has aliens in. Another example is Blade Runner. Hannibal is an example of Horror Thriller, there are some very gory moments but it remains a thriller as the suspense of the pursuit of hannibal keeps you on the edge of your seat.

• Tom Cruise - One of the most instantly recognisable actors in modern cinema and has appeared in such thriller films as 'Collateral', 'A Few Good Men' and 'Minority Report' Tom Cruise is often playing the hero, due to his good looks but has played villians (Collateral). 

• Samuel L Jackson - has appeared in such films as 'Unbreakable', where he plays a disabled man convinced that there are levels of fragility in humans and one man is virtually indestructible. 'The Caveman's Valentine', Where he plays a homeless man convinced that the people of New York are being mind controlled, and the cult classic 'Pulp Fiction' where he plays a hitman. Jackson often plays the role of the bad guy in thriller films, but more recently has appeared as an action hero. 

Sources

Internet Movie Database - Links given. Last Accessed 20th October

What is a thriller film

I have been doing some research into what people think a thriller film is. I thought that most people would think that a thriller was the same thing as horror, this is mainly to do with the Michael Jackson song 'Thriller'

Here is what I found:

By definition a thriller film is: 

"...a broad genre of literature, film, gaming and television. It includes numerous, often overlapping sub-genres.
Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action, and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more-powerful and better-equipped villains. Literary devices such as suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers are used extensively."

Whilst looking at the book 'Cinema Today' I found that the genre thriller was not defined. I found this very interesting. It seemed that Thrillers fit more definitely into Action or Crime dramas. There was a paragraph about something called 'Neo-Noir' which I felt was todays Thriller.  'Action- noir' was also discussed. I think the two together show that Noir is heavily connected to Thrillers.

Sub-Genres include:

• Action Thriller - Films often involving spies or criminal corporations out to get something. A hero is working against the company to thwart their plans and usually save lots of lives. the real enemy in the films is time, the heroes are always battling against time before something catastrophic happens.

• Legal Thriller - this encompasses political, court room dramas and some detective films. The thrilling element is how the crime was committed and how it is going to be worked out. The audience usually knows all or nothing so the dynamic changes accordingly.

• Horror/supernatural Thriller - These films have some sort of horror element in but are not a complete horror film where everyone dies and the only real mystery is who will die next. A good example of this sub-genre is 'The Ring', there is a real supernatural element but there is also a mystery to pursue.

• Techno/Science fiction Thriller - Films about technology or the future, revolving around how the technology can be used to harm the public. Techno thrillers are often about some sort of virus that will bring down the government and it also includes spy thrillers as a genre. Science fiction thrillers are set in the future, a good example is 'Blade Runner' or 'I,Robot' where robots turning evil feature heavily.

• Medical Thrillers - The mystery is in the illness, the narrative follows doctors trying to figure out what ailment is causing the harm to someone.  This genre is much more popular in Television with such shows as 'House'. A recent example is 'Awake' where a man wakes up mid-surgery and realises he is about to be killed.

Thrillers have their root in Film Noir. Film Noir is characterised by dark shots and a narrative involving crime. Stock characters include the 'femme fatale', a beautiful woman who seduces as a means to a often deadly end. Another stock character is the 'private eye', the detective investigating the crime that the film is based on. Noir films were popular from the 1940's till the late 1950's and took influence from crime novels published circa 1920. Much like Thriller, Film Noir is hard to define as it contains elements of more definite genres. "We'd be oversimplifying things in calling film noir oneiric, strange, erotic, ambivalent, and cruel...." Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumeton, french film critics, said in their book called 'A Panorama Of American Film Noir, which goes to show even people in the industry have a hard time. The influence of Film Noir can still be seen today, especially in Crime TV dramas such as 'Law and Order' and 'CSI'. Such programs use darkshots and in the case of 'CSI' there is often a blue tinge in the lighting.

My primary research gave me much of the same ideas and connotations about thriller films as my secondary research.

Joshua Pullar

Sources:
Various. (2008). Thrillers. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_film. Last accessed 17 Oct 2008.
Various. (2008). Film Noir. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_noir. Last accessed 21 Oct 2008.

Cinema Today, Edward Buscombe, Phaidon Press Ltd (Sep 2003), ISBN-13: 978-0714840819

A Panorama Of American Film Noir, Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumeton, City Lights Books (Dec 2002), ISBN-13: 978-0872864122

Shot Reverse Shot

Shot Reverse Shot is one of the 3 main principles of continuity editing. It is often used when two characters are exchanging dialogue. The character is looking at someone or something off screen and then it cuts to what they are looking at. 

We start with the shot: For instance a man saying 'Hello'

We have the reverse: The reaction to 'Hello' from who the man is looking at.

We then return to the shot: We see the man in the first shot.

In the video above from seconds 20 to 30 the two characters exchange dialogue, here is an example of shot reverse shot.

Sources: Video - Youtube, User: Tobersx, Last Accessed: 4th October

Preliminary task

We have been asked to create a short video capturing a scene where someone enters a room and sits down after this there is short piece of dialogue. Within this we have to show use and clear understanding of the 3 main principles of film editing:

• The 180 degree rule
  
• Shot Reverse Shot  
  
• Match on Action

First we started with an idea, we threw around ideas between us before decided that a girl was coming into the room to tell her dad she is pregnant. We then had to story board our shots. Once we had done this we were ready to shoot.

Introduction to group

Hello and welcome to our blog. Our task over the next year to complete two short films, a preliminary exercise and the opening to a thriller film. The preliminary is to demonstrate basic shooting and editing abilities and the thriller should demonstrate our understanding of the vast genre.

This group is made up of 4 people; Jesse Amos, Flanna Lindsay, Kimberley Ochiagha and Joshua Pullar.

  Jesse Amos: I did media GCSE last year and got an A. I learnt how to use Final Cut Pro in the lessons and we made a Soap Opera introduction. I enjoy watching films in my spare time and I am interested in the way films are shot. I like working with cameras and editing video. :)

  Flanna Lindsay: I also completed a media GCSE course and attained a grade B I fully enjoyed this and look forward to taking part in media over these coming years I think I will bring something good to this group as I believe that I am a conscientious student who is passionate.

  Kimberley Ochiagha: I also completed a media GCSE and I got an B over the course I learnt how to analyze the openings of films focusing on things like mise en scene, diagetic and non diagetic sounds, lighting, camera angles,props etc.... this year ill bring all the skills I've learnt over the years and put it to good use making as much contribution as  possible, doing all work to the best of my ability.

  Joshua Pullar: I am a theatre student and have had no previous experience in media. I have previous experience in animation but I did this when I was very young. I was interested in doing media because I like film and animation. I hope to learn how to shoot and edit film so I can have a career in media in later life.