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.