Representation
In the other part of the media course we do an extract of representation in our exam in practices we have looked at dramas. The waking of the dead essay I did was very dark and sinister and showed some aspects of a thriller.
The opening scene of waking the dead begins with a tight close up shot of a chain swinging, the background is out of focus as the camera shot had a shallow field of focus. This creates a scary, dark atmosphere, you get a sense of torture. The only sound you can hear is the sound of a moving chain which has been heavily enhanced in the editing process.
The next shot is a crane shot down the chain, the chin is swinging with a man a man swinging. The chain then turns out to be a swing with a middle age man on it, the dark ominous tone is still apparent.
A woman in a blurred shot which cross faded from the park with the man on the swing, unfocused high key lighting are visible in both shots but the high key lighting is set in the park scene.
Next there is a very slow pan from the park to a forensic scientist in the background behind a transparent evidence board which is swinging like the chains. All there time there is a sense that something is about to happen and that’s what we are waiting for.
Next is a pan to the hotel room you only see the feet of a man with him undressing himself by taking off his trousers. We (the viewer) are placed under the bed, next the camera cranes up as if into the bed which leaves us with a black screen. All the viewer can hear now is the rocking of the bed and panting.
By the where and the way the camera is placed the viewer is aware of what is happening and that there is a young man tied down and gagged against his will and is being anally raped. The camera does a tight shot of the ropes holding down his hands, then camera pans to the wall where you see the silhouette and the man being raped and strangled.
Next there is a tracking shot of a cleaner going down a corridor to a room, a reverse angle and fish eye lens makes it looks as if someone is watching her from the other side of the door. The tension hasn’t subsided despite what has happened in the last frame.
There is a cut and the viewer is in the room with two detectives at the crime scene and the murder the viewers witnessed. The man who has been strangled had “sorry” engraved in his back. The detectives are working class and the way in which they talk sucks all of the tension built out of the frame.
They leave the room and there is a tracking shot of the man on the swing, who is also a detective. The tracking shot is now following him down to meet the two working class detective. Their conversation contains over the shoulder shots and reverse over the shoulder shots.
For my Textual Analysis's i looked at two trailers in two different types of thrillers, i thought along with all of my other research this might further my knowledge and initiate more ideas for our thriller piece.
The trailer itself is gripping and to me the representation on culture in the city establishes that it is New York even without the voice over informing the viewer of that. I think this trailer is so effective because of the mix of diagetic and non-diagetic music, and also the way in which in the editing process the fist few shots are sped up to show the fast moving city.
The establishment of the phones and the city has been established in the first 22 seconds of the trailer, it then turns to the main plot and the main character Stu. They show him as having a big profile; he seems very in control compared to who we assume to be his assistant who’s with him who seems nervous and slightly uncomfortable, perhaps because he is in the presence of his boss Stu.
Cuts to the phone ringing in a phone booth, from the name of the film and the emphasis on phones in the first 22 seconds we know this will be where the film begins to intensify. When Stu shuts the phone booth door behind him this is him isolating himself from the fast moving city and being closed in to the situation.
Stu even when getting threatened tries to stay calm and call his the gunman’s bluff, but Stu quickly fins out he is not in control when he shoots a pedestrian walking past. The viewer quickly sees the breakdown of the character Stu.
The police arrive and assume Stu is the person with the gun, and they don’t understand the position he is in. It is quickly revealed that he is having an affair with a young girl. The gunman seems to want him to understand the error of his arrogant ways. The gunman tries to get Stu to decide between his wife or his mistress, this isn’t seen in the trailer who he chooses.
The use of close up’s of Stu’s face while the intensity and plot thickens makes the viewer feel uncomfortable. The gunman’s voice is a very calm older man, this makes the viewer speculate who it is.
I see this trailer as such a success as it tells the viewer enough about the plot to be intrigued but not to much because the viewer still has questions. Phone Booth is a thriller but doesn’t conform to the normal conventions of a thriller as it is set outside in high key lighting. There is little violence throughout the film only the shooting from the rifle from a unknown location. The gunman not being caught at the end subverts the usual forms of a thriller and there is no “hero” in this film.
Personally the best psychological thrillers are when the antagonist has no emotions and is unfazed by the thought of murdering someone. Taking Lives, Psycho, No country for old men and Silence of the Lambs have taken this idea and made it into a theme for psychological-thrillers.
This trailer begins with flashes of Hannibal Lecter’s face, this is a chilling site as the low key lighting creates shadows and his facial expression adds to the anxiety that the viewer feels. Clarice Starling a woman who turns into the protagonist of the film going to interview the renowned Dr. Lecter. The location conforms to the usual thriller setting with its low key lighting; this creates a dark atmosphere with her first meeting of Hannibal.
The reason why she is interviewing Lecter is next revealed as Buffalo Bill with a new commentary in the background with flashes of newspaper clippings a necklace and a tattoo, the establishment of the plot is complete. Starling is described as a “rookie” FBI agent, which makes her seem more vulnerable when approaching Lecter’s confinement.
The quick cuts of Hannibal Lecturer and him always being in the shadows emphasizes the mystery and suspense around him. The music makes the viewer feel uneasy as it builds tension. Hannibal Lecter is the antagonist of this film and fits the stereotype perfectly as he is scheming and intelligent.
Thursday 18 February 2010
Friday 12 February 2010
Thriller Task- Research
I felt this Thriller piece unlike the preliminary task required alot of research to get the right techniques for filming our piece. Aswell as a more unique understanding of what makes an outstanding thriller and why certain thriller's had such success.
As a class we were shown Hitchcock’s film Psycho and the 2004 film Taking Lives to give us ideas. I found these films interesting particularly Psycho I wrote an essay on both films to look at the forms and conventions they use to build suspense and tension.
Describe and discuss some of the ways Hitchcock creates tension and suspense in Psycho.
Alfred Hitchcock’s complex psychological thriller “Psycho” is described as the mother of all modern horror suspense films. It addressed serious social issues at the time of its release such as adultery and embezzling, which made the film stand out leading to its popularity. The sex and violence in Psycho was a new experience for audiences of main stream films.
The title of the film itself creates tension and suspense as the audience would be unsure of what to expect as it was seen by most critics as the first psychoanalytic thriller. The audience would define a “Psycho” as someone who is mad, deranged and dangerous. This strong title would create opinions and assumptions of what the film would contain, and the audience may interpret the “Psycho” as a basic murderer when really it was a mentally ill man with his dead mother living in his psyche as an alternative personality. This adds a twist to regular murder thrillers making Hitchcock’s “Psycho” a memorable film.
The shower scene which I personally see as the films pivotal scene was so affective because of the tension and suspense built. Hitchcock’s first effective technique was the use of close up and extreme close up shots in this scene. Only two medium shots are used and this is before and after the murder. The combination of close up shot and short cuts disorientates the viewers by making them uncomfortable as the scene feels uncontrollable.
The music vastly intensifies the scene, the screeching violins and other string instruments. The diagetic soundtrack is use later on in the film as well, this lets the audience know that something bad is about to happen.
Hitchcock throughout the film uses blurred imagery as a tension and suspense technique. This obscures the killer’s figure in the shower scene allowing him to keep the audience unaware of the murderer for a longer time. The killer can only be seen behind a shower curtain when first attacking, and with the wig Norman was wearing the audience speculates it is his mother.
The audience as given two options to speculate, either the killer is the son or the mother. But Hitchcock’s use of continuously misleading the audiences with ideas and snippets of information the audience are left in suspense unaware of who to perceive as the killer. This is a continuous and effective theme throughout the film.
I see the film being produced in black and white as another technique of suspense and tension. Although it is cost effective and may have been one of the primary reasons, the way in which black and white films are able to create an eerier atmosphere is an easy way to make a dimly lighted room have a sinister atmosphere. The use of shadows and camera positioning allows Hitchcock to take advantage of the black and white as darkness is more defined.
I see the techniques used here as depriving the audience of a clear image or with a clear knowledge of what is happening and this leads to tension and suspense due to the discomfort they feel. I saw Hitchcock’s quick cuts and use of extreme close up’s in the shower scene as particularly effective at discomforting viewers and catching the emotion of the actors. The film being in black and white added to the sinister atmosphere as it created shadows especially in the scene in which Norman and Marion share sandwich’s when she first arrives at the hotel. Hitchcock in this scene puts the camera low and points it up to Norman and the shadows make him almost unrecognisable and with the stuffed animals in the background he becomes a threatening character.
In what ways does "Taking Lives" conform to or subvert what you consider to be the forms and conventions of the thriller genre.
“Taking Lives” was released in 2004 and is based on the book with the same title name by Micheal Pye. The film is directed by D.J Caruso who has directed many thrillers that have conformed to the typical conventions of a thriller. “Taking Lives” is a good example of a psychological thriller that has a degree of conformity to the conventions of a thriller, which are highly effective. But also the way in which it subverts with twists and elements is what makes it a memorable thriller.
“Taking Lives” conforms in a variety of ways beginning with the setting of the film. Ii is set in Canada and this conforms as thrillers are usually set in a different and unknown environment to the viewer so not America and England, but most thrillers do seem to have British or American actors which “Taking Lives” does too.
The constant suspense and tension throughout the film is a good example of what most thrillers try and achieve. The film makes the audience try and anticipate what is about to happen but with the tension and suspense they get a mixed array of emotions. Most directors try and make the audience feel like they’re on a rollercoaster in terms of their emotions throughout the film. With the effective thriller techniques with the good quality acting the audience become involved with the characters and the situation creating more intense reactions and emotions.
“Taking Lives” is full of misleading puzzles and red herrings. The audience believe that the puzzle is solved and another one occurs. The detective Illena see’s a pattern in the murderer’s victims, so it is a race against time to catch the murderer before he gets to his next victim.
The use of the main characters as a way to get more emotions out the audience than suspense and anticipation is an effective technique which in “Taking Lives” worked well due to the acting of Angelina Jolie who plays Illena. She is shown as a strong independent woman and in this day and age that is an inspirable trait, so girls and women watching the film will relate to her immediately. But just like in other thrillers, Illena has flaws and this makes her human to the audience not just a “hero”. For any film to work the characters within the film need to be believable and by giving them flaws the film achieves this. Illena’s flaw is that she gets romantically involved with a witness, which clouds her judgement and she tries to get off the case.
The use of a female lead in “Taking Lives” is on of the ways the films subverts the normal conventions of a thriller. Illena is independent and eccentric and doesn’t seem to have any flaws until she becomes involved with the witness who turns out to be the killer. She becomes the “hero” of the film, she shows her softer more feminine side by being hurt by the revelation of the man she was involved in being the murderer, but she over comes this and finds enough courage to kill this man at the end of the film. All good thrillers have strong but relatable lead roles, by it being an attractive female lead, male viewers are attracted to her and females viewers idolise her.
“Taking Lives” is based on the psychology and the emotions of events. The audience experience the confusion felt by Jolie’s character with her as she tries to uncover the murderer. The confusion of the situation is intensified with Martin the psychopath and sociopaths thought process. He is able to murder people with no sense of remorse or regret and the viewers feel that emotion on a daily basis so this is “alien” territory to them. The contrast of Illena and Martin as characters is a technique used and this shows the vulnerability of Illena and the immorality of Martin.
The climax to a thriller in most cases is the way in which the mystery is solved or the villain over come. In “Taking Lives” not only is the villain over come but he is killed, and the reasons behind why he did what he did are revealed that leaves the film with a tied off end leaving the audience calm and satisfied after there rollercoaster of emotions throughout the film.
Caruso’s use of conforming to the ideas of a thriller and use of subtle subverts like the use of a female lead role, pulled “Taking Lives” out of the classic thriller category and into a category of its own.
After writing the two essays above I became more interested in the way in which thrillers are put together, i decided to research further about the basic forms and conventions used to make a successful thriller. I brainstormed the ideas on the a seperate sheet of paper to take into school to show the rest of the group to help us plan our own thriller.
My basic forms and conventions brainstorm highlighted some of the techniques used in Psycho and Taking Lives that i didn't write about. As you can see even big budget thrillers stick to the basic forms and conventions of a thriller. This encouraged me to take into account the brainstorms when planning our opening to a thriller.
As a class we were shown Hitchcock’s film Psycho and the 2004 film Taking Lives to give us ideas. I found these films interesting particularly Psycho I wrote an essay on both films to look at the forms and conventions they use to build suspense and tension.
Describe and discuss some of the ways Hitchcock creates tension and suspense in Psycho.Alfred Hitchcock’s complex psychological thriller “Psycho” is described as the mother of all modern horror suspense films. It addressed serious social issues at the time of its release such as adultery and embezzling, which made the film stand out leading to its popularity. The sex and violence in Psycho was a new experience for audiences of main stream films.
The title of the film itself creates tension and suspense as the audience would be unsure of what to expect as it was seen by most critics as the first psychoanalytic thriller. The audience would define a “Psycho” as someone who is mad, deranged and dangerous. This strong title would create opinions and assumptions of what the film would contain, and the audience may interpret the “Psycho” as a basic murderer when really it was a mentally ill man with his dead mother living in his psyche as an alternative personality. This adds a twist to regular murder thrillers making Hitchcock’s “Psycho” a memorable film.
The shower scene which I personally see as the films pivotal scene was so affective because of the tension and suspense built. Hitchcock’s first effective technique was the use of close up and extreme close up shots in this scene. Only two medium shots are used and this is before and after the murder. The combination of close up shot and short cuts disorientates the viewers by making them uncomfortable as the scene feels uncontrollable.
The music vastly intensifies the scene, the screeching violins and other string instruments. The diagetic soundtrack is use later on in the film as well, this lets the audience know that something bad is about to happen.
Hitchcock throughout the film uses blurred imagery as a tension and suspense technique. This obscures the killer’s figure in the shower scene allowing him to keep the audience unaware of the murderer for a longer time. The killer can only be seen behind a shower curtain when first attacking, and with the wig Norman was wearing the audience speculates it is his mother.
The audience as given two options to speculate, either the killer is the son or the mother. But Hitchcock’s use of continuously misleading the audiences with ideas and snippets of information the audience are left in suspense unaware of who to perceive as the killer. This is a continuous and effective theme throughout the film.
I see the film being produced in black and white as another technique of suspense and tension. Although it is cost effective and may have been one of the primary reasons, the way in which black and white films are able to create an eerier atmosphere is an easy way to make a dimly lighted room have a sinister atmosphere. The use of shadows and camera positioning allows Hitchcock to take advantage of the black and white as darkness is more defined.
I see the techniques used here as depriving the audience of a clear image or with a clear knowledge of what is happening and this leads to tension and suspense due to the discomfort they feel. I saw Hitchcock’s quick cuts and use of extreme close up’s in the shower scene as particularly effective at discomforting viewers and catching the emotion of the actors. The film being in black and white added to the sinister atmosphere as it created shadows especially in the scene in which Norman and Marion share sandwich’s when she first arrives at the hotel. Hitchcock in this scene puts the camera low and points it up to Norman and the shadows make him almost unrecognisable and with the stuffed animals in the background he becomes a threatening character.
In what ways does "Taking Lives" conform to or subvert what you consider to be the forms and conventions of the thriller genre.“Taking Lives” was released in 2004 and is based on the book with the same title name by Micheal Pye. The film is directed by D.J Caruso who has directed many thrillers that have conformed to the typical conventions of a thriller. “Taking Lives” is a good example of a psychological thriller that has a degree of conformity to the conventions of a thriller, which are highly effective. But also the way in which it subverts with twists and elements is what makes it a memorable thriller.
“Taking Lives” conforms in a variety of ways beginning with the setting of the film. Ii is set in Canada and this conforms as thrillers are usually set in a different and unknown environment to the viewer so not America and England, but most thrillers do seem to have British or American actors which “Taking Lives” does too.
The constant suspense and tension throughout the film is a good example of what most thrillers try and achieve. The film makes the audience try and anticipate what is about to happen but with the tension and suspense they get a mixed array of emotions. Most directors try and make the audience feel like they’re on a rollercoaster in terms of their emotions throughout the film. With the effective thriller techniques with the good quality acting the audience become involved with the characters and the situation creating more intense reactions and emotions.
“Taking Lives” is full of misleading puzzles and red herrings. The audience believe that the puzzle is solved and another one occurs. The detective Illena see’s a pattern in the murderer’s victims, so it is a race against time to catch the murderer before he gets to his next victim.
The use of the main characters as a way to get more emotions out the audience than suspense and anticipation is an effective technique which in “Taking Lives” worked well due to the acting of Angelina Jolie who plays Illena. She is shown as a strong independent woman and in this day and age that is an inspirable trait, so girls and women watching the film will relate to her immediately. But just like in other thrillers, Illena has flaws and this makes her human to the audience not just a “hero”. For any film to work the characters within the film need to be believable and by giving them flaws the film achieves this. Illena’s flaw is that she gets romantically involved with a witness, which clouds her judgement and she tries to get off the case.
The use of a female lead in “Taking Lives” is on of the ways the films subverts the normal conventions of a thriller. Illena is independent and eccentric and doesn’t seem to have any flaws until she becomes involved with the witness who turns out to be the killer. She becomes the “hero” of the film, she shows her softer more feminine side by being hurt by the revelation of the man she was involved in being the murderer, but she over comes this and finds enough courage to kill this man at the end of the film. All good thrillers have strong but relatable lead roles, by it being an attractive female lead, male viewers are attracted to her and females viewers idolise her.
“Taking Lives” is based on the psychology and the emotions of events. The audience experience the confusion felt by Jolie’s character with her as she tries to uncover the murderer. The confusion of the situation is intensified with Martin the psychopath and sociopaths thought process. He is able to murder people with no sense of remorse or regret and the viewers feel that emotion on a daily basis so this is “alien” territory to them. The contrast of Illena and Martin as characters is a technique used and this shows the vulnerability of Illena and the immorality of Martin.
The climax to a thriller in most cases is the way in which the mystery is solved or the villain over come. In “Taking Lives” not only is the villain over come but he is killed, and the reasons behind why he did what he did are revealed that leaves the film with a tied off end leaving the audience calm and satisfied after there rollercoaster of emotions throughout the film.
Caruso’s use of conforming to the ideas of a thriller and use of subtle subverts like the use of a female lead role, pulled “Taking Lives” out of the classic thriller category and into a category of its own.
After writing the two essays above I became more interested in the way in which thrillers are put together, i decided to research further about the basic forms and conventions used to make a successful thriller. I brainstormed the ideas on the a seperate sheet of paper to take into school to show the rest of the group to help us plan our own thriller.
My basic forms and conventions brainstorm highlighted some of the techniques used in Psycho and Taking Lives that i didn't write about. As you can see even big budget thrillers stick to the basic forms and conventions of a thriller. This encouraged me to take into account the brainstorms when planning our opening to a thriller.
Thriller Directors
So far throughout my research i've only looked at Alfred Hitchcock and D.J Caruson as directors. In order to widen my knowledge i felt it necessary to look at a variety a successful thriller directors.
I researched on a search engine and found the top 10 thriller directors according to movie critics.I looked at them all but decided to research further into the top 3.
1) Alfred Hitchcock, who was born on the 18 August 1899 and directed over 50 films in his career.Hitchcock is considered the Best Film Director. Sixteen films directed by Hitchcock earned Oscar nominations, though only six of those films earned Hitchcock himself a nomination. The total number of Oscar nominations (including winners) earned by films he directed is fifty. the daily telegraph said in 2007 that Hitchcock is "Unquestionably the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these islands, Hitchcock did more than any director to shape modern cinema, which would be utterly different without him. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information (from his characters and from us) and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else." I've already looked into the ways he can be classed as the best director in the research above.
2)Steven Spielberg, who is not only an amazing thriller director with films such a Jaws and action-thriller Jurrasic park which both achieved box office records, each becoming the highest grossing film made at the time. He is also a highly achieved director in other genre's. In Schindlers List he won the academy award for best director. I personally see him a such a achieved thiller director from my personal expierence of watching Jaws and the suspense and anticipation i felt throughout. I saw this as down to the music when the killer shark was attacking. This simple change from E to F has become a classic piece of suspense music and the composer John Williams said he music had an "effect of grinding away at you, just as a shark would do, instinctual, relentless, unstoppable."
3) James Cameron, recently released Avatar a sci-fi-thriller this is his first feature length film since his success with Titanic in 1997. Avatar is shot in 3D and is almost entirely computer generated animation. Cameron's initial idea that is now Avatar was announced in 1995, but he wanted to finish Titanic first then start a new project. He held back on making the film in till more advanced technology was made. Cameron himself co-developed the digital 3-D fusion camera system, a biographer described Cameron as half-scientist, half-artist. Cameron is one of the highest grossing directors of all time.
Target Audiences for Thrillers
When i researched this i found that there wasn't necessarily one certain group of people who enjoy thrillers but all the different genre's with hin thriller (e.g.horror-thriller) are appreciated by different people.
Horror Thrillers- as horror films target audience tends to be teenage girls, this genre's target audience is younger (17-25) and femal based.
Crime Thrillers- these are for a mature viewer.
Thrillers with BBFC rating 18- target audience is young males.
In terms of a generic target audience for a Thriller it would be for both genders but a younger demographic. (16-25)
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