In my group I have two group members. They include Charlotte Monksfield and Fredrick Conway. As a group we work well together as we are working as a theme and co-operating well with each other in all our scenarios and tasks. The purpose of the preliminary task was to test our editing skills and co-operation as a team. The task involved creating a small clip whilst trying to use different camera angles to show the effect of the convosation. We the had to shoot different angles and edit them in a sequence to make the clip flow whilst changing from one angle to another. As a group we learnt how to set up the camera and how to edit the clip to make it a lot more free flowing. We also learnt how to cut out background sounds and delete certain things that were not needed within our clip. As a group we also learnt that we agreed and co-operated well with each other, and that if one of us didn't agree with something, we would come to some sort of agreement to make everything have somebody's ideas linked in with the clip. We struggled to edit our clip as a group, as we found the time limit to do this wasn't enough time for us to complete it to the full effect that could of made the clip a lot more effective. We overcame this problem by using our teamwork and letting myself edit the clip as the other two were not sure on the technical side to the editing. We made the decision as a group to set certain roles in order to complete the preliminary task and avoid any cause for arguments and disagreements. The task will help with the planning and creating of my thriller film as it has taught me how to edit my scenes to make the film more effective and how to use the camera angles to show the different types of emotions it can cause for example suspicion and tension.
Tuesday, 22 October 2013
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Group Narrative - Miss Georgiou
Group Narrative Media
The purpose of a narrative is to discover ideas about the plot within the film and to be able to engage the audience for the up and coming scenes. In my group we discussed the disadvantages and advantages of each others narratives and sat around a table working respectively and constructively with each other.
One of the narratives discussed within the group was about a masked killer who ends up killing a young woman who is in the kitchen listening to music with her earphones in. The camera would be constantly handheld giving us an idea what it's like to be in the killers shoes. The advantages to this was that it is very conventional to a thriller genre. The masked villains show the hidden identity of the villain which creates the purpose of the handheld camera as you cannot see who it is which would create more tension and suspense in the clip. Another advantage was that there the convention of the young girl getting killed would make the thriller more realistic as in many thrillers the female victim is usually killed or murdered.
The disadvantages of one of the members narratives is that there is only two characters in the plot. This could make the scene less scary due to the first character actually being killed in the first few scenes. This means that the thriller won't be as interesting with only the killer left in the plot. Another disadvantage is that it is cleshay to a thriller. It shows all the conventions of a thriller but is too simple. This could make problems for the thriller as the audience will be expecting what is going to happen therefore not creating tension or suspense which is needed in a thriller film to make the audience more engaged with the film.
The second narrative discussed was about a young girl walking her dog in a forest. There is an old radio playing in the background which doesn't match the events about to happen. The killer is in the background stalking the young girl ready to murder her. This thriller would take place at nighttime which she said would give it an eerie feel to it. The advantages to this thriller is that it is suspense building so it would create a relationship with the audience as it makes them feel more on edge and gets them thinking about what is going to happen next and when. The scenery is conventional to a thriller as it is in a forest which makes the eerie scary feeling within the audience. The good use of camera angles she described such as high-angle and handheld make the thriller for engaging for the audience as we get to see the whole scene and the point of view of the killer. This emphasises everything making it more dramatic giving it that tension and suspense we need to see everything at different points of views.
The disadvantages of her narrative is that it could be too conventional and cleshay to a thriller, therefore making the audience less interested as they may feel as if they have seen it before in another thriller. Another disadvantage could be finding a forest at night could give an element of danger towards the making of the film, which could put the makers of the thriller in a bad situation, causing harm to them, because of it being at night-time.
When discussing my narrative it was about a young girl discovering her schitofrenia is apart of a game where a masked villain makes her, her sister and mother go through a series of gruesome tasks for their freedom. It also includes paranormal activity making them a whole lot harder. The advantages discussed by my group were that there were many characters giving the plot a lot of different scenarios giving more tension and suspense as their are lots of different plots within in. Another advantage is that it will create the suspense and gore I need in order to make he audience feel scared and worried about the gruesome plots to come. My story line is very conventional to a thriller and is also unique therefore giving it that edge to all the other thriller films out there at the moment.
The disadvantages in my thriller was that it could possibly be hard to put together due to the difficulty of the plot and the iconography and editing being used. Another disadvantage is that due to it being a complicated plot the audience may not understand what is going on a times making it very confusing for them. Finally the budget could be a negative as due to the iconography some things may have to be cut due to the budget.
In our group we have decided to go with Freddie's narrative as we believe it will be the most realistic and simple one to film. It has a good plot and when discussinjg his narrative as a group in further and more detail we have come to a conclusion that his narrative with a few ideas from myself and charlotte will be our idea for the thriller trailer.
Our group narrative includes a young female conventional to a thriller cooking whilst the killer is ouside waiting for his moment to kill her. It includes the stereo-typical boyfriend and the masked villian. We have made it conventional to a thriller so that the audience will expect certain things but will take dramatic twists. This makes the thriller trailer more interesting and suspense building making them want to watch the thriller itself.
Friday, 11 October 2013
Opening Scene Analysis - Miss Georgiou
A purpose of an opening scene lets the audience engage more with with the main characters. It introduces us viewers to many different elements including; the genre, loaction, time-frame and different sounds. The opening scenequence tries to make the audience ask themselves questions about the plot and what's going to happen next
In Halloween (1973) film, many different ways for the film to be analysed. In cinematography there were many camera angles used to make the audienence more engaged with the opening scene. A camera angle used in the film is 'zooming in'. This is first used in the opening credits when showing the pumpkin. The camer aangle makes the pumpkin bigger and more effectie as the larger it becomes the more anxious the audience is towards the first scene of the film, making them suspect lots of different things.
Opening sequence
Pic of house
Another cinematography technique used is handheld. This camera angle shows jerky movements creating a sense of the unknown, urgency and uncertainty. This is used when we are seen to be moving towards the house, like somebody is holding the camera on purpose to create an uneven amount of tension and suspension. The camera angle is used to make the audience feel like they are the person moving towards the house. Here we cannot see who the person is, but this connotes that it could be he killer which is conventional to a thriller film as their identity is always hidden to make the audience suspect different things.
Pic of knife and mask
Point of View is another cinematography technique used in the scene and is evident when the killer is picking up the knife. We see the character use this weapon to kill the young girl, but the audience here feel as if they are the murderer due to the camera angle. This rates a relationship with the audience as they believe that they are unstoppable been though they are not actually in the film. They get too see the killing through the eyes of the killer. It is also used when the killer puts the mask on and then murders the young girl. Again this makes he audience feel responsible for the killing of this girl as they feel like they are in the position of the killer at this point in time,this is conventional to a thriller as a commonly used weapon is a knife and also the identity is hidden by the mask, which create the suspense on to shortie murderer is.
Zoomed out of house pic
Finally, the last cinematography element used is the camera angle of Zooming Out. This creates an emotional distance once the boy in Halloween has been seen with blood and a knife in his hands. The emotional distance is created as he realises he has killed his sister and the zooming out makes the house now look vulnerable making everything more dramatic, giving the audience the tension and suspense needed to make them panic and question whether of bit the boy is really the killer.
Sound Techniques
The sound in a opening scenes crucial into making the scene a lot more dramatic and intensifying. A sound technique used is Non-Diegetic. This is used in the soundtrack in the opening credits and it is also at the beginning of the scene as it blends in with chanting which is off-screen. This adds to the drama of the suspense thats building in the opening scene as we do not know who is walking towards the house. The music adds that extra tension to make us as the audience more uptight and scared about what is going to happen next. This is conventional as it creates the suspense of the scene and makes the audience more frightened.
Secondly, another sound technique used is high pitch. This sound is used when the hidden killer is walking up the stairs. This creates a lot of tension as the audience now start to focus onto the murderer which makes the audience feel more on edge and nervous about what is to happen next. This is conventional to a thriller as it makes the killer look a lot more terrifying and makes the identity of the killer more scary as the scarier the music the more scary the killer. It emphasises the killers actions.
Diegetic sound is also used in the opening scene when the clock is ticking. This is crucial into understand the scene as the clock ticking emphasises her life slowly coming to an end like her life is only a matter of seconds away to being ended and it is showing the sound emphasising it. This creates a relationship with the audience as we sympathise for the girl as her life is coming to an end and we feel helpless towards her. This is conventional to a thriller as the female victim usually always gets murdered in a thriller film so it is cleshae to a thriller.
The final sound technique used is parallel sound. This is used when the piano is playing and it matches the killers footsteps. This creates suspense and tension as we as the audience start to feel scared about the incident about to happen. This is conventional to a thriller as the sound creates the mood of the scene emphasising the panic and suspense in the scene.
Pic of boy in clown outfit
The couple were oblivious to the murder being in the house and the parents looked very confused when the little boy was dressed as a clown covered in blood. The boy dressed in the clown outfit is a stereotypical outfit for a not his age at Halloween.
Narrative.
The narrative of Halloween consists of the stereotypical Halloween thriller genre. The detached house shows the reality of the film as it's an everyday scenario. The girl and boy kissing on the couch makes us assume that they are unaware of the events to come and make the assume nothing is going to happen. This adds to the suspense to whether the boyfriend is the killer or whether he is in it with somebody else. This is all conventional to a thriller as all seems well at first until the murder happens which makes the thriller a lot more entertaining and dramatic.
The conventions of a thriller include the hidden identity of the the killer. The intentions of the killer shows obsession and how the hidden identity hides who the killer really is leaving the audience in suspense. The iconography used in Halloween is a knife, this is conventional to a thriller as all murderers usually have a weapon which makes the opening scene more realistic. The low key lighting creates the suspense due to the dark shadows which gives the scene a more eerie feel to it. This makes the audience have a great deal of tension in front of them. Another convention is that the female victim dies, this makes the thriller more obvious as when you associate a filler victim you initially think of a young girl, and she in Halloween gets killed first. The enigma in the thriller makes us think who really is the killer? is the killer really the boy? and why does he want to kill his sister? This creates the three S's, shock suspense and suprise.
This research opening scene of the film will help me with my own thriller as it has given me the insights of the conventions and codes of a thriller, which people expect to see in a thriller. It has made me get many ideas in order to create thrilling ideas which will create a relationship with the audience, making my thriller trailer more suspense and tension building, therefore making it more effective. I know the positives and negatives and what to do and what not to do to make my thriller more adventuraous.
In Halloween (1973) film, many different ways for the film to be analysed. In cinematography there were many camera angles used to make the audienence more engaged with the opening scene. A camera angle used in the film is 'zooming in'. This is first used in the opening credits when showing the pumpkin. The camer aangle makes the pumpkin bigger and more effectie as the larger it becomes the more anxious the audience is towards the first scene of the film, making them suspect lots of different things.
Opening sequence
Pic of house
Another cinematography technique used is handheld. This camera angle shows jerky movements creating a sense of the unknown, urgency and uncertainty. This is used when we are seen to be moving towards the house, like somebody is holding the camera on purpose to create an uneven amount of tension and suspension. The camera angle is used to make the audience feel like they are the person moving towards the house. Here we cannot see who the person is, but this connotes that it could be he killer which is conventional to a thriller film as their identity is always hidden to make the audience suspect different things.
Pic of knife and mask
Point of View is another cinematography technique used in the scene and is evident when the killer is picking up the knife. We see the character use this weapon to kill the young girl, but the audience here feel as if they are the murderer due to the camera angle. This rates a relationship with the audience as they believe that they are unstoppable been though they are not actually in the film. They get too see the killing through the eyes of the killer. It is also used when the killer puts the mask on and then murders the young girl. Again this makes he audience feel responsible for the killing of this girl as they feel like they are in the position of the killer at this point in time,this is conventional to a thriller as a commonly used weapon is a knife and also the identity is hidden by the mask, which create the suspense on to shortie murderer is.
Zoomed out of house pic
Finally, the last cinematography element used is the camera angle of Zooming Out. This creates an emotional distance once the boy in Halloween has been seen with blood and a knife in his hands. The emotional distance is created as he realises he has killed his sister and the zooming out makes the house now look vulnerable making everything more dramatic, giving the audience the tension and suspense needed to make them panic and question whether of bit the boy is really the killer.
Sound Techniques
The sound in a opening scenes crucial into making the scene a lot more dramatic and intensifying. A sound technique used is Non-Diegetic. This is used in the soundtrack in the opening credits and it is also at the beginning of the scene as it blends in with chanting which is off-screen. This adds to the drama of the suspense thats building in the opening scene as we do not know who is walking towards the house. The music adds that extra tension to make us as the audience more uptight and scared about what is going to happen next. This is conventional as it creates the suspense of the scene and makes the audience more frightened.
Secondly, another sound technique used is high pitch. This sound is used when the hidden killer is walking up the stairs. This creates a lot of tension as the audience now start to focus onto the murderer which makes the audience feel more on edge and nervous about what is to happen next. This is conventional to a thriller as it makes the killer look a lot more terrifying and makes the identity of the killer more scary as the scarier the music the more scary the killer. It emphasises the killers actions.
Diegetic sound is also used in the opening scene when the clock is ticking. This is crucial into understand the scene as the clock ticking emphasises her life slowly coming to an end like her life is only a matter of seconds away to being ended and it is showing the sound emphasising it. This creates a relationship with the audience as we sympathise for the girl as her life is coming to an end and we feel helpless towards her. This is conventional to a thriller as the female victim usually always gets murdered in a thriller film so it is cleshae to a thriller.
The final sound technique used is parallel sound. This is used when the piano is playing and it matches the killers footsteps. This creates suspense and tension as we as the audience start to feel scared about the incident about to happen. This is conventional to a thriller as the sound creates the mood of the scene emphasising the panic and suspense in the scene.
Pic of boy in clown outfit
The couple were oblivious to the murder being in the house and the parents looked very confused when the little boy was dressed as a clown covered in blood. The boy dressed in the clown outfit is a stereotypical outfit for a not his age at Halloween.
Narrative.
The narrative of Halloween consists of the stereotypical Halloween thriller genre. The detached house shows the reality of the film as it's an everyday scenario. The girl and boy kissing on the couch makes us assume that they are unaware of the events to come and make the assume nothing is going to happen. This adds to the suspense to whether the boyfriend is the killer or whether he is in it with somebody else. This is all conventional to a thriller as all seems well at first until the murder happens which makes the thriller a lot more entertaining and dramatic.
The conventions of a thriller include the hidden identity of the the killer. The intentions of the killer shows obsession and how the hidden identity hides who the killer really is leaving the audience in suspense. The iconography used in Halloween is a knife, this is conventional to a thriller as all murderers usually have a weapon which makes the opening scene more realistic. The low key lighting creates the suspense due to the dark shadows which gives the scene a more eerie feel to it. This makes the audience have a great deal of tension in front of them. Another convention is that the female victim dies, this makes the thriller more obvious as when you associate a filler victim you initially think of a young girl, and she in Halloween gets killed first. The enigma in the thriller makes us think who really is the killer? is the killer really the boy? and why does he want to kill his sister? This creates the three S's, shock suspense and suprise.
This research opening scene of the film will help me with my own thriller as it has given me the insights of the conventions and codes of a thriller, which people expect to see in a thriller. It has made me get many ideas in order to create thrilling ideas which will create a relationship with the audience, making my thriller trailer more suspense and tension building, therefore making it more effective. I know the positives and negatives and what to do and what not to do to make my thriller more adventuraous.
Wednesday, 9 October 2013
Research Into Sound - Miss Miller
Open Water 2003
In any type of film, sound is key to understanding the pictures on the screen. The sound in films helps to add to the feeling and emotions behind the scenes and the characters themselves. Sound is so important in films as it creates a relationship with the audience and can create many emotions with them making the scene more dramatic and effective. The sound is used to create a relationship with the audience, making them feel more on edge whilst he tension and suspense builds within the film.
Sound media
A film that has many different sounds effects in the film is called Open Water created in 2003. The film is based on the true story of two scuba divers accidentally stranded in shark infested waters after their tour boat has left. Many different sounds techniques are used in the film including Parallel sound, On-Screen sound, a Off-Screen sound, Diegetic and Non-Diegetic sound and finally Silence.
Insert pic 0.17
At the beginning of the scene the sound technique used is Parallel sound. The technique is used here to create a feeling of happiness for the characters as they have been experiencing a traumatic time. The first sight of safety is shown and the sound matches their relief of the sighting. Although the sound matches what is happening on screen, we couldn't see it; this therefore creates the Non-Diegetic sound as well as the Parallel sound. However, although the sound makes the audience create a relationship with the characters, in a sense we are happy for them that they have seen safety in the horizon, we are yet to be convinced that all tragedy is over. Due to the Non-Diegetic sound, we are expecting things to take a drastic turn for the worse, and this sound technique makes the audience more tense and suspicious about what could possibly happen next. These techniques are conventional to a thriller as it puts the audience in suspense, and even though we cannot see the sound happening in the scene, it matches the feelings and emotions of the characters giving us a good sense of what is going on.
Insert pic 1.24 or 1.32
On-Screen sound is used all through this particular scene of Open Water. It is used through the constant movement of water, and also through the swimming of the couple. This particular technique emphasises on the reality of their situation as it makes the scene more believable for the audience. The technique shows what is actually going on through the characters actions whilst conversing their emotions through the use of sound. This therefore creates a sense of empathy between the audience and the characters as the sound we hear is the water, showing that they are alone and have to fight through together all the way until the end. This technique is conventional to a thriller film, as it makes the audience feel on edge, due to suspense and tension being created, and it making us as the audience feel there is a realistic approach to the film through the music which makes everything that little bit more thrilling.
Insert image of the woman under water.
Silence is another sound technique used in the thriller clip. Immediately there is constant silence through the film, but in this particular clip the silence creates a tension like no other as it makes the audiences mind think lots of different things about the plot, whilst still creating e tension needed. In Open Water, silence is used throughout, but in this scene it is used when the wife has to go under the shark infested waters to help stop the bleeding of her husbands shark bitten leg. This technique is used to emphasise the reality of their situation and show how emotional and desperate the wife is to help save her husbands life. The sound technique helps us as the audience create a relationship with the audience, as it makes the scene more dramatic and crucial to the story line as at this point you see the true dedication of loves vowels and you can see the true love behind the couple. The characters at this point we empathise with, as the silence helps us focus on her desperation to help her husband and the things people do for their loved ones, as she endangers her on life for him. As it becomes more dramatised the silence is prolonged so we feel helpless and worried for the characters and scared about what's going to happen next.
The sound technique is conventional to a thriller film, as it makes the audience focus on the characters and the images on the screen which makes them more tense and creating the suspense which continuously grows throughout .
In any type of film, sound is key to understanding the pictures on the screen. The sound in films helps to add to the feeling and emotions behind the scenes and the characters themselves. Sound is so important in films as it creates a relationship with the audience and can create many emotions with them making the scene more dramatic and effective. The sound is used to create a relationship with the audience, making them feel more on edge whilst he tension and suspense builds within the film.
Sound media
A film that has many different sounds effects in the film is called Open Water created in 2003. The film is based on the true story of two scuba divers accidentally stranded in shark infested waters after their tour boat has left. Many different sounds techniques are used in the film including Parallel sound, On-Screen sound, a Off-Screen sound, Diegetic and Non-Diegetic sound and finally Silence.
Insert pic 0.17
At the beginning of the scene the sound technique used is Parallel sound. The technique is used here to create a feeling of happiness for the characters as they have been experiencing a traumatic time. The first sight of safety is shown and the sound matches their relief of the sighting. Although the sound matches what is happening on screen, we couldn't see it; this therefore creates the Non-Diegetic sound as well as the Parallel sound. However, although the sound makes the audience create a relationship with the characters, in a sense we are happy for them that they have seen safety in the horizon, we are yet to be convinced that all tragedy is over. Due to the Non-Diegetic sound, we are expecting things to take a drastic turn for the worse, and this sound technique makes the audience more tense and suspicious about what could possibly happen next. These techniques are conventional to a thriller as it puts the audience in suspense, and even though we cannot see the sound happening in the scene, it matches the feelings and emotions of the characters giving us a good sense of what is going on.
Insert pic 1.24 or 1.32
On-Screen sound is used all through this particular scene of Open Water. It is used through the constant movement of water, and also through the swimming of the couple. This particular technique emphasises on the reality of their situation as it makes the scene more believable for the audience. The technique shows what is actually going on through the characters actions whilst conversing their emotions through the use of sound. This therefore creates a sense of empathy between the audience and the characters as the sound we hear is the water, showing that they are alone and have to fight through together all the way until the end. This technique is conventional to a thriller film, as it makes the audience feel on edge, due to suspense and tension being created, and it making us as the audience feel there is a realistic approach to the film through the music which makes everything that little bit more thrilling.
Insert image of the woman under water.
Silence is another sound technique used in the thriller clip. Immediately there is constant silence through the film, but in this particular clip the silence creates a tension like no other as it makes the audiences mind think lots of different things about the plot, whilst still creating e tension needed. In Open Water, silence is used throughout, but in this scene it is used when the wife has to go under the shark infested waters to help stop the bleeding of her husbands shark bitten leg. This technique is used to emphasise the reality of their situation and show how emotional and desperate the wife is to help save her husbands life. The sound technique helps us as the audience create a relationship with the audience, as it makes the scene more dramatic and crucial to the story line as at this point you see the true dedication of loves vowels and you can see the true love behind the couple. The characters at this point we empathise with, as the silence helps us focus on her desperation to help her husband and the things people do for their loved ones, as she endangers her on life for him. As it becomes more dramatised the silence is prolonged so we feel helpless and worried for the characters and scared about what's going to happen next.
The sound technique is conventional to a thriller film, as it makes the audience focus on the characters and the images on the screen which makes them more tense and creating the suspense which continuously grows throughout .
Wednesday, 2 October 2013
Research into the history of a Thriller Miss Georgiou
Research into a thriller
A thriller is a genre that is able to create tension, shock, suspense and surprise. It most commonly involves a victim and a villain which then drags into death and most likely murders. All of the emotions behind a thriller and the characters create a opportunity to the audience to get attached to the characters, in order for the film to be more exciting and emotional. Over the years films have changed dramatically from simple acting to dramatic scenes used with technology and special effects.
Insert picture of jack the ripped 1959
The black and white film included actors such as Lee Patterson and Betty McDowell. Both these actors have starred in many other films after Jack the Ripper, and based their accomplishments of their roles on this film.
Jack the Ripper is a film based on a mad avenging doctor. The plot of this film is that the serial killer goes around murdering the innocent or the troubled with his initial slitting of the throat. His identity is hidden and we do not see his identity revealed until the end. As he used knifes to slit people's throat and murder them he was slowly creeped upon by the police.
In the 1950's Jack the Ripper, we do not see the cutting of the throats, we only see the shadows as blood and gruesome detail to murder was prohibited as it could cause upset and disturbance to the audience watching. Special effects were not around in the decade so all murders had to be seen with imagination as you could never fully see anything happen. This would add to the suspense of the film as you would want to see the brutality of the murder, and who did it. A convention of a thriller is used in this film as the identity of the murderer is hidden until the end of the film. This is so we can start to think about the consequences and the suspects, which makes the film much more intensifying and suspense building. Even in the 50's the identity of the killer is hidden. The iconography is conventional to a thriller as we usually expect to see the typical use of knifes, guns, blood, ropes etc. this is used in this film to make the murders more relatable and that makes the audience worried for the murders to come.
Although this film uses the typical conventions of a thriller, the murders are very simple, in which you cannot see very much happening due to the era it was made and the audience being more sensitive towards the subject of the film. The special effects were not used as they were not invented, so the film had to be more simple and obvious which wouldn't of made the film as frightening as the films could be now.
1960 Physco picture
Psycho is a 1960 American thriller film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock starring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, and Janet Leigh. The film centers on the encounter between a secretary, who ends up at a secluded motel after embezzling money from her employer, and the motel's disturbed owner-manager,and its aftermath.
The most famous scene of the film is the 'Shower Scene' where she is stabbed several times and falls into the bath tub with blood draining into the plug hole. Here we do not see the identity of the killer as they are hidden by the shower cover and then the camera angle focuses on her being stabbed. In the 60's you were not allowed to show nudity on screen and harsh intimidating violence which is why you can only she shoulders and above or knees and below. By showing nudity it was astonishing and was not accepted in the 1960's. This breaks the 180 rule as The shower scene was the only scene that showed violence and a little bit of nudity, this caused the audience to jump and scream as they saw this figure creeping up behind her in the shower and the way she was killed as you see the blood flowing down the drain. This breaks the 180 rule as you see behind the victim and in front of her, so you see the whole area she is in.This creates imagination of what is happening to the victim so even though you don't see the knife going through her flesh and how the blood drips from her body creating a ghastly scene.
This is conventional to a thriller as again the identity of the murderer is hidden and you do not find out until the very end. The strictness of nudity and violence is still there as you can't see any part of the woman's body apart from the head, shoulders, feet and legs, as it was considered rude and shameful for any part of the private body to be shown on screen. The iconography again is knifes which is what you'd expect to be the murder weapon of a killer in a thriller film. The audience here would be shocked at the terror of the murder. Furthermore, the girl is defiantly conventional to a thriller film as it it's you typical young female waiting to be murdered. In a thriller you associate young blondes to be you typical victim as they are portrayed as quite dumb and mislead easily, so an easy target for a murderer. Due to the target audience being offended by nudity and scared by the thriller, only small bits were added and since 1959, only small nudity was added as this film was the first film to feature small parts of nudity so the thrillers had already developed over a small period of time.
Insert picture of the wicker man 1970
In the 70s another thriller film was 'The Wicker man' directed by Robin Hardy which is about a police sergeant is sent to a Scottish island village in search of a missing girl whom the townsfolk claim never existed. The sergeant finds a village where they find a cult whom of which are sacrificing people and torturing them either to be eaten alive or to be burnt alive in a large wicker man.
In this film we do not see much violence your imagination is key at this point as we see them go into the wicker man and then see it go into flames. The audience would have been scared at this point and this would have been a great scene which would of created suspense tension and a frightening atmosphere which is conventional to a thriller film as you'd expect there to be high amounts of suspense and tension. The characters are in masks which is hiding their identity so the thrillers genre hasn't changed much over the years but the simplistic murders still happen due to the technology not being created yet. There's a lean way for the thrilling moments as now they are introducing torture and burning into the equation. This makes everything twice as more terrifying for the audience as they see pain and upset and tragedy all in one scene.
Insert picture of Dead Calm
An 80s thriller film is called 'Dead Calm' by Phillip Noyce, where a mass-murderer kidnaps and seduces a young woman after leaving her husband to die on the vessel, whose crew he's just slaughtered. This happens in the middle of an ocean where no one is around besides the three people.
In this film they show scenes of lots of blood, dead people showing the gashes on their faces and the fatal attack on their body, also scenes of nudity is shown when Nicole Kidman is raped by this murderer Billy Zane. In this decade it shows a huge change in the thriller films, as now you are more open to frequent nudity and mild violence and blood on screen. The audience do not feel as offended and intimidated to see the upfront nudity and violence as the tolerance of scary things has increased therefore people do not get scared so quickly and easily, as the would of done two decades ago. In the film, the blood and fatal attacks are shown in full and they want the stronger audiences to feel as vulnerable as the victims. As the years increase the more tolerant people are with nudity and thrillers, here is one of the first films where iconography such as blood is used to make the scene more realistic, a few decades ago this wouldn't of been allowed and the audience would have been too frightened of the reality, than in the 70's blood and gore was more frequent so people tended to only be scared and not let it effect them too much. Blood and villains are conventional to thrillers as you expect gore and horror as it used to make the scene more dramatic and realistic, and a villain as this is what makes the film a thriller, without the villain there's no thriller. The villain is what makes the film more intense, as you want to find out who the villain is and whether or not they get their comeuppance.
Picture 1998 Physco
This thriller is a remake of the original film of 'Physco' in 1960. You can tell the differences of the original to the remake drastically even at the beginning of the film. In the 1960's version, blood, nudity some of the typical things you'd believe to be in a thriller, were limited due to the sensitive audiences and the fact that people were offended by the onscreen nudity. Now, in the 1990's, special effects were created (1996) and everything scary was taken to a drastic new level.
Blood, gore, murders, nudity and many other things were allowed to be shown on screen and you were able to see much more than you would unlike in the 60's. The plot of this film is still the same, the film was produced and directed by Gus Van Sant for Universal Pictures. Actors include Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche. The film was very successful and special effects were included which made the scene more dramatic and gruesome than before. The conventions of this film was the villain was masked and the identity was hidden and the typical young girl was brutally murdered by the villain. This all makes the audience feel the tension happening in the scene where the girl is murdered in the shower.
Insert picture of Saw
A recent film is 'Saw' directed by James Wan. A great scene starts with a dead body lying between the two men, as they wake up in they find themselves in a bolted lair of a serial killer who's been nicknamed "Jigsaw". The men must follow various rules and objectives if they wish to survive and win the deadly game set for them.
A lot of violence and blood is shown in this film to create shock and surprise in the audience. This film is different to the four films previously because they show less blood and gore, this film shows all the details of how they died and them getting tortured. This actually shows the weapon going through the victim which Is used through special effects which just shows how the thrillers have changed over the years. They have become more brutal and shockingly horrible as they really make the audience fear for their own lives. This is disturbing because it can make the audience jump and feel as though they are a part of the scene and that they are getting tortured as well. In the 20th century, they do not leave all the gory scenes to imagination, they actually show what happens scaring the audience and letting them dwell on the events afterwards letting the audience fearful of all the detail about the film. As special effects is used in the film, it creates a large amount of dear within the film as they can see what is happening and they can see what could happen next what with the reality of the iconography and the scene itself. They make everything more dramatised and it's very much more complicated whilst in the other films everything is simplified due to the low budgets, the audience and the different technology.
My research will help me with my planning as I can see the conventions to a thriller more clearly and what I must include to make my thriller more spine tingling and tense for the audience. It has shown me what it to put in my thrillers from the earlier decades of film, and this will help me with my planning as I can try and relate back to the more frequent films to make my thriller for terrifying and conventional to a typical thriller film.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)