Research: Camera Shots & Angles

Extreme Long Shot - This is also known as an establishing shot as it usually used for the start of a new scene to set the theme. This can be taken from as much as a quarter of a mile away. These shots normally show an exterior, e.g. The outside of a building, or a landscape and is often used to show scenes of thrilling action. There will be very little detail visible in long shot. It means to give a general impression.

Long Shots - These shots generally show the image as approximately "life" size, i.e... corresponding to real life distance between the audience and the screen in a cinema (the figure of a man would appear as six feet tall). This includes the full shot showing the entire human body. This shot is usually used to establish a character.

Medium Shots - Contains a figure from the knees/waist up and is normally used for dialogue scenes, or to show some detail of action. This is usually used when there is a scene of a character running from something to towards something.

Close-Up - This shows very little background and concentrates on earlier a face or a specific detail of muse en scene. Everything else in the background should be a blur, in the background. This shot is usually used to show emotion on ones face.

Extreme Close-Up - Generally magnifying beyond what the human eye would experience. These shots can range from the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, etc.

Birds-eye View - This shows a scene from directly overhead. This shot can put the audience in a godlike position, looking down on the action.

High Angle - This is when the camera is elevated above the action using a crane to give a general overview. High angles make the object photographed seem smaller and less significant.

Point-Of-View - A neutral shot; the camera is positioned as though it is a human actually observing a scenes, so that actors head are on a level with the focus. To execute this shot correctly you will need good free hand camera handling.

Research: Directors

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg has directed six thrillers, this ranging from action thrillers, mystery thrillers and psychological thrillers. Before I explain the type of techniques Spielberg uses in his thrillers, we must understand what a director is, and the things a director would contribute towards a production of a thriller. A director is someone who is in charge of activity, departments in a film production, or organization; for example, in terms of departments, the director will suggest the type of props needed for a scene, they will then describe to the props team what the props should look like in detail, so that the props are created correctly. Generally, a film director controls a films artistic and dramatic aspects, and visualize the script while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision.

Steven Spielberg has made the following thrillers: Indiana Jones (all sequels), Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, Schindlers List, Minority Report, Jurassic Park and Munich. Spielberg is especially excellent with fulfilling the mise-en-scene fantastically; he is capable of appropriately applying the correct props in order for the scenery to match the context and theme of the film. An example can be Saving Private Ryan. Saving Private Ryan is a film set in the times of world war two, and is about a soldier who has gone missing among three other brothers who have been killed in battle. The film includes a lot of fast paced actions and scenes. In order for Spielberg to fulfil the theme to the film, he filmed the whole movie on a muddy, dusty and rough terrain. This also includes the use of trenches, forests and automatic weapons. With other aspects of world war two in the film, he successfully achieved the context an theme of the film.

Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino has directed for thriller films, these thriller are: Kill Bill (Volume One And Two), Reservoir Dogs and Inglorious Bastards. These are all action thriller but of different contexts. Tarantino especially specializes in the tension and suspense of music in syncronisation with the scenes and action. For example, in the Kill Bill Series, the music would be syncronised so that every attack the main character makes will cause large and louds bursts of music. This is done so that it cause anxiety to the viewer.

Martin Scorsese 

Martin Scorsese has directed seven thriller movies , these thrillers are: Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Mean Streets, Casino, Gangs Of New York and Cape Fear. Scorsese tends to direct Italian based films, such as Goodfellas, Raging Bull and Casino. Scorsese is especially excellent at executing and directing the characters dialogue. For example, due to the film Goodfellas being based around Italian criminal mobsters, he makes sure that the accents of the character has an essence of Italian. He also makes sure that their dialogue is slightly slurred. This is also vital for fulfilling the context and theme of the film.

Christopher Nolan 

Christopher Nolan has directed four thrillers which are: Dark knight, Memento, Inception and Insomnia. Nolan is especially good at using macabre and using specific objects to subliminally send messages to our brain in order to thrill us. For example, in inception he uses a range of objects to allow us to understand whether a character is within a dream.

Summary: I should make sure I refer back to the techniques that these directors have used in their thriller movies and incorporate what I have learned from this research into mine.

Research: What Is Mise-En-Scene

Mise-en-scene is the arrangement of scenery and stage properties in a movie. This is always specific to the theme and story of the movie. This is usually done to further develop the movies theme and ideology. an example of  the use of mise-en-scene can be the movie 'Prometheus'.

Prometheus is a movie that focuses on stranded astronauts on an unknown ;planet. It is meant to be set in the future when technology has really developed. they also have encounters with hostile aliens. The type of scenery they use is a rocky land that can stretch for thousands of miles without settlements. This type of scenery is based of the type of land on Mars which is described by scientists. They made the scenery like this to achieve the secluded feeling.

Scenes in thriller films can alter between atmospheres and emotions, in order to help convey the directors message. For example in the Kill Bill 'eye ball' scene the bright colours and lighting is a direct contradiction of the scene as the scene would stereotypically be judged as an 'dark' scene but because of the bright colours this cannot be depicted.

Research: Representation Of Women & Males In Thrillers

Before the new millennium, woman in thrillers were seen as the victims in most thriller; this is mainly because women are stereotypically seen as the weaker gender, are usually depicted as 'the damsel in distress'. However as the years have passed, and movies have developed, in some movies woman are now the 'alpha males'. For example, in the movie 'The Transporter 2' a woman is seen shooting guns and fighting enemies, which can be interesting as its unusual to see that. Another example of this can be 'Kill Bill', where the main character is an ex-assassin and is in vengeance. Also, in these action movies, the females will sometimes have a 'boystrous' and tomboy-like personality which can add to the character profile and even define the movie. These traits can be incorporated through the type of clothing that they might wear, there hair-style, their idiolect and even mannerism. 

Woman are also seen as sweet and innocent souls in reality. However in some movies they can be seen as foul and sinister individuals. For example, in the movie 'obsessed', the antagonist is a woman who is depicted as a ' home wrecker', who shows disregards to  couples relationship.

In most thrillers, men are seen as the 'macho' strong and muscular individuals, who are also seen as people who show little emotion. however, as the movie industry has progressed, different personalities of men have been developed. For example, in the movie 'dream house', it tells a story of a man who is mentally il due to a tragic incident which resulted in the death of his wife.

Summary: perhaps I can incorporate the stereotypical ideas of males and woman to make my opening more relate-able. This can also make me think about the type of clothing my characters will wear, the type of implications they can cause etc.

Research: Types Of Thrillers

Action Thriller

An Action Thriller uses physical action to create suspense within the film. Like a traditional Action film, this sub-genre will often have continuous motion and action including physical stunts, chases, fights, battles, and races. Often, these scenes will contribute to the overall sense of danger that the protagonist is facing. Examples of a action thriller could be Kill Bill, Transformers, The Transporter, The Bourne Identity.

This is an example of what would happen on the set of an action thriller. This image is taken from the production of 'Kill Bill'. As you can see, on a action thriller movie set, allot of blood is incorporated as large amounts of fighting would take place within the story.

Crime Thriller

Crime Thriller film is a sub-genre that incorporates the suspenseful aspects of a thriller with a crime film plot. This sub-genre's plot usually centres on a serial killer, murderer, robbery, or manhunt. As opposed to traditional crime films, the storyline focuses both around the criminal and the protagonist. Crime Thrillers use both action and psychological aspects to build tension and suspense. An example of a crime thriller could be Collateral and The Call.

This is an image taken from the film 'The Call' which is about a killer who has recently been kidnapping people, and a woman, who is a 911 call operator, goes on a hunt to find the culprit. This particular scene shows how the criminal is a dangerous and deranged individual. Crime thrillers can also be based on real life stories, which allows the movie to connect with the audience more and widens their target audience.   

Film-Noire

Film-Noire is not simply a sub-genre, but rather a term for a distinct, stylistic type of crime-drama or thriller that was popular throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Film-Noire is characterized by a black-and-white style with stark lighting effects. The main character is usually a cynical hero. Film-Noire relies on a narrative voice and various flashbacks to explain the intricate plot. An example of this type of film can be Sin City.

Psychological Thriller

In addition to the traits of a regular Thriller, a Psychological Thriller incorporates elements of drama and mystery film. The suspense in this sub-genre comes from the mind, rather than from a psychical threat. The protagonists in Psychological Thrillers must rely on their mental resources to solve the situation. Because of their nature, many Psychological Thrillers cross over into the Horror genre. An example of this film can be dream house. The type of audience associated with this genre of thriller are deep thinkers, as the story is usually not straight forward.

Science Fiction Thriller

Science Fiction Thriller incorporates hypothetical, science-based themes into the plot of the film. Traditionally, a Science Fiction film will incorporate heroes, villains, unexplored locations, fantastical quests, and advanced technology. These elements can be used in a Science Fiction Thriller to create anticipation and suspense. An example of this genre of film could be Predator, Prometheus, Alien ect.

This genre of thrillers usually incorporates the use of wacky and extreme costumes that would not usually be seen in usual movies. Also the use of editing is excessive, especially with the development of CGI and special effects.

Religious Thriller

Religious Thriller film incorporates religious themes, including religious questions, ceremonies, and objects. Though some films can revolve around a specific church, many Religious Thrillers include supernatural experiences not pertaining to a certain religion. Exorcisms, demon possession, and church cover-ups are typical themes of Religious Thrillers. Examples of this can be The Exorcism, Possessed, The Davinci Code, Angels And Demons.

Research: What Is A Thriller

Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements. Thrillers have the tendencies to heavily stimulate the viewers mood, these moods can range from levels of high anticipation, increased expectations, surprise, essence of uncertainty and sometimes anxiety and/or terror. Thrillers tend to have fact paced scenes and fast paced background music; research has proven that factors of fast paced music and scenes, raises the human heart rate  and subliminally causes distortion and pulls the viewer into the film more. Thrillers also tend to use effects of impaired hearing and vision; thrillers use more of human senses to emphasise certain situations in the film; not only does this make the film more realistic, but allows the viewer to empathise with the character. Thrillers keep the audience on the "edge of their seats", adding to a sensation of hanging from a cliff, as the plot builds toward a climax. Devices such as red herrings, plot twists and cliff hangers are used extensively. Thrillers are usually a villain-driven plot, thereby he or she presents obstacles that the protagonists must overcome. Common sub-genres are; psychological thrillers, crime thrillers, mystery thrillers, etc..

Summary: When creating my thriller opening, I need to make sure that I refer to the definition of the thriller, so that I do not start working towards a different genre. I must make sure that I used fast paced background music and scenes. Next, I should analyse the differences between a trailer and an opening, so that I will be able to eliminate any imperfections.