Zodiac.

In the opening of Zodiac we are given a tracking shot of the car. This is then followed by the young couple taking a drive to a remote area. There is the use of diegetic sounds which include the car radio and the dialogue between the couple. A car then pulls up behind them before quickly taking off into the dark. There is then use of off screen sounds which is the car screetching and then speeding. From this we then see the car on screen of which it pulls up and a man gets out and shoots both of the couple. Throughout this opening scene there is use of low key lighting creating alot of shadows and portraying the dark night.

Brick.

In the opening of Brick we have soft music being played which creates a calm mood, we are the presented with an extreme close up of a boy which then shows an eye line match of him looking at a dead girl laying in some water. It creates a sad mood as there are uses of dissolves in order to continue the images. We are then presented with a flashback which the boy has of the girl. The sounds we hear include bells which suggest she was in school, it gives us the setting.

Memento.

In the opening of Memento we see a picture being shown of a dead person with blood, the scene follows by showing the events backwards. It is a good demonstration of confusion that the character feels as he struggles to remember events. The opening scene contains slow and dull sounds which creates a depressive mood of which the character may be experiencing. 

Preliminary task: evaluation.

Our preliminary task demonstrated continuity editing which we ensured we did not break the 180 degree rule. We included the shot reverse shot and an eye line match throughout.

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Suspense and shock.

Suspense is when the audience know something is happening, but the characters are unaware of it.

Shock is when something unexpected happens, both the audience and characters are unaware of what is about to follow.

Chuck Jones and the 'rules'.

Chuck Jones made the Road Runner cartoons and from the first episode, he made an elaborate set of rules which are:

1. The Road Runner cannot harm or upset the coyote except by going 'Meep! Meep!'
2. No outside force can harm the Coyote, only his own ineptitude or the failure of Acme Products.
3. The Coyote could stop anytime - if he were not a fanatic.
4. No dialogue ever, except 'Meep! Meep!'
5. The Road Runner must stay on the road - otherwise, logically, he would not be called the Road Runner.
6. All actions must be confined to the natural environment of the two characters - The Southwest American Desert.
7. All materials, tools, weapons, or mechanical conveniences must be obtained from Acme Corporation.
8. Whenever possible, make gravity the Coyote's greatest enemy.
9. The Coyote is always more humiliated than harmed by his failures.

History Of Violence.

In the opening of History Of Violence, we see a tracking shot of a car which pulls up outside of a house and he then exits his car and enters the house. While outside, in his car, there is use of high key lighting and it appears to be bright, natural daylight, the scene is filmed all in one camera shot. As he enters the house, the lighting becomes dark and low-key which creates shadows and shows a contrast. We then see more use of different camera angles. Non diegetic sounds are then introduced to show that something has happened and creates suspense. As he sees the two dead people, he is then interrupted by a little girl who is upset of what she has seen. He then pulls out a gun and shoots her.

Drive.

In the opening of Drive, the setting is in a room where a man makes a phone call warning that they will have five minutes only then he shall be gone. From the beginning of the film there is a heartbeat sound being played, which creates suspense. He then waits for two people who enter a building and make a robbery, he starts the time as they enter to make sure he does not go over the five minutes. While he waits for them, off screen sounds are played which are sirens of the police, this creates tension as the audience are unaware of when or if the police are going to arrive and catch them. They then drive off from the scene where they are involved in a police chase. He constantly has his radio broadcasting the basketball game in order to ensure he gets correct timing. As they manage to lose the police he drives his car into the car park of where the basketball game is being played. He then exits the car and manages to avoid the police as he got his timing accurate. Throughout the opening scene, there are many diegetic sounds being played which include the sound of the car engine. There is also the use of low-key lighting which creates lots of shadows.

Thriller conventions.

Every thriller will contain the following elements:

- Central to plot:
Justice vs injustice, blurred line of good and bad, enigmas, red-herrings, maguffin, plot twists and cliff hangers. These together are based on the plot but are used to distract the audience, which therefore creates more suspense when the main plot comes by.

- Sub-genres:
These are different genres that are used within the thriller genre, which include mystery, crime, psychological and political.

- Moods:
Different moods are created throughout the thriller. They create suspense and tension, which makes it a successful thriller. The moods which are created are murder, menace, mystery and paranoia.

-Complex characters:
The characters can be complex in order to make the thriller interesting and give it a strong plot. They may be troubled, multi-faceted or morally complex.

-Society:
The society within a thriller is seen as dark and corrupt.

Thrillers will also contain elements which will make the audience be on the edge of their seats, it will create tension, suspense and show a great climax, which all make them successful. 

Media AS Preliminary task

Media AS Sound Exercise

Media AS Lighting Task

James Bond thrillers.

All the James Bond thrillers contain:

- A heroic secret agent.
- Eccentric villain of equal strength.
- Gorgeous women.
- Exotic locations and plot devices.
- Eye-popping, stunt driven action from the top shelf bottle of absurdity.

The James Bond films have been viewed as fascinating, giving the audience great satisfaction. Many of the Bond films take the audience by surprise individually and this is what makes each one successful.


The first Bond film was in 1962 with 'Dr. No' based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel. In this film, Sean Connery plays James Bond. This was such a success being the fifth most favoured film and being shown in 168 cinemas in the UK. 


As the first James Bond film was such a success, many more followed which include;
- From Russia With Love
- Goldfinger
- Thunderball
- You Only Live Twice
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service
- Diamonds Are Forever
- Live And Let Die
- The Man With The Golden Gun
- The Spy Who Loved Me
- Moonraker
- For Your Eyes Only
- A View To A Kill
- The Living Daylights
- License To Kill
- Goldeneye
- Tomorrow Never Dies
- The World Is Not Enough
- Die Another Day
- Casino Royale
- Quantum of Solace
- Skyfall

North By Northwest.

North by Northwest is another great film directed by Alfred Hitchcock it is based on a New York advertising executive who is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and is pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive.

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

This film is based on the previous Manchurian Candidate film from 1962, but it is a more modern version of it. The difference in this film is that they are under control of the Manchurian Global and Benjamin Marco is the one who is having the weird dreams about the brainwashing that took place after the war in Kuwait. Raymond Shaw was given the medal of honor for rescuing all but two members of his army unit. Benjamin Marco persists that these dreams show what actually happened but everyone just thinks he's a psycho. At the end he kills Raymond Shaw and his mother, he then returns to the place in Kuwait where they were brainwashed to re-track the memories he had as the truth comes out in the end of what happened.

This film is also different in that there is more editing throughout the film to demonstrate the horror that they experienced in Kuwait. This film is also very fast pacing to show how much of an impact the dreams have on Marco, it also makes the film more tense, showing that it is a suspense thriller.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

The Manchurian Candidate is an American Cold War thriller. It is about a Korean war hero who returns to America after being brainwashed by Communists into becoming a political assassin. Raymond Shaw has no memory of his actions that he carries out. Benjamin Marco discovers that Raymond is being hypnotized by the queen of diamonds and so he tries to get him to break the links between the cards and stop him from following any more tasks that they set him to do. Raymond ends up shooting his mother as she is the one who makes him carry out all the assassinations, this is then followed by him shooting himself.

Preliminary task.

The preliminary task will demonstrate continuity editing by using the following techniques:

Match on action - This is where we see a character start an action in one shot and then see them continue it in the next.

Shot/reverse shot - Where two people are having a conversation and the camera switches from one person to the other, demonstrating the conversation with several shots on each person.

Eyeline match - This is what the character is looking at, the shot will continue to switch between the character and what they are actually looking at.

In the preliminary task we will also ensure that we do not break the 180 degree rule by keeping the camera on the same side when recording. The scene will have the same left/right relationship to each other.

Sweeney Todd.

Sweeney Todd is an excellent film directed by the much famous Tim Burton. The genre of this film is thriller/horror and is aimed at anyone who likes thrilling, horrific and gory films. Johnny Depp plays Benjamin Barker who was the demon barber of Fleet Street who has returned in order to get revenge on those who have messed him about in the past. In particular, he wanted revenge on Judge Turpin, who accused the barber of a crime he did not commit in order to get close to the barber’s wife, Lucy. Lucy was so distraught when Benjamin was sent away and tries to kill herself by drinking poison. However she survives but after being driven insane she results to begging in the streets. Benjamin and Lucy also had a child, Johanna, Turpin then takes Johanna and appoints her as his ward. When she turns 16 he offers her marriage and she declines of which he cannot comprehend. When he sees Anthony Hope looking at Johanna, he has him beaten and threatens him that he will have him killed if he even comes close again.

After 15 years in exile, Benjamin returns but under a new identity of Sweeney Todd. He meets Mrs Lovett who explains that Lucy drank poison years ago, he then wants revenge and so starts up his barber business above Mrs Lovett’s pie shop in order to get back all those who have made him suffer and lose his beloved family. Turpin wants to impress Johanna so goes to Todd’s barbers for a shave. Todd is about to kill him but is interrupted by Anthony who reveals Johanna is going to escape from an asylum that Turpin sent her to. On Turpin’s return to the barbers, Todd convinces him to have a shave; this is the scene where he is brutally killed.

The killing of Judge Turpin takes place in Sweeney Todd’s barber shop which is above Mrs Lovett’s pie shop. The barber shop has a rather interesting setting because it is in an attic which demonstrates the thriller by allowing the audience to understand that they are going to witness some form of killing as they get an uneasy feeling from the surroundings that it is set. The scene begins with a dialogue between Todd and Turpin, as they talk Turpin then realises Todd’s real identity is Benjamin Barker.

 Throughout this scene, many filler lights are used, this creates shadows onto the key light which softens it but it also allows a shadow to be shown onto the characters which demonstrates the contrast. The main lighting is top lighting, which can be seen as coming from the outside as the windows are located at the top of the room. The effect of this is that it makes the lighting seem real and that it is coming from the natural daylight.

The tension is built up throughout this scene. To begin with, non – diegetic sounds are played which creates a chilled and calm mood. Then as Turpin discovers who Todd really is, there is a change in the music to more horrific sounds which create an uneasy feeling and can allow us to know that a form of killing is going to follow. The sounds are off screen and are played alongside different sound effects which also raise the tension. Just as Todd goes to kill Turpin, diegetic sound effects are brought in which allows the audience to understand what is happening by the sounds as well as the horrific sights they see. The sounds become very parallel to the image being shown. The sounds are also very complementary to the images as they fit very well and demonstrate the terrible sights where the barber savagely stabs Turpin in the neck before slitting his throat and then dropping him into a chute leading to Mrs Lovett’s basement.

The actors are also dressed very well in costume, the barber has very wild hair but sophisticated clothing which gives off a portrayal of what the character is like. It makes the character seem very mad and insane which fits with the story line of him getting revenge after having his beloved family taken from him. As the killing takes place, there is a substantial amount of blood present which emphasises the brutality of the murder. The characters also act very well which flows with the plot making it a better thriller film.

A further point on the film language is there are very good camera angles. Leading up to the killing, the scene is shot from close up angles which emphasise the importance of the characters. The other effect of having close up shots is that it allows the audience to focus on something in particular, Tim Burton uses this and zooms in on the blade in which Todd uses to kill Turpin. When he is killed, the film is shot from a high angle which portrays how vulnerable and week the victim is. 

Editing.

Editing is the process of looking at all the footage shot during the making of a film, tv programme and placing it in the desired order and joining it together.

Speed of editing: how long does it last?
Style of editing: how each shot is joined to the next?

In a film each scene may last a matter of seconds, or it could continue for minutes but the length of each sequence establishes the pace of the film moving the action along.

The speed of editing will help to determine the mood of what is taking place on screen.

Speed of editing:

If the audience is to feel anxiety and suspense the editing will be quick, the scenes/shots change frequently. If a relaxed mood is desired, the scenes last longer and change less frequently. Scenes at the beginning of a film, as it begins to tell its story, must be long enough for us to be able to understand where we are and what is going on. It is also slow to introduce the main characters. As the film progresses scenes may become shorter as the editing cuts between telling two or more story lines at the same time.

Straight cut:

-Most common and invisible form of transition.
-One shot more instantaneously to the next without attracting the audiences' attention.
-Straight cuts help retain reality, they do not break the viewers suspension of disbelief.

Sound.

Different sound techniques are used throughout filming in order to create different effects to match or contrast with the films world to either create tension or demonstrate what is going on clearly.

Diegetic sounds: Match the film's world.
Non - Diegetic sounds: Fake sounds added in post, do not match film's world.

Sound bridge: sound from one scene to the next, creates a smooth transition and enhancing continuity.

Parallel sounds: Sound which complements the image.
Contrapuntal sounds: Conflicting/contrasting with the image.

Dialogue: conversations between characters.

Sound effects: extraneous sounds, can be diegetic or non-diegetic. 

Film language.

Denotation - what you see.
Connotation - what you think of.

Graphic match - something that cross fades into another object/image.

Complement - something that goes with something else.
Juxtaposition - Something clashes with something else.

Intertextuality - one text making reference to another.

Preconceptions - previous expectations, prior knowledge, based on past experiences.
Experiential knowledge - what has been previously experienced, how it might influence the way a film is read.

Lighting.

There are different lighting techniques used throughout filming, for the purpose of creating different effects, suiting to the genre of the film. The different types of lighting are:

-Key Lighting: main light on the subject, this is the brightest light.

-Filler lights: shadows the key light and softens the image.

-Under lighting: when the main source of light comes from below the subject, mainly used in horrors.
-Top lighting: when the main source of light comes from above the subject, highlighting features to create a glamorous and flattering look in a star.
-Back lighting: counters the key light, adds depth of field. Makes the subject look more rounded. Creates silhouettes, the main light source is behind the subject.
-Low key lighting: using only the key and backlights, a sharp contrast of light and dark is created, forming deep shadows.
-High key lighting: more filler lights are used to create a bright, daylight effect. Lighting appears more realistic.

Media Studies AS Film Exercise.

The Birds.

The Birds is another great film by the famous Alfred Hitchcock. A young socialite Melanie Daniels meets Mitch Brenner in a San Fransisco bird shop. Brenner is looking to purchase a pair of lovebirds for his sister's eleventh birthday but the shop has none. When Melanie Daniels finds a pair of love birds she heads down to Bodega Bay to surprise him with them. After arriving in Bodega Bay, Melanie is attacked by a seagull, this is the first scene where there is a viscious attack by a bird. The birds have caught a disease which is causing them to act out visciously, however everyone is unaware of this and cannot understand their strange behaviour. This film is a good example of a thriller because there is a villain, in this case, the birds, and a hero, Mitch Brenner who comes to the rescue every time there is an attack from the birds.

Psycho - shower scene!

Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho is a good example of a thriller. The surroundings give the audience an uneasy feeling which gives them a clue that something is going to happen. This film is a successful thriller as the man is the villain and there are several people who try to step in and be the hero but fail as a result to the villain's actions.

The tension builds up to the shower scene, where the woman is then brutally killed. The man at the Bates Motel gives the audience an uneasy feeling as he asks the woman many questions and watches her as she leaves to go to her room. The shower scene is shot from close up and medium angle but does not include any long shot angles, this makes us feel that we cannot see any of the surrounding outside the shot so are unaware of what might happen. While the woman is taking the shower, mostly digetic sounds can be heard, up until the man appears behind the shower curtain where music is played to emphasise the killing. 

A particular interesting part of this scene is where the eye and plug hole are repeatedly shown. The eye symbolizes the plug hole, this is where the water is drained, in this case it represents the woman's death, her life being taken and drained away. 

In this scene, as the woman dies, it is shot from a high camera angle. This portrays how vulnerable the victim is.

The shower scene also contains a lot of close up shots which change quickly, portraying how quick the killing is happening and how it ends in no time. It also creates more tension. 

Thrillers!

Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more powerful and better equipped villains.

Thrillers are a genre of literature, films and television that includes numerous and often overlapping sub-genres.

Suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers are used extensively.

Alfred Hitchcock - "To put their toe in the cold water of fear to see what it's like."

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!

I am Rachel Marjurum and I am currently in year 12 at Robert Clack where I am studying AS Media. This blog will contain regular updates on my coursework which is based on the theme thriller. 

Enjoy!