Thriller research

Research about thrillers

• Thriller Film is a genre that revolves around anticipation and suspense. The aim for Thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats
• The protagonist in these films is set against a problem – an escape, a mission, or a mystery.
• Thriller is a broad genre of literature film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements.
• It provides the sudden rush of emotions, excitement, and exhilaration that drive the narrative, sometimes subtly with peaks and lulls, sometimes at a constant, breakneck pace. It keeps the audience on the "edge of their seats", akin to a sensation of hanging from a cliff, as the plot builds towards a climax.
• I researched about the target audience for a thriller film and I found out a variety of things people are interested in and peoples different interests in thrillers.
• Thrillers interest many people but are mainly aimed at young adults as they find thrillers more exciting and interesting than older adults. thrillers are aimed at older adults as many thrillers are certified to age 15 however depending on to what extreme the thriller reaches some are certified to 18 due to the story line or excessive violence or goriness. Thrillers are aimed at both males and females but for different reasons for example, males may be interested in the violence that is usually included within the film whereas many females like to watch thrillers because of the story line/plot and try to piece the story together as the film progresses.

Types of thriller

Different Types of Thrillers
There are many different sub-genres of thrillers, more than most people are aware of. 
the different sub-genres of thrillers that I found when researching was:
Suspense Thrillers
Conspiracy Thrillers
Political Thrillers
Religious Thrillers
Spy Thrillers
Psychological Thrillers
Techno- Thrillers
Supernatural Thrillers


As there are many types of film so it is very hard to appeal to all thriller lovers as some may like the lingering feeling on suspense and not knowing what's next whereas others may enjoy thriller that really make your brain work such as inception.

Pacific Rim title openings

This is the opening which is a action, futuristic film. In the opening it mainly shows, a robot which we assume will play a big part in the film this is because it shows it off in such detail. It uses close ups on the robot which shows off important pieces that could be used later in the film, the last picture also shows the intimidation of the robot suits. The colour in the title sequence is mainly dark colours which shows the viewer that the film is serious and wont be a comedy and would most likely be a serious action film. From this opening I have learnt that colour and contrast will be very important to show what mood it sets for the rest of the film also how much the camera is zoomed in to show how important characters or objects are.

BBFC Age classification

The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) have a set of age certificates ranging from Universal to R18. This means that each film is given an age certificate which says what age you must be above to view the film. Films are given there rating based on things such as violence, strong language or scenes of a sexual nature.

U - This certificate means the film is suitable for children 4 and above.
PG - This certificate means the film is suitable for general viewing however young children viewing is up to the choice of an adult.
12A - This certificate means the film is suitable for anyone aged 12 or above, however children below 12 can watch the film if accompanied by an adult.
12 - Suitable for anyone 12 or above.
15 - Suitable for anyone 15 or above, may contain the following:

• Strong violence
• Sexual references
• Nudity
• Drug taking

18 - Suitable for anyone 18 or above, may contain the following:

• Very strong language
• Strong blood and gore
• Strong portrayals of sexual activity
• strong horror
• discrimination

R18 - Suitable for 18+, contains sexual scenes (adult film) etc.


Shaun of the dead opening titles

This is the opening titles to a film called Shaun of the dead, although it is a comedy it has a title which resembles that of a thriller which is why I chose to create the storyboard. I got the pictures off of YouTube using copy and paste and then using a snipping tool. The opening sequence foreshadows the ending to the film as it shows everyone in a zombie like state. There is also an establishing shot of the street which includes the street name and shows that the area is quite built up. One thing that caught my eye was the title which is placed along the floor as though it is actually on the floor. I'm using this to get an insight of thriller openings for my thriller piece.

lighting pictures

 These are my lighting pictures, I used various intensities of light and in different settings coming in from different angles, by experimenting with light I know have a better idea of how to use light to create an atmosphere and emotion within a scene or picture. I used reflection on the bottom picture using a mobile phone, this shows that light can be reflected for effect.

emotion pictures

 

These are 3 photos a took that express emotion, the picture to the left portrays loneliness as a single person walks on his own, the picture on the right portrays happiness and the picture below portrays peacefulness as the waves are calm and relaxing. I took these photos to improve my photography skills and to capture emotion within a single shot.

morning pictures

These are photos I took in a morning using my phone, I took these photos to practice my camera skills and practise different angles.

Thriller practice title

This is my practice piece at thriller titles, I edited multiple different images using different angles and shots and made them into a short video by using adobe premiere pro, I used a dark red font to portray blood and mystery.

Preliminary Storyboard

When planning our preliminary piece we made a storyboard of pictures which we got by walking the root we would film around school and taking photos of our actor standing in various positions.

Casino Royale opening titles

This is a collection of clips from the opening titles of Casino Royale, the reason I used these specific clips is because I feel they are the most important out of the title video, I got the pictures by watching the opening titles on YouTube and print screened them and putting them together using the snipping tool. I made this to practice opening titles and to gain ideas for my thriller piece. In Casino Royale like most James Bond films there is a very long title sequence involving lots of editing for example as the plot of the film is based around a casino the editor includes cards in the scene, this includes the use of hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs as seen in the 3rd picture in the storyboard as spades are shot from the pistol. The opening title also has the classic 007 shot where James Bond spins on the screen and fires a bullet down the barrel of a gun as blood drips down the screen. The opening scene shows shots of violence which shows why the film is rated 12A. The tittles of the opening scene are perfectly placed as they don't cover the main action point on the screen however they still catch your eye. When the main title shows there is a symmetrical pattern which gives off an aesthetic effect.

preliminary evaluation

this is my evaluation of all processes of the preliminary piece.

Youtube video

This is our preliminary piece which we put on YouTube after editing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyuy9tNbj_g&feature=c4-overview&list=UUht5fxUjha19_XNfG0mi2EA

post-production

After filming we changed roles and set Beth and Ciara to editing the video on adobe premiere pro CS4 while myself and Harry created a music track from scratch that would suit our short film using Mixcraft. Half way through the editing me and Harry took over, we made sure all the clips were in the correct order and then cut off parts which were unnecessary such as parts of me saying action etc. Once we had completed the work we saved it and uploaded it to YouTube.

production

Before we started filming we assigned roles, Beth and Ciara acted in the film, Harry organised everyone and I filmed and directed. When we were filming I used multiple angles such as close ups, low shots and panning of the camera to follow the actor. When filming we made sure that match on action was correct and that each scene matched the ones next to it, for example when Beth opened the door with her right hand we made sure on the other side she held the door with her right hand. We also used the 180 degree rule when filming the conversation. We also played with light and used angles that would make the light impose the main actor for effect.

pre-production

I have started our preliminary piece of a journey to school, my group consists of myself, Ciara, Beth and Harry. Firstly we planned ideas on a piece of paper and after gaining enough ideas we made a storyboard using photo's myself and Harry had taken while Beth and Ciara planned.

Welcome

Welcome to my AS media studies blog.

Here I will post all the things I will do over the year throughout media studies.