Opening Sequence: The Shining

The opening sequence to the Shining would be a beautiful view across wide valleys and tall mountains if it wasn't for the very sinister undertone that the music created. The music is incredibly eerie as every so often there is low chanting and scratchy violin notes which set a suspicious mood for the audience.

The opening sequence also sows the isolation of the hotel in which Jack Nicholson goes to by showing is took a long time for him to get there via long windy roads and he also tells another man it took him 3 and a half hours. Also by the fact that all of the shots are high angle - showing vulnerability as well, and extreme extreme long shots. This creates suspense as the audience realises as the storyline is uncovered that he ans his family will be completely separate from all civilisation and anyone who can help.

At one point the car also goes into a very dark and sinister looking tunnel which is quite ominous. Towards the end of these mountaineous shots snow appears in the frame which again shows isolation but also possible discomfort in the coming cold months - implying that winter is coming.

Shooting Problems

In a group, meeting we had to brainstorm the problems with out shoot and what could go wrong, and these are the ways in which i, individually, am going to help the shoot run as smooth as possible.

• Forgetting Equipment: I have to always check i have mine, and to text everyone else in the group to remind them.
• Continuity Problems: I will help, like everyone else, to make sure we don't shoot over the same section of forest, and that we stick to all the rules, e.g. 180 degree line
• Time Wasting: I will help make sure no one time wastes, and to remind everyone of our tight schedule - although this is more relevant for the real shoot.
• Losing my patience with others: try to compromise more and remember we're all equal when it comes to new ideas etc

Our Group Idea

As a group we decided to centre our idea around Grovelands park as we all like it as a setting, i really like the idea of having a chase scene and having a tall, striking man chasing (striding confidently) after a dainty frantic younger girl. Dressed in black and white respectively to show the contrast. I think that the weakness of this idea is the fact that we will be shooting outside in December so as well as being unpredictable (rain, cloud etc) it will also be uncomfortable - which would be a problem getting actors on board, and obviously would put a strain on continuity. However we do all like the setting a lot and we like the idea that it will be challenging - particualry in the area of camerawork as the majority will be moving.

Initial Idea 2

I have another idea which i think could also use my garden shed which i think is really good as it's really quite creepy (i don't like going into it in daylight).

This idea is a little more vague than my first one, but basically the event happening in it would be someone discovering something very disturbing happening in the shed. So possibly it is a girl and her boyfriend is secretly a serial killer, and he has told her not to go into it but (obviously)she does it anyway and then at the end of the opening sequence he finds her snooping and we hear screaming (and then it jumps to earlier or later in the film).

Location

I never thought of it until someone mentioned it in a group meeting, but i have the best location for a thriller, literally, in my back garden. My shed is the creepiest place ever, I'm actually quite scared going into it in even daylight (which is why there are no pictures of the inside), and it has a particularly creepy atmosphere to it, which would be perfect if it captured on film.



I think this first photo would be a really good POV shot for someone looking at the shed because it seems almost like corruption in a nice, normal, rural setting.

Initial Idea

We have been put into groups and we are having our first meeting on Wednesday so we set a target to have an initial idea by then, and this the favourite one of mine:

The opening is shots of a normal, middle-aged (early 30s) man in his house (study) organising/arranging/cleaning surgical tools, and sometimes there is maybe a photograph of him and his wife shown. Then the phone rings and he answers it and you see him pick up one of the photographs, smile (slyly) and say 'I'm sorry she's not here at the moment can i take a message', then he snaps on rubber surgical gloves.
It's late (around duskish, or else it would be too dark to shoot) and he goes into his garden and starts to walk up his garden path towards the very overgrown part at the back of his garden towards his shed (with his surgical tools). He scrapes the door open and there tied up is the women in his photos - i.e. his wife.
I think the title should be something like 'the ultimate betrayal' - or possibly something a little more warped. I think this idea is good because it leaps straight into the action and because it taps into audience fears - someone close abusing your trust/something twisted going on right in front of you.

An alternate in the structure could use parallel editing - so in between the shots of the male lead there would be blurry POV shots of his wife waking up from being drugged/unconscious etc.
Although to add a real element of surprise he would have to be doing something very not suspicious so the audience thinks 'oh dear, he doesn't know his wife is in trouble' - but then as someone comes to open the door of the shed we see that it's him. But this presents the problem of continuity wise it wouldn't be much of a surprise as we would have to see him going towards a shed and the audience would inevitably assume he is going to see her.

So although there are still some formalities/problems i think it's good because, as far as i know, it hasn't been done in previous years as they seem to have focused on stalking, abduction, and gangster thrillers.

A Good Thriller

What i have noticed is that there is one key difference between a good thriller and an amazing thriller: a good storyline. This seems strange but a good thriller doesn't need an amazing storyline to be successful or even a believable (even within the diegetic world created), all it needs is enigma + suspense - because to me a good thriller keeps you on the edge of your seat right until the very end.

Example: The Omen - Original, 1976
Basically the plot is that a wealthy family's child was switched at birth with the actual offspring of Satan - personally i thought the plot was awful but it kept me interested through out. It did this by having suspense, but also in the way that it created enigma - through hints and clues left throughout the film for the audience to piece together. I particularly love it in films (especially in the SAW series) when you try to second guess the ending, so maybe that's why i liked it, but even so, despite the appalling storyline i still enjoyed actually watching the film.

Now, an amazing film has to have a good storyline - with twists and turns and hints etc as well as lots of enigma and suspense. Examples i love are shown on the right hand side (Primal fear, The Butterfly Effect etc).

So in order for my opening sequence to have the potential to turn into an amazing thriller, it will have to do one of two things:

1. Have an event/conversation which is interesting in itself but doesn't lead onto anything in particular in the reader's mind - e.g. the discovery of a body (without any clues as to who the villain is) as this should disorientate the audience and keep their attention
2. OR, it has to make the viewer read into it in as many different ways as they can, so they are trying to second guess it and make sense of it - e.g. discovery of diary (which of course won't make sense to them at the time, but that would come later on)

Conventions of Opening Sequences

There are a few conventions of opening sequences:

• The production company
  
• The distributor
  
• Credits - director/actors


• Establishes either the main characters/themes or


• Shows the disruption straight away (Todorov's theory)

I think that the opening sequence which establishes the main characters/themes is almost like an introduction to the film, during the credits it gives you an idea of what to expect - and going back to Field's theory it helps the audience decide if they are going to like it or not. Saying this, it doesn't mean that an introduction-style opening sequence is absolutely necessary, for example when the opening sequence shows the disruption to the equilibrium it doesn't give the audience an introduction it just goes straight into the action/storyline - and to me this indicates that the rest of the film will mimic this (very fast moving/exciting etc) and therefore won't take a very long time to get properly started - for example, unlike rear window.

Opening Sequence: Point Break

The opening sequence to Point Break is interesting, but it doesn't make sense to you at the time. It depicts parallel editing between the lead character - Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) - taking part in a police training test for shooting accuracy and Bhodi (Patrick Swaze) surfing during rain. These are the two main themes/lifestyles shown in the film - laid back surfers/police officers or detectives. It's quite an emotional opening sequence - in that in both the events occuring simultaneously there is quite a strong atmosphere, mainly passionate. The two things which are shown are the things which the repsective characters love most in the world - being a policeman/detective and surfing.
I think this is really good for an opening sequence as it gives the audience information on exactly what the film is about, particularly the main characters - who for the next 90 minutes or so are the main people in the viewer's mind.

The Blair Witch Project: The Website

http://www.blairwitch.com/

The Website played a massive role in the advertising campaign for the Blair Witch project, it was set up a year or so before the film was released to create the illusion that it was all in fact real. So when the film came out all the people who had been on the website obviously wanted to find out what really happened.


Here are some examples of how the illusion was set up that it was real:

The first screen fades to this message (In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared into the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found). So as there is no reason for the viewer to doubt the legitimacy of the site yet, this statement is just taken as a fact

Mythology
There is also a section of the site called 'Mythology', where lots of different stories are told of the 'Blair Witch'. For example:

August 1825
Eleven witnesses testify to seeing a pale woman's hand reach up and pull ten-year-old Eileen Treacle into Tappy East Creek. Her body is never recovered, and for thirteen days after the drowning the creek is clogged with oily bundles of sticks. (and bundles of sticks play a slightly significant role in a part of the film so the part of the audience who have seen the website will keep making links back to it - decreases their doubt)

March 1886
Eight-year-old Robin Weaver is reported missing and search parties are dispatched. Although Weaver returns, one of the search parties does not. Their bodies are found weeks later at Coffin Rock tied together at the arms and legs and completely disemboweled.

After a few more examples of these the story of the 3 filmmakers is told in a few lines - so if the viewer believed the previous stories then they are given no reason to doubt the story of these 3.
(http://www.blairwitch.com/mythology.html)

Aftermath
The section entitle 'aftermath' is just full of police-style photos of different places/props from the film as if they were from official reports. For example, this photo comes under the sub-heading 'evidence' - which again suggest fact.


A more important piece of 'evidence' which increases the credibility of the story are the film canisters:


Under Mythology there is a further sub-heading of 'search' and i think one of the most inventive pieces they put on the website was the missing person's poster:



All of these little words (like evidence and the dates) and photos work together to make the audience believe this tale, and so i think that when the film was released the website played a very large part in it's success - it made nearly £5.9 million in it's first week.

The Blair Witch Project

I watched The Blair Witch Project on Halloween and it was one of the most scary films i think I've ever seen (apart from possibly the Saw series), and the amazing thing was that afterwards i realised that you never actually see anything scary, the whole film plays on the audience's imagination. It's also quite inspiring because it's similar to the thriller i will create in that it was very low budget of around £2000 - cheap for a cinema screened film of course.
I think the most effective factor of the film is the iconography:

Setting
Set in a large forest it provides the scariness factor of shadows, noises in the night time and total isolation - i think this isolation plays on audience fears the most therefore making it even more thrilling. This is all also emphasised by the fact that they are lost and are in unknown territory.

Mise-en-Scene
Is generally very dark - this provides the unknown factor again, the lack of glamour to their clothes and general look adds realism to the film/story so it makes it seem more believable and therefore scary.

Camera
Is entirely handheld (or at least on a very shaky track) so it heightens the sense of their isolation from the world because it allows the audience to suspend their belief and think that there isn't a film crew there. At some points the screen is just black because it is night and they don't want to turn their lights on, and i think this panics the audience a little. It's almost like a break from having to close your eyes in fright but at the same time you want them to turn a light on in case something jumps out - so it dramatically increases the suspense.

Colour
Is all natural browns and greens - which adds realism again. Then sometimes when it's black + white it makes it seem supernatural and almost adds glamour - in an old movie style way. By glamour i mean something out of the ordinary - they seem to have very normal lives and i think the black + white symbolises this extraordinary event (also could be put into 'camera')

Rating: ****

The Illusionist

What i found interesting about the illusionist before i watched it was the fact that it was a PG and still managed to a thriller - i know they don't all have to contain violence but it's a very common convention. The film is about a magician Eisenheim (Edward Norton) who falls in love with Sophie as a young boy but she is a Duchess and the two are forbidden to see each other.
Years later he comes to town as a master illusionist and the 2 meet again at a performance, they oinstantly realise they are still in love and make a plan to run away. However Sophia is engaged to the Crown Prince he finds out of her love and she is found dead in a river.

From that point on most of the story is driven by one question 'Is she dead or was it a trick/an illusion?'. After she is found 'dead' Eisenheim leaves town and sets up a different kind of show where he summons the dead (however it is all a trick) and he summons Sophia and finally himself at the end. The final scene is him running to Sophia and therefore showing she was alive all along and they are now going to start a new life together as everyone believes them to be dead.

Back to the point about the PG rating, i think this shows that the film is easy to second guess because there is really only one you want to know - is she dead or alive, and that it's easy to understand. Despite this i think the way it explores pushing the boundaries of what people will believe is really successful and interesting.

Rating: ***

Inspiration: Past Thriller Projects

Under the Gun



I think that the Mise-en-Scene and Cinematography in this opening sequence is particularly good. The colour in it appears as if it used to be so vibrant and saturated, and it's not that now it's cold with blue/grey tones, it's just that it's faded and become so much less passionate. The lighting also creates suspicion from the audience, the shadows and dark corners seem very sinister, connoting something very illegal/underground etc. The Mise-en-Scene as a whole creates the sense of past glamour/the darker side of glamour - the glamour connoted by the suit, cards, crystal glasses, but it's all dragged down by the grimey ashtrays and tiny box room. The cinematography is full of tight frames, the use of CUs and MCUs and low angles shows the panic of the male character and the disgust and passion/feistiness of the female. It also shows how to-close-for-comfort the tiny room is, and how intimidating the male lead is.

Exposure



I think the continuity in this opening sequence is by far the best because it follows all of the rules.
It has lots of brilliant matches on action - for example when he bursts through his bedroom door
It had dissolve transitions to slow the pace down and to heighten emotion
It also has a fade to black at the end of the clip which conventional symbolises the passing of time, so possibly the opening sequence is in a separate time frame to the next part of the film.
It increases realism with loud diegetic sounds like the running water, keys rattling etc
The pace is fast at the beginning which a little unconventional but it balances this out by slowing it down after a minute or so.

Techniques: Continuity Editing

For all films with all genres in order to make it seem real to the audience and to make the action seem continuous there are certain rules/techniques that a film maker must follow. These rules ensure that the film seems to be in real time.

Rules
Camera

Shot Order
So that it makes sense you need to move your audience across space smoothly by using a logical order, for example:
LS to MS to CU
Jumping straight from first to last is a little disorientating and should only be used to effect

180 Degree Rule
In a scene there is a 180 degree line which the camera goes up and down but does not actually cross, this is one rule which is never broken because the effect it produces is only confusion. It is mainly applicable during conversations because if the camera crosses the line the 2 subjects appear to be looking in the same direction.

30 Degree Rule
If the camera switches shot but has more or less the same framing (i.e. changes by less than 30 degrees) then the camera seems to jump and it makes the clip seem jumpy and amateur.

Eyeline Match
This ensures that the clip is realistic, so for example if one character is tall than the other, the short one is seen to be looking up and the taller one down.

Match On Action
During action, for example a car moving or a person running, if you decide to cut to another angle or distance then it is important that in the second shot the car/person appears to have moved. Otherwise the action (car moving/person running) seems to repeat.

Shot/Reverse/Shot
This rule is for shooting a conversation

1st shot: Master shot - both characters
2nd shot: CU character 1
3rd shot: CU character 2
Further shots: BCU to show emotion MS can also be used

Editing

Transitions

• Cuts are most common for seamless movement from one shot to another, creates pace and rhythm
• Dissolves provide a slow and relaxing atmosphere (sometimes for a montage effect). Can also be used to show time moving forward and to show a relationship between 2 shots.
• Fading (up/out/to black/from black) shows a significant amount of time passing
• Wipes aren't conventionally used in film, mainly for children's television

Sound

Diegetic
This heightens the realism of the film for the audience as it makes it seem more like the real world

Non-Diegtic
Music can alter the mood dramatically, and is particularly effective at creating suspense because it lets the audience know that something is about to happen. Voice over's aren't very common in films but if they are present they help the audience understand/empathise.

Sound Bridge
This is a way to link 2 scenes quite effectively. It is when the picture and diegetic sound change at different times. Conventionally the sound from the second scene is heard before the picture is shown.

Opening Sequence: Scream

I thought that the opening sequence to the film was the best (maybe even the only good) part of the film. The use of the scary voice on the end of the telephone and the thought of that person being in the house really hooks the audience in, creating such tension and suspense. I think it particularly shocks the audience because the girl shown in the first few minutes is set up as the main character - she is sweet, blonde hair, and flirty at first so the audience expects her to escape. So then when she doesn't and is brutally murdered it hooks the audience in further because they realise that this film is going to be very hard to second guess and will keep them interested until the end.
One of the main reasons i think the opening sequence is so good is because it immediatly taps into audience fears, not just current but on going, because one of the scariest things to most people is the thought of someone being in your house, so that you are so vulnerable, without your knowledge. Another good part is when she turns on the porch light and her boyfriend is there, this makes her seem less isolated though as there are others in the vicinity, but it makes the whole thing seem a lot more sinister and twisted.
One thing which i thought was awful about this film (and the opening sequence) is how unscary the villain was, some costumes (such as halloween ones) can seem sinister but this one made the whole film a lot less scary because it was quite comical.

Rating: **

Syd Field's Theory: Fatal Attraction

Applying Syd Field's theory to Fatal Attraction:

Act 1
The audience are shown Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) is normal caring husband with a perfect life with a wife (Anne Archer) and children.
The main hook for the audience in the first 30/40 minutes is that Dan risks all of this by sleeping with Alex Forrest (Glenn Close), but mainly it is plot point 1...

Plot point 1 - Alex slashes her wrists, this is when the story changes dramatically as Dan realises just how serious this little 'fling' has become.

Act 2
Alex starts to stalk Dan despite his attempts to move house and change his number, to the extent that she feigns pregnancy (possibly real) and also befriends his wife.

Plot point 2 is the boiling of the bunny, this forces Dan to realise that Alex has to be stopped before anyone is harmed and that he can't really do this by simply talking to her.

Act 3
The final confrontation is physical and ends with a struggle between Dan, Alex and Dan's wife, where Alex tries to stab both of them and finally Dan's wife shoots Alex.

Another Narrative Theory

3 Act Plot Structure - Syd Field

Act 1
During in the first 10 minutes the audience decides whether or not they like the film
Therefore they need to be shown/given a reason why the should care - like a hook
Then for the rest of the first 30 mins we learn the nature of the problem

Plot point 1 (particularly important points in the story, which alters the general dynamic of the film - they occur 3 times, in between acts and one in the middle)

Act 2
The main characters fight their enemies helplessly, in more and more extremely problematic situations
There is then normally a point where the situation begins to improve - possibly the protagonists win a small battle, but there is still a long way before a resolution.

Plot point 2 - the protagonist realises they have been tackling the problem in entirely the wrong way, this then leads into act 3

Act 3
The hero takes control and will normally battle the enemy on their own territory

Actors

This is a friend of mine you i think would be good for a thriller role:

- she is taking AS drama

- she is petite

- she has an innocent and sweet look about her

This are just some extra shots i took of her in Grovelands park:

Location

I think my local park - Grovelands - would be an ideal environment in which to shoot a thriller:

Although there is the down side that it could end up looking a little 'blair witch-ey'

So far...

I don't really want to start putting solid ideas together, i want to gather themes, characters, locations etc which i like and then start to piece them together.

• A 'normal' setting - suburban
• Innocence - corruption of
• A sickly sweet, cute (innocent) female
• A false hero

I don't tend to like films in which the villain is medically mentally unstable, i think it's much more unnerving for the audience if the villain has nothing physically wrong with them - more of a socio-path

Titles

The titles of films can tell us a lot about the film just at a quick glance and they therefore act as a hook for the audience.

There are some very common themes in thriller titles but criminal activity features more or less features in them all.

• Death
• Supernatural
• Watching/Following
• Obsession
• Isolation
• Memories/Pasts

Titles are the most carefully chosen aspects of a film, they need to connote many things at once, yet be enigmatic to make you want to find out more/if you suspicions are correct - this is where a blurb comes in - to give the audience a little more information and often hook them in even further.

For example:

Fatal Attraction - this connotes obsession, seduction, death, betrayal/unfaithfulness

Memento - memories, the past, leaving a mark

The Silence of the Lambs - corrupted innocence, death, massacre, isolation

Memento: Was i right?

I analysed the cover of Memento before i watched the film and after watching it i realised that most of the presumptions i made from analysing the cover were correct - i believe this is probably due to representations - the type of signifiers which are universal - e.g. black which always symbolises the unknown/mystery/darkness

'All of this is set on a black background
This suggests a very mysterious/murky background to the story - the reason/logic behind it is very unclear'
- This is particularly true because the film is backwards, so we have absolutely no idea of any of the reasons for the events.

'The man is wearing a very stylish cream and black suit, yet it is unclear what she is wearing. This suggests the film is set in a high class area - possibly a very corrupt one with lots of skeletons, the enigma in the narrative is again presented through her unclear dress. The fact we know more about him than her shows that perhaps she is more mysterious than him.'
- this is half correct, it isn't set in a nice area at all, but quite a run down one, but it is very corrupt because people take advantage of the Leonard even though he has disabilities. For example, the motel owner charges him for 2 different rooms, and Natalie takes advantage of him by getting him to kill Dodd.

' The man looks quite handsome and rugged - stubble/shaven head/suit
The suit shows that he is respectable but that perhaps he is a little rough around the edges (stubble) - this could possibly be how he used to be - and old life is trying to escape from.'
- This is right just in the wrong order - he used to be respectable with a steady job etc, but now he spends his time looking for revenge.

Because of their facial expressions i think they don't know each other very well and are probably curious, but i think their is definitely an element of sexual tension.
- This was completely true, they meet half way through the film and he wakes up next to her practically every new day.

I was quite wrong about the connotations of his gesture code (looking over his shoulder) - it's not because he is worried someone knows his secret it's because he is constantly confused and looking around in all directions trying to make sense of things. Also because he is living for/in the past as this is the only thing he wakes up every morning remembering.

My summary was: The DVD cover doesn't really reveal anything concrete about the storyline, it mainly connotes secrets and watching. One very prominent theme though was the idea of a murky past - with lots of skeletons and perhaps trying to forget this past and run away.- This was mainly right because Leonard is trying to forget his past because he believes once he has avenged his 'dead' wife he will be able to get over it every new morning

Review: Memento

I can't say i enjoyed Memento because it was quite a hard film to watch, before i saw the film i visited the website so i realised it was backwards fairly quickly due to the address - http://www.otnemem.com/. However i did find it incredibly interesting and challenging, normally I'm good at second guessing films but i love it when - like Memento - i did not see the ending coming at all.

The film is shown in reverse chronological order, the director says this is done to confuse and bewilder the audience so as to put them in Leonard Shelby's (Guy Pearce) shoes - who suffers from short-term memory loss due to an attack and he can only remember things for a few minutes. Leonard wakes up every day to the memory of his wife being raped and murdered by an intruder, and in this way the audience is very sympathetic towards him.

Narrative Theory
I think it would take me a very long time to try and do a plot synopsis of Memento and in all honesty that wouldn't be very productive so instead I'm going to apply Todorov's theory of narrative structure, which in itself i think will be a challenge.

1.) Equilibrium
2.) Disruption - event
3.) Recognition of disorder
4.) Attempt to repair
5.) New equilibrium is established

1.) The audience is never really shown the equilibrium in the film's time frame but in flashbacks of him holding and cuddling his wife.
2.) The disruption to Leonard (Guy Pearce) is the death of his wife
3.) The recognition of this disorder happens to him everyday as he wakes and remembers she is gone
4.) Leonard attempts to avenge his dead wife by searching for 'John G' - through a series of methods - tattoos, Polaroid photos with scribbled notes.
5.) A new equilibrium is never truly shown, at the end of the film it is established that there are many 'John G's' and that Leonard is going to spend his life going round and round in circles finding new men to hunt down and kill. By the end of the film to audience is told that he has already killed 2 men.

The Website - http://www.otnemem.com/
I think the website was established possibly because the film is so difficult to understand, so the website was set up to give clues. Personally i think that the website is brilliant because of the way it is cleverly laid out. The main page is of a magazine article (which itself is little misleading because in the frame of the film a murder is never really investigated - so i think this article is used to keep the audience detached from the characters at this stage).

In this article as you go over certain important words it is clear that it is a link, this takes you to a separate Internet window in which notes and photographs are depicted. For example: The word SUSPICIOUS links to this photo:

Clicking on each of these photos leads to the next one, in doing this if the audience reads into this they can gather from the biros word 'tattoo' and the need for something permanent that he is going to tattoo things he needs to remember all over his body. This therefore gives the audience a heads up to the film so that they can spend more time concentrating on following the plot and looking for more clues.

Rating: ***

Sub-genres

There are many sub-genres within the genre of thriller:

Spy: The hero is normally a government agent - From Russia with Love

Political: The hero helps to ensure the stability of the government - A Few Good Men

Legal: Not only is the case at stake in these films, but a lot of lives too - The Pelican Brief

Psychological: Conflict is emotional/mental rather than physical - The Talented Mr. Ripley

Horror: The conflict is mental, emotional and physically - SAW I/II/III

Disaster: the main event is a natural disaster (volcanoes etc) - e.g. Earthquake

Serial Killer: The villain has numerous victims and often a unique style of murder - Disturbia

Supernatural: where one character has supernatural powers - White Noise

Crime: Plot is based on illegal activity (robberies, kidnaps etc) - Reservoir Dogs

Although the majority of thrillers do entail illegal activity and elements of the horror genre.

(With some help from http://www.wikipedia.co.uk/)

Review: Primal Fear

This film is a mixture of psychological and courtroom thriller and, as i said in a previous post, is one of the most amazing films i think I've ever seen.
The film is all about the murder of the archbishop and the prime suspect is an altar boy (Edward Norton - who is pure genius in this role) as he is found covered in blood running from the police - all he remembers is that he 'blacked out' like he has been since he was smaller.
The reason for these black-outs turns out to be due to schizophrenia, the scene where his schizophrenia is discovered is shown below, and is probably my fabourite out of the entire film.


The schizphrenia is thought to have occured from the physically and emotional abuse Aaron (Edward Norton) suffered at the hands of his father and the sexual abuse he suffered from the archbishop - this being his alleged motive for the murder.

What i particularly enjoyed about the film was how it explored blind trust and instinct, Martin Vail (Richard Gere) is the Lawyer of Aaron and he blindly trusts him with nothing but his word as the evidence stacks up against him.

Rating: *****

Applying theory: Primal Fear

My dad recommended Primal Fear for me to watch because the acting is amazing in it, it is a thriller but a mixture of psychological and courtroom.

It was one of the most fantastically enthralling and incredible films i have ever seen - definitely the best thriller - so therefore i wanted to study it somehow and i decided to apply the narrative theories to it:

Binary Opposites

There are mainly only opposite from the genre psychological/courtroom thriller

Sanity vs. Insanity - very very important

Innocent vs. Guilty - typical of courtroom thrillers

Right vs. Wrong - always a sense of this with murders

Action/Enigma Codes

There isn't really a sense of action codes playing much of a part in this film - obviously events lead to other events and there are of course examples of it, but the film isn't particularly suspenseful for the large part so it doesn't keep the audience wondering and guessing.

Although one very good example is in the final courtroom scene when the audience guesses that the Gere is trying to get 'Roy' to come out of Norton and it keeps you on the edge of your seat because you really want it to happen - you want to know if his heckling will lead to Norton's other personality coming out.

There are a lot more enigma codes than action, they don't create instant suspense but more of an ongoing questioning int he audience's mind:

- Who killed the Archbishop?

- If it was Aaron then why?

- What are the reasons behind his schizophrenia?

The brilliant thing about this film is that even thought there are lots of questions, the audience thinks that they have it all sussed out right up until the last scene when the biggest of twists is unveiled - one which i don't think anyone would have see coming. It turns out that 'Aaron' never really existed, the personality of 'Roy' is who he actually is, and he just pretended to have schizophrenia to get away with the murder.

Narrative Structure

1.) Equilibrium - The Archbishop is alive and well
2.) Disruption - He is brutally murdered/Aaron is blamed
3.) Discovery of event - Murder is overheard by postman
4.) Attempt to repair - Trying to bring killer to justice/free Aaron
5.) New equilibrium - It is discovered who murdered him/also that he wasn't such a saint as he sexually abused the altar boys

The new equilibrium is certainly different because lots of secrets have come out - the archbishop was a sexual abuser/also that he died to begin with/Aaron is no longer a sweet altar boy.

Folk Tales Character Types

This film is a good example of when directors/writers mess with the conventions of characters - and therefore they become very obvious to the audience.

Due to the fact that the discovery of Aaron's non-existent schizophrenia changes the dynamic of the film and the audience's perceptions so much, there are 2 different sets of the 8 character types established; before we discover Aaron was lying, and after.

Before

- The Villain: the prosecutor
- The Hero: there are 2 - the Lawyer (Vail) and Aaron
- The Donor: the second altar boy who tells of the sex tape
- The helper: Vail's assistant working at his firm
- The princess: there isn't really a princess here, unless you count the prosecutor who seems to have a past with Vail
- Her father - as a courtroom thriller there isn't so much a reward for anyone except justice, so perhaps the judge is the father here
- The Dispatcher: in this case, is the lawyer's craving for fame that sends him on his way
- The false hero: there isn't one just yet.

After

- The Villain: Aaron - because he really did commit the murder in a sane state of mind
- The Hero: the Lawyer - because he trusted + believed (and clearly Aaron is no longer a hero)
- The princess: there isn't really a princess here, unless you count the prosecutor who seems to - The false hero: is Aaron also as we are lead to believe he is a hero for all except 5 minutes of the film

The hero, turned false hero at the end, really messes with the audiences head and indeed the real hero (Vail). I think this rule is the one which is most often broken by directors/writers because it is the most effective at shocking/thrilling and making a great statement.

Narrative Theories: A Brief Summary

Binary Opposites - Claude Levi-Strauss

Claude decided that they were a good way to understand the production of meaning within a narrative - and that it made it easier for the audience to understand and empathise.

A very common example is Good vs. Evil

Each genre also has their own binary opposites - for example Westerns often have Sheriff vs. Outlaw

Action/Enigma Codes - Roland Barthes

Action + Enigma codes are narrative codes which films are made up of - they are the 2 ways in which suspense is created.

Action Codes refer to actions - events leading to other events, the suspense is created by the audience wondering what the next event will be.

For example, in Disturbia when the villain realises Kale is watching him, we wonder what is going to do.

Enigma codes raise questions - the audience asks the reason for an event.

For example, in Disturbia we wonder why was there a blood smear on the window?

Narrative Structure - Tzvetan Todorov

1.) The fictional world begins with equilibrium
2.) Then it suffers a disruption
3.) A new equilibrium is produced

The 5 stages the narrative can go through is circular (not linear). The plot/narrative is driven by attempts to restore the equilibrium.
1.) Equilibrium
2.) Disruption - event
3.) Recognition of disorder
4.) Attempt to repair
5.) New equilibrium is established

However, the final equilibrium is never the same as the first, through the disruption to characters or situations events happen which cannot be undone - for example a murder. And the disruption which occurs is always out of the ordinary frame work of the fictional world

Folk Tales Character Types - Vladimir Propp

He identified 8 common roles:

• The Villain
• The Hero - a character who seeks something - he is motivated by a lack of something (money/love). Sometimes not heroic in the conventional way - can be male/female courageous/cowardly
• The Donor - provides an object/information of value
• The helper - a sidekick aiding the hero
• The princess - hero's reward, an object of the villain's schemes. Princess could be male
• Her father - who rewards the hero
• The Dispatcher - sending the hero on his way
• The false hero

They become more interesting/noticeable when the rules are broken - they are only really noticed when they are broken. For example in psycho the character perceived to be the hero is killed in the first half an hour.

I'm planning to watch a film and try to apply these theories because in order to potentially break them for my thriller i will have to understand them. I am considering doing this to create more of a twist on convention and essentially more of 'a thrill' to the audience

Filming

Whilst i was on the Picadilly Line last weekend i happened to have my camera so i did a quick film, it's very poor quality but i like the idea of point of view shots etc for my thriller, and i think the tube is a good setting because it's so normal and people can feel really involved.



(ALSO! apologies for the length of my skirt :/)

Memento: Narrative image

The construction of the narrative image on the DVD cover through:


Camera
CU of a man, but the tip of his head is cut off, he is looking off the frame to the left
The cut-off distorts the photo slightly and makes it look a little wrong, the fact that he is looking off to the left shows he is looking at/for something - almost searching. We can see his emotions clearly because of the CU.
The woman in another shot is also in a CU, with a slight high angle and looking straight at the camera
However it doesn't feel as if she is looking at 'us', i think that her and the man and looking at eachother. Even though the high angle should make her look vulnerable, the confident/bold expression on her face makes her look even more menacing.
The photograph is at eyeline for one photo, and a high angle for the second
This in no way involves the audience, we are very much made to feel like an onlooker
However the poloroids are splayed out as if they are on a table
Therefore maybe we are an all-knowing onlooker
But again this is slightly contradicted by the blurry and undetailed backgrounds of the photos
So perhaps we know what is going on right now, but perhaps not the past/why it is happening

Mise-en-Scene
The title of Memento
This is one of the main signifiers which holds the whole carefull constructed narrative together, it helps the audience piece the bits together and they all link back to 'a memento' - a memory of something, either phsyically or emotionally
The photograph of the man is a poloroid
This connotes being watching/followed as a poloroid is an instant memory of that moment
Then within that poloroid there is another of a woman
This suggests that he is watching her
But then again within this is his photo again
This connotes she knows he is watching her - this carries on and it all suggests lots of watching and secrecy and 'smokes + mirrors' - no one ever knows the full story
All of this is set on a black background
This suggests a very mysterious/murky background to the story - the reason/logic behind it is very unclear
The man is wearing a very stylish cream and black suit, yet it is unclear what she is weraing
This suggests the film is set in a high class area - possibly a very corrupt one with lots of skeletons, the enigma in the narrative is again presented through her unclear dress. The fact we know more about him than her shows that perhaps she is more mysterious than him.
The text reads 'some memories are best forgotten'
This is where most of the information is given about the plot - it connotes memory loss, secrets, skeletons in closets, running away from your past. We are given lots of options so it doesn't give too much away, it really just allows the mind to wander and jump to conculsions - which is a kind of hook to the film
The font of the text is very childlike and almost scribbly
Anything to do with children + the corruption of innocence makes people think of warped + twisted events
The backgrounds to the photos are blurry
This again suggests murky pasts, skeletons in closets, definitely something very bad has happened

People
The man looks quite handsome and rugged - stubble/shaven head/suit
The suit shows that he is respectable but that perhaps he is a little rough around the edges (stubble) - this could possibly be how he used to be - and old life is trying to escape from.
He is in his 20s/30s, white, American or British
Shows he is just an average guy on the surface (maybe other things deeper down) or he has just got caught up in something he shouldn't have.
The woman is around the same age, but she looks perhaps spanish or latina, very naturally beautiful
The beauty makes her probably quite self-confident, quite content,
[Gesture codes] The man is looking over his shoulder
This is a VERY KEY signifier to the plot, it shows he has something to hide (secret/skeleton) that he is worried someone will find out/already knows - something he wants to forget
The woman is directly addressing the camera (possibly him), boldly and almost aggressively
Possibly she knows his secret and she wants to remind him, she wont let him get away with it
They both have shadows on their faces (hers are more predominant than his)
This suggests yet more enigma and question raising from thre audience and shows them to both be a mixture of good and evil

Because of their facial expressions i think they don;t know each other very well and are probably curious, but i think their is definitely an element of sexual tension

Summary
The DVD cover doesn't really reveal anything concrete about the storyline, it mainly connotes secrets and watching. One very prominent theme though was the idea of a murky past - with lots of skeletons and perhaps trying to forget this past and run away.

Psycological Thrillers

There are many sub-genres within 'thriller', but my personal favourite is psycological thrillers:

Psycological thrillers: in which (until the often violent resolution) conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional rather than physical.

I particularly like 'the Talented Mr. Ripley':



The film explores human nature's wants, desires and the lengths they are prepared to go to keep them. The main character - Thomas Ripley - , so when he meets Dickie Greenly, he falls into a twisted, dependant and obsessive love. I believe that he is probably an emotional starved person so when Dickie decides it is time for their friendship (in his eyes) to end, Thomas is broken. A particuarly fast-paced and seat-gripping scene of the two in a small boat way out at sea depicts the very unforeseen murder of Dickie. After which, Tom takes over Dickie's life to the extent of murdering a friend of Dickie's who becomes suspicious (and anyone else in his way) and in the end fakes Dickie's death.

I personally enjoyed the film alot because it began to scare me how much i empathised with Tom, and i really wanted him to get away with it. I think it showed the dark side of human nature's dependance and obsession fantastically.

Rating: ****

Disturbia: Ad Campaign

I looked into the film Disturbia a bit further and the advertising campaign is fantastique, the trailer reveals quite a lot, but not to the extent that you have already seen the best bits. The website is also really interactive and themed around spying.

The Trailer


The trailer starts of slowly like the film - it looks like it is advertising a teen movie as it shows drama and 'the girl next door' but then the music starts to changes and builds up adrenalin and the audience gets quite suspicious. The tension keeps building up showing more and more events up until the girl is nearly stabbed through the door.
I think the best part of the trailer is the sound, not only the music but the voice over + sound effects. There are screams and heavy panting but also lines from the film like 'how many other perfect little houses hide really twisted secrets...wait' - this intrigues the audiences so much - it actually happened to me in the cinema when i first saw the trailer - because it creates so much enigma.

The Website - www.disturbia.com

The main screen of his bedroom is good because it's interesting and you have to find things for yourself, but the really amazing part about the website is the 'Disturbia Suburbia' section!
You enter your zip code (it's only for the U.S.) and it gives you an arial view of few mile radius, and you can click on places and it tells you creepy murder stories from there.

Here is an example:

It gives a little background to the person and then tells you the warped things they have done:

I think this is a really good idea - it really gets the audience involved and when they see the film it will be even more thrilling + scary because it will seem more possible

Inspiration

Rear Window and Disturbia have given me so much inspiration for my thriller!

I really really love the idea of a normal setting - probably suburban (don't know why) - and then something really twisted and warped going on behind closed doors. I think it's a great chance to be creative and i think it also taps into fears of the audience right now which is a big part of a successful thriller. So i think most of my initial ideas will be based around this area.

Some other examples are:
- Lantana
- Blue Velvet

Disturbia vs Rear Window

Rear window has been used and remade so many times and Disturbia is the most recent of these (released: 14th September). Here is an in depth comparison of the 2, similarities + differences:

Characters

Similarities
Look/Dress: The male lead is quite scruffy and messy, and very unconcerned with his appearance, where as the girl is glamorous/sexy/proud of her appearance.
Roles/Types: Male leads - attractive but the outsider type The female lead is quite brave + active, she is not the typical 'damsel in distress' despite needing saving in both at some point The main character has a sidekick type person
Behaviours: All the characters seem quite courageous - particularly villains who realise they are being watched and come straight round to the other house
Characteristics: The sidekicks are very chatty and quite dopey

Differences
Look/Dress: The films are obvioulsy from different time periods so there is different meaning to glamorous for example.
Roles/Types: In disturbia the sidekick is his best friend, where as in rear window it is his cleaner each has a diff type of victim, disturbia has many good looking females, and rear window has one bed-ridden wife the villain in disturbia is charming + we know lots about him, but in rear window we know hardly anything
Behaviours: In disturbia the girl is encouraging the spying with ' a steak out', where as in rear window the girl discourages it In Rear Window the girl does the snooping, where as it is his friend in Disturbia
Characteristics: In rear window the main character has to prove his ideas, but in disturbia his friends believe straight away - trust issues in rear window (possibly teenagers want to believe it more - scandal?)

Iconography

Similarities
Setting/Lighting: Normal on the outside mostly natural, majority is in day time, then important/scarier scenes in the night
Mise-en-scene: fashionable clothing for that time average setting - just normal houses
Props: knives/saws lenses - cameras/binoculars technology(for that time period) - computers/flash bulbs
Camera: Frames within frames - binoculars/windows/ computer screens ALOT of p.o.v. shots - through the windows and binoculars etc - all from protagonists, NEVER from villain - makes them seem more mysterious
Colours: n/a - rear window is black and white

Differences
Setting/Lighting: Rear window has an urban setting where as Disturbia has a rural setting Disturbia is set in a big house with lots of rooms where as Rear window is small flat with one multi-functional room
Mise-en-Scene: Rear window also has quite an urban/city lifestyle to it - glamorous dresses etc, where as Disturbia is centered around a quiet rural life - kids playing in the street, big family cars etc Dress codes are very different because of the different time period, and the large age gao in the characters
Camera: I think Disturbia has less p.o.v. shots because there are more scenes going on outside the house, and Rear Window is centered entirely in one room so he has nothign to do except look through binoculars every single shot is from one room in Rear window - expect at end when he falls out of window
Props: More modern in Disturbia - Xbox 360, mobiles, computers, video cameras
Colours: n/a - rear window is black and white

Narratives

Similiarities
Point of view: Always the point of view of male lead (most of time quite literally with camera shots) - so we know as much as the characters no, not much more
Structure: It takes a lot of time for the film to get properly started - lots of background/watching etc
Dialogue: Mostly character driven although some events are crucial (about 60/40)
Events: Mistaken identity seen as proof of identity (girl leaves - him in wig, wife leaves - another woman instead) There is a party in both - distraction use of technocolgy as a defence (camera flash + live video camera for help) Villains kill animals - show they will stop at nothing someone breaks into house on mission
Enigma: We only know what the characters know so it's only a slow release of information as they disciver things, until the end
Storyline: Live close to murderers suspect and watch them women die villains discover they are watching villains are caught

Differences
Point of view:
Structure: There is more build up in Disturbia (entire scenes outside of house)
Dialogue: Much more dialogue (as there is more characters) in Disturbia
Events: In Disturbia you see some background etc as to reasons for himin house they all go into villains house in Disturbia
Storyline: Only one suspected murder in Rear window, but a suspected serial killer in Disturbia

Themes

Similiarities
House arrest
Suspense + Fear
Law + Order
Right + Wrong
Suspicion
Useless police involvement
Voyeurism
Spying / Watching
Technology (for that time period)
Sexual Attraction

Differences
Death of a parent - Disturbia
Mother + Son relationship - Disturbia
Trust - in Disturbia his friends believe him straight away, in Rear Window he has to prove it

Summary
- Convention don't change over time because directors know what works/sells
- Genres are very repetitive
- Remakes are updated for new audiences - creates more empathy e.g. single parent
- Remakes also flatter people who know about films - they can discuss/compare them
- People who have seen the orginal can see the changes/moderinastion of it - which is interesting

Rating
Disturbia: ****
Rear Window: **

Review: Psycho

I enjoyed Hitchcock's Psycho, and i found the character of Norman Bates very intriguing, particularly the psychological reasoning behind his behaviour. I also thought that the behaviour and death of (female lead) was interesting, because although at first she is shown as deceitful and sexual the audience still empathises with her and expects her to escape. Then when she is suddenly and brutally killed it comes as quite a shock, i think Hitchcock chose to put this twist in to get the audience to expect the unexpected, and to hint at the other major twists left in the story.
I thought the setting was perfect also, to me the haunted mansion screamed something warped happening behind closed curtains. The house seemed to have a sense of regality to it and was probably quite valuable, but once inside this is killed by the stuffed animals which i think signifies the other losses in the story - his mother, the business. Another point about the setting is how isolated it was, she seemed so trapped in the tiny cabin making her even more vulnerable
However, i think that the climatic scene with Bates' mother's skeleton was shot and edited quite poorly, because although it does still make you jump it could have been to look even more twisted. To make Bates seem more warped the light probably should have been shafted in through a tiny window, and i think the skeleton should have been positioned as if supposedly doing something - like knitting. Also possibly wearing make-up or jewewellry - but perhaps this would make it too comic.
Overall though i think the film was brilliant, and i think Hitchcock was a genius.

Rating: ***

Experimental Thriller Shots

What i particularly love about stills is how much information you can from them - it is so easy to build up a story line using conventions and signifiers. Here are a few photos that i took and have read into to create a possibly storyline:

Shot 1

In this shot we were trying to achieve a mysterious and dangerous effect with the shadows and shaft of light.
It represents thriller because the subject looks like he is about to discover something - the audience can guess this past experience of films where characters are in these situations.
The sink in the background connotes a domestic setting, so maybe he is investigating someone else's house. He doesn't seem very cautious, so he's probably quite naive or alternatively, brave, this also connotes that maybe he has no choice but to investigate - perhaps a policemen. I think the lighting works very well in the shots, because of the silhouette effect; it makes the photo quite eerie, because of the darkness and shadows I think it also creates enigma. I particularly love the chain coming down as it signifies something horrible and twisted.
I think the slight high angle on this photo works because it makes him look vulnerable. Using a LS also works because it shows the audience lots of information and there is no point using anything closer until we need to see his emotions for the reaction shot. The slight cutting off of his foot in the frame also makes it look a little distorted and again signifies something twisted.

To improve the photo I think I would have a high angle/over the shoulder shot, so it’s as if the antagonist is watching him, from above – this makes him seem even more vulnerable. I also think it would be better if he had just come from some stairs so it’s as if he is in basement – because ground level seems to normal.

Shot 2

I was trying to achieve a stalker theme with this photo, the look on his face seems longing and almost lustful which makes the viewer quite uncomfortable because they want to tell the girl she is being watched. It is even more disturbing because he is so close to her (making her seem even more vulnerable) yet she hasn't realised.

I think it represents thriller because of its themes of stalking/watching, but also because of the deserted setting - perhaps a factory closed for the day - connotes isolation. Also because the villain is very bold and therefore probably doesn't know/care he is doing something wrong - therefore connoting some sort of mental instability.

I think that the reflection in the window works incredibly well, it heightens the sense that she is being watched and also gives the shot more eerie-ness. I think that the MS works well also because it's not too far that you can't see any emotion, but it's not so close that you don't get an instant overview of the situation. She is also lower than him in the shot signifying her vulnerability.

If i re shot this i would use a possibly older more battered setting (windows look very clean/new), and i would probably also shoot it at dusk for extra effect. I would also change the male's clothes - to probably darker and more worn and torn. I would probably also use a more innocent/vulnerable looking victim - probably blonde. Another problem was that the girl isn't easy to see, but i haven't thought of a way round that, because i think without the glass in the way, she would look far to vulnerable/stupid for not realising he is there.

Exploration

Definition: thriller
thrill·er (thrĭl'ər)
n. One that thrills, especially a sensational or suspenseful book, story, play, or movie.

I thought suspense was a very key word in this definition, because to me suspense and enigma are the 2 things necessary for a successful thriller

Conventions of most thrillers

• Characters
  Dress: glamorous sexy suits/cocktail dresses dark colours
  Roles/types: ‘Damsel in distress’ – turns brave when is needed / charming/confident – male+female
  Behaviors: Villain – twisted/erratic (stalker etc)
  Characteristics: courageous charming sexy

• Iconography
  Setting: suburban ‘normal on surface’ isolated/strange places – factories/forests
  Lighting: Dim unnatural shafts of light shadows
  Mise-en-scene: Dark Eerie suspense building music frames within frames – windows/binoculars (watching)
  Camera: p.o.v. – villain (audience = guilty) protagonist (audience = empathises) lots of close shots (BCU/CU) – for reactions + emotion
  Colours: red – danger/blood black - enigma blue – eerie/cold (death)
  Props: knives/saws/weapons – pain/death Water (lakes/rivers etc) – suspense + mystery

• Narrative
  P.O.V.: Villain – audience feels dirty guilty Protagonist – audience empathises + is very involved
  Dialogue: Clues/Signifiers – never given all information moves the story along (essential)
  Events: moves story along reveals information (audience can 2nd guess + get involved)
  Structure: beginning – either slow or twist straight away Middle – very mysterious, little info given Ending – fast moving, everything is revealed

• Themes
  Isolation: one particular fear of public which is common in thrillers
  Murder/pain/injury: is the normal aim/goal of villain
  Suspense: as opposed to gore – separates horror + thriller
  Enigma: enthralls audience, essential!
  Lack of Police/Law: ‘taking matters into your own hands’
  Fear: often taps into the current fear of society (e.g. terrorism)
  Courage: characters never knew they had – ‘Damsel in Distress’ frees herself