Experimental Pictures for thriller

This mid shot of the glove on the end of the bench causes the audience to ask many questions for example who's is it, and how has it got there? The shallow focus works well as the foreground is the concentrated area.

More Experimental pictures

These are again a few experimental pictures I've taken, when researching the location and atmosphere we would like to create when our thriller is complete.

1) This creates quite an eery effect as the tree roots look quite daunting and alive.

2) This is also similar to the above image however its a low angle close up shot will deep focus, and the shallow in slight blur. This distorts the image to make it a little less clearer to the audience.

3) These three images are of an alley which is very dark at night, only lit by one light at the end of it. However this is a typical location people may pick, therefore we probably won's be using this as we want an unusual location which varies in textures and colours. Furthermore the colour scheme is very dull and tedious.

18) Audience Research 2 (Questionnaire Results)

After my we asked the questionnaire to 10 people from our target audience we collected our results and put the most important questions into bar graphs to make people's responses clearer. This way we could decide on details we were going to include in the film quicker and with less hassle, for example someone suggested to have a female as the killer which we liked so now we have a female murderer to challenge the stereotype.

What gender would you prefer to be the KILLER?

17) Audience Research 1 (Questionnaire)

questionnaire word

16) Location Reseach

Brighton Beach- This scene would allow us to play with the movement of the water and the noises made on the pebbles. Also beaches are quite peaceful relaxing places to go to for pleasure so basing a thriller on a beach would be quite a contradiction. Also if we wanted to film at night time the sun set in the background would be great for some beautifully composed shots however, it may not suit the thriller genre.
Quiet Lake- Personally I believe this is a very good location for a thriller as you can also play with the effects movement has upon water however the decreased publicity would be easier to film around in case of any use of dangerous objects, and any unwanted characters in the background to make it less realistic.
Cemetery- a cemetery is a stereotypically a frightening location for any body to walk through in the dark, therefore this would also be a great choice to film our thriller as it already releases a sinister atmosphere to the audience.
Public road- Even though this is public, it could work as a thriller if we filmed at a good time, with little traffic, pedestrians and distractions the audience may turn to when watching it. However there is not much to play around with unless there was adverse weather for example the snow in this photo or heavy rainfall. Other than that it would probably be quite bland and basic with not much excitement and imagination.

15) Conventions Of An Opening Sequence

An opening sequence is to set the tone or atmosphere of the forthcoming movie however it is also used to establish the scenery and location in which its set, or maybe just one of them if that is the case.

The main aim is to grab the viewers attention by using the following techniques:

- Showing the titles of the people involved in the movie.

- A soundtrack or sound effects to aurally involve the viewer.

- Slower paced shots to lure the viewer in before all the action begins- not to throw away the best parts straight away as the attention of the viewer may not be maintained if this happens.

- A soundtrack will also promote the tone in needing to be set but most importantly the viewer needs to feel curious and engaged so they have enough questions they want answered to view on.

- The use of dialogue, it varies depending on what atmosphere the director wants to create. Sometimes there is no dialogue at all throughout the opening, for example in 'The disappearance of Alice creed.

14) Conventions of your genre (Thriller)

I have taken screen grabs and made contact sheets from various thrillers in which I researched and what I feel show the conventions of an opening sequence.
The conventions of my genre(thriller) are:

- Little dialogue

- Fast paced shots

- Close ups

- Shots with meaning and effect for example in The sixth sense the shot behind the wine rack makes the audience feel as if they're someone really behind it watching her.

- Slow, piercing music

- Non- diegetic sounds for a realistic effect

- Hiding the identity of characters to the audience

- Relationship between the shots and the music, for example when the music builds up a climax is revealed.

- There is some secrecy so the audience want to ask questions.

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13) Children of men (Your genre 2)

The beginning starts in a black out screen with a news reporter speaking diegetically. A sound bridge then occurs as the sound then carries on into the first high angle shot looking down upon a group of people looking at presumably the TV in which the man and woman is speaking from. We know they're are standing in a coffee shop as there are coffee titles on the walls and cakes are in the bottom right corner of the first shot. The titles are shown against the black background in white bold writing. The writing remains the same when we are taken out of the coffee shop and onto the streets of london in 2027 shown by the writing over the shot.

The music is quite piercing as the camera zooms into the TV showing pictures and videos of the youngest man in the world who has now died. This makes the audience think how is he the youngest person, why have no more children been born? The sounds of the road are realistic and probably non diegetic from the car engines and people walking and talking.

The buses are quite run down emphasising that man kind is dying and losing strength and people to create and repair the needed objects. There is then a tracking shot of the workers in an office watching clips of the victim crying and showing their upset emotions towards this incident. This moving shot allows the the audience to view not only one person devistated but various mid shots of many people affected.

12) Casino Royale ( Your genre 1)

The Mise en scene in this opening sequence begins in black and white creating a dated and old fashioned effect, as if the film is set many years ago, however when the titles begin to show colour is introduced with shapes from playing cards integrated into patterns winding around the main character. A black gun is also used to enhance the danger within poker and the bullets release as red arrows with hearts on the end of the straight line maybe linking to love and the relationships within the film. The colours are all quite high key and contrasting, emphasising the difference in the people playing against each other. The man is wearing a sophisticated black suit enhancing the business and wealth theme/atmosphere to the audience.

At one shot within the titles sequence there is a kings head looking at the man which is quite intimidating and underlining how maybe your playing against the cards aswell as the other players.

The first establishing shot shows a high building with smoke appearing from between a collection of rocks moving towards the building. This could maybe be hinting something else is slowly drifting closer and closer to the building with a sinister effect.

The changes of low angle to high angle shots are maybe used to confuse and alter the audiences view upon this character. Also as he travels up the lift a dutch high angle shot is used to maybe daunt the viewer as he's moving higher and higher. It's also a contradiction of how if someone is moving higher in a building they tend to have a high mean of importance however they've used a high angle which lowers it almost. All of the shots are very fast paced at the beginning which creates tension and anticipation.

At the beginning the sound is quite robotic to suit the fast motions and cutting of the clips to make the car move faster and more sharply towards the outside of the building. This could be the object that is coming towards the building emphasised by the smoke.

When that scene is then repeated the car is moving normally and slowly towards the building with no cuts and the name of the destinations fades in instead of immediately being on the screen. The sound is a continuous eery noise of calm suspense and allows the shot types to be longer so the audience can grasp the concept of what is happening.

11) Wallander Analysis

This is the title sequence of Wallander. I like the use of sharp cut lines and the colour use of bright against dark. This emphasises the knife's and stabbing occurring in the programme as they appear painful and harsh to the viewers eye in comparison to maybe a curved gentle line. The blue light shining upon the investigators face puts upon him a cold feeling of death and lifelessness.

Also how it only shines on one side of his face could maybe interpret two sides to him or how there is something to hide behind the other side of his emotionless face.
Some of the shots are analysed in the same number.

1) The first shot is an establishing extreme long shot which shows the ocean and the countryside coastline. It only gives the audience a distant view of a car and two characters walking away.
2) From this distance the stripes on the side of the car could maybe mistaken as a police car as they're bright and looks quite alike.
3) As soon as these unidentified characters are out of the shot it cuts to a mid shot of their back so the audience is still unable to see their faces however their female gender is obvious due to their long hair and feminist shoulder outline/ width. This is also a tracking shot of them walking away from the car showing there are people maybe following them up to catch them for the horrific crime they've just committed.
4) This mid shot from inside the car establishes the character who they've attacked to the audience as they were unaware of what they'd done before this shot. The blood running down the screen of the car, splattered all over the glass, enhances a violent atmosphere and hint to the viewer and makes it obvious a harsh weapon has most probably been used here. To the left we can see a persons's head who has short hair, maybe first impressions as a man, however to the left we gain an identification of this man as being a taxi driver who looks in the picture a normal working man. This also has shallow focus of the man in the foreground making it clearer to the audience where he is, however the blurred focus of the girls still lets us know which direction they're walking from the car.
5) This slight high angle shot of the two girls allows us to see their faces which both look also like average teenage girls, however this is obviously not the case. They're casual almost laid back attitude suggest ignorance and and selfishness as they're not panicking or trying to resolve this problem.The shallow focus of the girls allows us to focus on their body language, costume, faces and body's to examine there characters in case of any hints to understanding the situation. Considering the splattered mud on the first girl's face and blood on her chest in comparison to her 'sidekick' next to her who visibly in this shot is clean from any mud or blood, maybe is hinting to the viewer that the girl closest to us is the main murderer.
6) The extreme close ups of the body and his possesions reveals some of his identity without completely giving it away. The close up of his hand underlines that he's still alive as his hand twitches with weakness, however the shot of his face revealing his beaten, swollen and tortured eye.
7) As the shots of the girls progress they gradually get closer and closer to the girl who is closest to us being in the shallow focus, maybe telling the audience to 'keep an eye' on her and hinting even further that she's the leader and influencer of this act.

10) Kiss me deadly Analysis

In this opening sequence the first shot is a close up of feet running on dark pavement. At this point we don't know who this person is as their face has not yet been revealed. However it gives us a sense of danger as this person is running quite fast and in a scatty manner, maybe running away from someone. towards something or just running in hope to find something. Furthermore we can hear her panting breathe which is deep and loud giving us a hint that she's been running for a long time and is maybe panicking. A high angle shot then appears which is tracking her as she runs. This also allows us to give her a low status as its looking down upon her. The camera then moves back and shows a mid shot of her in the centre still running towards the camera straight on, so she's getting closer as the camera is now still. This also enhances the idea of her running towards somewhere. This is the first establishing shot of the area showing a dark road, only lit by the passing cars headlights. She's running on the opposite side to the oncoming cars underlining the fact that she is thinking logically and is probably not under the influence of alcohol or drugs etc. As she runs the sound of drums are present to reflect the panic and fright of this woman running frantically. As she then reaches the camera the sound of the car engine become louder as if the car is coming closer and has the possibility of stopping. However she is left running again only to find the next car drives straight past as well. All the clips are very fast paced which creates a sense of tension and snappy anticipation towards the viewer. Within the Mise en scene the woman's costume only consists of a pale coat with no footwear shown. This pale colour enhances her weak character as she's running away from something but also the size comparison of herself to the road size. This could be suggesting that she's a victim of some sort.

Finally as someone stops there is a long shot of her standing in the middle of the road facing the car coming towards her. The headlights of the car can be seen however she is just a dark silhouette with her arms up in the air. This arm position has been well selected because if they were lowered to the side it could underline an image of crucifixion which would be drifting away from the focus.

There are loud screeching noises of the car having to stop quickly which dramatizes the event and enhances the panic. As the viewer sees the car its a white elegant looking vehicle which maybe represents the heroic character which is inside it and the wealth in which he has.

9) Double indemnity

Immediately the beginning of this opening sequence is very lively however in a minor tone is created through the music and the darkness within the mise en scene. However this darkness enhances the street lights, car lights and the railway maintenance sign to make it clear to the audience where they are- 'Los angeles' and what vehicle they're travelling in- a car.

It is made obvious that this person is in a hurry by the car screeches and the sudden swerves around cars and the railway works but also the traffic lights he drives through- to enhance a dangerous brave character. There are non- diegetic sounds within the shots for example the beeping of the car and the 'ding' of the traffic lights. Due to these aggressive noises and actions in the shots the audience may assume its a man in the car which suits the stereotype of men being strong and brave. Furthermore as he steps out the car and into the building the soundtrack begins to soften and the tempo decreases maybe because there is anticipation within the character however he is fulfilled as he as reached his destination.

We can tell he is an important part of this building or company as the floors are empty and the building is shut. This means he has to wait for someone to let him in, however as he enters he seems familiar with the place maybe hinting this is where he works or he owns this building.

The first shot is a long establishing shot of the street in which the car is driving down and the car is in the centre of the rule of thirds, which enhances importance and power to the character. This is quite a long shot however its fast paced. It's quite intimidating as the car is driving with speed towards us as the audience, and we don't know he's going to turn as he becomes close to us. The shot then fades into the next however they're quite similar so you could get mistaken for it being the same shot and a different car.

The low angle shot of the car pulling up to the curb attracts a high status to both the building and the car as its looking up to them. Again the darkness enhances the building name adding more importance. However then as he gets out the car it changes to high angle decreasing his status however the sharp lines of his hat add a sense of danger or trouble. It's also hiding his identity creating a mysterious and sinister atmosphere as this man wants to stay private. His dark long coat represents a business man type of character.