Analysis Of Past Student Thrillers

Hunter



camera
This thriller opening has very good camera techniques, they use a variety of different camera techniques for example they use wide shot at the very beginning of the clip, they also use over the shoulder, shot reverse shot and high angle shot. At 37 seconds they use a match on action that is done perfectly,

Editing
the film is very slow paced, but they use very good editing techniques, such as jump cut, this happens when the detective is hit on the head with a baseball bat. they also use a straight cuts really well, especially at the begining instead of watching him turn towards the door they use a straight cut and at the end of the sequence they use a fade shot when apearing the 2 bodys.

mise en scene
the opening was set in a school. there are only really 3 characters in this sequenece, the receptionist, dective and the suspect. the dective is wearing very smart clothing, such as shirt and tie with a smart jacket. the suspect who is a teacher seems to be wearing some kind of PE kit as it is very casual for it to be a normal teacher. when the detective is questioning the teacher, the desk they are speaking at is very messy with paper all over it. the detective takes out his note pad and pen to write down any key things the teacher says. the teacher seems to rush away from the questioning and exits through a fire door. the dective is in an empty corridor when somone dressed all in black sneaks up behind him and hits him over the head with a baseball bat. the detective is then dragged into a cleaning room where you see the body of the missing girl.

sound
they use sound very well at the begining of there opening, there is a loud sound that grabs the attention of the viewer. they also use non- digetic sound, the music makes you very tense like you are waiting for something to happen.

The Catalyst 



Camera techniques
the thriller opening has very good camera techniques, the first shot is a close up on the lock of a door where you see a someone pick locking the door. the next shot is a medium shot of the person walking into the house. This leads into a match on action, you see him walk into to the house and then its cuts to him actually walking through. he then walks towards thhe camera at the top of the stairs into another room this is also a match on action done really well. There is a medium shot on the man and his gun. There is a tracking shot of someone running away into the bushes
Editing
in the catalyst the start of it starts of very slow paced, and gradually builds up. when it is slow paced it is building up tension for the audience and when it is at its peak it is also building up tension as they want to know why the man has been shot. the catalyst is not the same as the other past thrillers as they have far more long shots and the duration of the shots are much longer in comparison,

Mise en scene
the start of the film the scene is set in a house that over looks fields that are full of trees.. the first character we see is dressed in a suit and uses a knife to pick the lock of the door he breaks into. after this we then see a gun that the man in the suit reveals from his bag he was carrying, he then leans over the bed, points the rifle out of the window and aims down the scope and shots one of the two men he sees. one of the men runaway, he was wearing a grey tracksuit with and farmers hat with a jacket. the other man that was shot was wearing a black jacket and jeans. the man that runaway runs through small tight ally ways full of trees and the comes to an open car park. he gets in the car that is waiting for him, which he then notices the driver is dead. he then starts to panic, but its to late the man that shot the person he was exchanging something with was hiding in the back seat he then strangled him to death. the killer gets out and walks away.

sound
in this opening the sound that is played in the background is very quiet and the majority of the sound in the thriller is diegetic. The non diegetic sound is very quiet but this music help builds up suspense and tension in the film. another piece of sound that helps build up tension is the heavy breathing you can hear when the man is running away in panic. also the sound of the man being suffocated built up tension and some would say sadness,

After Eight




camera techniques
in this opening it has a lot of different shots. for example at the start of the film is in medium shot, this is when the man is carrying the bag to the end of the garden and back. the next shot we see is a close up of a women doing the washing up and cooking. following these shots is an extream close up of an axe and an a mysterious object that seems to look like a finger. your attention is the taken off the axe and the mysterious object. and then it is brought back again with an extreme close up.

editing
This opening is very slow paced, but still brings tension and suspicion. the duration of the cuts make this happen as they are quite longer in comparison to the other thrillers.

Mise en scene
The film is set in a house and a back garden. the man in the sequence is dressed smartly, which suggest he has just come back from work. and the women is dressed is casual every day clothing. the 2 places the film is set is in the kitchen and the living room.

Sound
there is background music played throughout the opening, this keeps the audience tensed and on the edge of there seats. there last 2 bits of sound you hear is the dialogue of the man asking for milk and the sound of the girl chopping the mysterious object.

opening scene for Brick

Mise en scene opening scene
at the start of the scene we see boy crouched down by a curb, he is wearing rough clothes, round glasses and long hair. we then see an entrance long dark tunnel with running water going through it, you also see a girls body laying by the water. there is a few close ups on the girl, the two main pieces of clothing are her red high hills and the blue bracelets on her right wrist.


camera techniques
in this scene they use a lot of close ups on the boys face and the girls body. they use techniques such as eye-line match. they also use an establishing shot showing the entrance to the tunnel.

Editing
there isnt much editing throughout the sequence the main piece of editing is a fade at the begining of the film, all we see is 8 or 9 straight cuts.

sound
There is very little sound throught out the scene, the only sound we hear in the scene is the non diagetic sound which is the music that is played from begining to end.

colour and Mise en scene

colour
The first use of colour in films was in films such as Voyage A Travers L'impossible by the pioneer Georges Melies in 1904. Each frame was hand painted frame by frame.


the next development was the introduction of two-strip technicolor, this is only 2 colours red and green. a good example of the use of technicolor is in the film, Mystery of the wax museum.







The very first full technicolor film was becky sharp released in 1935. from the 1930s to the 1940s black and white represented reality and colour represented fantasy and spectacle. Today it is the opposite.

colour denotation and connotation
denotation is the literal description of an idea concept or object. connotation is what we associate with a particular idea, concept or object. colour works ton the subconscious mind to create mood.
example of this would when you think of the word red, its literal description is that it is a colour and you associate it with things such as anger, heat, blood, or danger. colour denotation and connotation is used a lot in films an example of this would be in the film eyes wide shut. the dark room is filled with a blue colour this represents that there marriage is sad and broken.

Mise en scene
mise en scene is a french term meaning "in the scene or frame", there are 5 parts of mise en scene
settings and props
costume, hair, and make up
facial expressions and body language
lighting and colour
positioning of characters and objects in the frame

1) Setting And Props
The setting is where the filming of the film takes place. For example parts of "Star Wars A New Hope" was set in southern Tunisia. Therefore the setting would be Tunisia.

The Props are the Objects we see in the setting of a film For Example in "Star Wars" one of the main props is a light saber and spaceships.

2) Costume, Hair and Make Up.
in certain films characters may wear certain clothes to indicate their personalities. For example a police men would wear his uniform and the victim he may be arresting would be wearing dark clothing and make up.

3) Facial expressions and body language.
when communicating we all use facial expressions and body language. in media this is very important when close ups and extreme close ups are used. Some examples of facial expressions would, screw facing which could mean you are angry, frowning which could portray sadness and arms folded and body leaned back could show you are relaxed.

4) Lighting and Colour
lighting is very important in media text as it can have a dramatic effect on the audience. For example if the room is very dark and dull the audience would be able to indicate the effects of danger and terror. they use these effects a lot in horror films such a "REC" and other horror films. Also the colour of the scene will help the audience understand the mood of the sequence better.

5) Positioning of characters and objects in each frame
positioning of characters and objects can be in the foreground, middle-ground or the background. the positioning can help the audience understand the situation of the scene. depending on the positioning of the object or character it can emphasis their importance in the media text and also the positioning of two characters can determine their relationship. For example if they are stood particularly close together it can be assumed that hey have a intimate relationship but if they were standing a far distance away we can assume they are enemy's.

intial ideas

our 2 ideas for our thriller:
1) hostage
    - someone takes someone hostage in pub after they tried to rob them for money!
    - 2 gun men
    - a pub
    - shot types; establishing shot, two shot, medium shot,
    - lightening; lightening is indoors, only small amount of filming out side
    - costume ideas; casual clothing.
2) insane killer
    -First shot will be of someones legs running for their life, stepping in puddles. The next shot will be a medium close up of them still running but looking over their shoulder trying to escape this darkness behind them. They then fall over and get knocked unconscious and wake up in a room tied to a table in cling film. With a man in a mask holding  a knife and he brings and as brings it down it cuts to black.
-abandoned building
- Medium close up, birds eye view, medium shot
- casual clothing for the victim and a jumpsuit with a mask for the killer.
-all dark hardly any light

Opening Scene of Zodiac

Zodiac

mise on scene opening scene
at the start of the scene, it starts with a a car driving slowly past a row of houses, there is a few people outside with their families setting of fireworks and playing is sparklers. there is also fire works going off in the sky lightening up the scene as the scene is very dark. the driver stops the car and a man leaves his house and walks towards the car. the man then leans on the car door and speaks to the driver, we then see the driver is women. after they have spoken for a bit the man then gets in the car and they drive off. they then turn up at a very busy diner called Mr Ed's, they see its busy and head off somewhere else. they park up in a car park with very few cars, as they sat and spoke for a while the very few cars that were parked had left and they was the only people in the car park. when they was speaking they was frightened by some teenagers who drove past threw firecrackers at the back of the car they was in. they began to laugh when they noticed a black car pull up behind them after panicking for a few moments the car pulled off and they watch it drive off down the road, moments later they hear a car coming they look in the direction the car drove off and they see that its the same car. the car pulls up directly behind them and someone gets up out of the car with a bright touch all you can see is their silhouette. he walks up to the window when we see a gun pointed towards the man, the man gets shot and so does the women they are both left dead in the car and the person that shot them walks back to their car and drives away.

editing of opening scene
there is around 37 straight cuts within this opening scene, they use the cuts very effectively when the man and women are being shit they jump from the body to the gun.

camera techniques opening scene
throughout the scene camera techniques are used for example at the start they use a tracking shot to film the side of the street. they also use a eye-line match when the man and women see the car driving towards them before its shown on screen.

sound opening scene
at the start of the scene you can hear some no digetic music and the sounds of explosions of the fire works. the music fades and you hear the horn of the car. there is small dialog between 2 characters and then they can get in the car and you hear the sound of the car drive away. you then hear alot of people talking in a dinner and then the 2 characters speak again and you hear the car drive away again. they then stop the car in a quiet place and sit and talk for a while, they then hear the other cars that were parked drive off. after more dialog you hear the car drive back and park up directly behind them,
we then hear the sound of firecrackers go off just behind there car and the man screaming at the people who threw them at them. when then hear the 2 characters laugh and carrying talking. you then hear the sound of a car pull up behind them, there is small conversation between the 2 characters then the car drives off. the man turns to the person standing at the car door and talks to him, you then hear the sound of the gun going off and then digetic music is played.