Our group's Individual roles

Me: Directing, Editing (Main editor), Cinematography

The decision to make me director was entirely based on my experience with a camera- I have made several amateur short videos. Also, we decided that i would be the main editor because of my knowledge of the editing software Final cut pro x. My last role is a joint one with Mike, we will work together on the cinematography aspect of the sequence, due to us both having creative minds.

Josh: Acting (Antagonist), Editing, Sound, Mise-En-Scene
We chose Josh as the antagonist because his appearance matches the character he is playing very well. Also, Josh is confident in front of the camera. As a group, we nominated Josh to help out with the editing and Mise-en-scene entirely due to his competence and interest in it. Additionally, Josh is in charge of sound because he knows where to find appropriate sounds and music that will suit our sequence.

Matt: Acting, Sound, Cinematography
We needed a character that would be in front of the camera for one scene and Matt seemed up for the job, he is going to help out with sound and cinematography because he has done lengthy research on sound techniques and his influence from behind the camera will be very helpful to me.

Mike: Acting (Protagonist), Editing, Location, Setting, Mise-En-Scene

Mike seemed very enthusiastic to be the main character (protagonist) and he has great confidence and good acting skills. He also is in charge of location and setting because he knows some good areas around where he lives to film. Moreover, we are filing two scenes in and just around his house. He is also helping with Mise-en-scene because he has researched into it.

Blanc - AS Media Thriller- pro's and con's

 

Pro's

I like this sequence because of the saturation of the lighting and how there is a lot of shadow, it makes the sequence seem ominous and the quality of it looks professional. Also, i think the blurred filter that is applied when the character is shown waking up is effective because it reflects the characters confusion and the fact that he's just had a scary bizarre dream.


Con's

Firstly, i think the slow motion shots of the character throwing a rock in the air and him running across the terrain are cheesy and unneeded. Also, the chase looks unprofessional and no real tension is created.
The cuts aren't quick enough to make the chase exciting.

How we are going to target our audience

TARGET AUDIENCE RESEARCH

We spoke to a range of people who we thought would be our target audience, these including media teachers, family, and friends, male and female, who we knew were media literate and some who weren't.

We had a conversation with media teachers because we were confident that we would get a reliable and effective answer, due to them having great knowledge in the subject.

 Alternatively, we spoke to people with limited knowledge in media because we knew that not everybody who watches thriller movies are media experts. Therefore we looked to get an array of answer so we can infuse them and target our audience successfully.

We decided to target people of both gender so we can identify which elements of a thriller males like and then which females like. As a result, getting broad answers.

We asked questions such as:

What is your favourite thriller? And why?

What thriller film do you dislike? And why?

What element of a thriller do you find most engaging?

Example 1 - During a discussion with a media teacher, he told us that his favourite thriller is the prestige because he liked the concept of the plot and how it created an enigma from the first scene onwards, also he said that the fact that nothing much is revealed in the early stages of the film it engrossed him in the movie and he wanted to watch it to the end to find out what happens.

We took this answer on board because we knew that the teacher had a lot of knowledge of thriller movies and he knew what would make a thriller effective. So the first thing we discussed after receiving this answer was how to adapt an enigma into our opening sequence

Example 2 - Whilst speaking to my family about what their favourite thriller was and what made them like it, they told me that Man on Fire was an extraordinary film because of the amount of emotion and realism there was in it and also how the characters were represented, e.g the young girl.

Through the questions we asked, we understood that our audience would like to see potent representations of characters and would like to be affected by what they are watching. Therefore, we knew we had to avoid applying anything that would bore our audience.

Example 3 - I spoke to a few of my friends, who are male, and asked them what thriller does they least like and why. they told me that they didn't enjoy panic room because it was filmed in only one location and that it didn't have much action, which caused it to drag on and get boring. Also, they said that the ending was poor and too stereotypical and expected.

Through these answers, we established that our target audience would be predominantly male because our sequence contains several locations, tense action and an enigmatic ending that the audience wouldn't expect. We discussed that our sequence would be too heavy-going and maybe too scary for a female audience, we found out that women prefer thrillers which are emotional.

Age Certificate research 

Pulp Fiction: 18
Dark Knight: 12A
Inception:12A
Goodfellas: 18
The usual suspects: 18
Se7en: 18
Silence of the lambs: 18
Leon: 18
Memento: 15
Terminator 2: 15
The departed: 18

Through this and much more other research that we did, we discovered that most of the successful thriller films are rated 18, and the least successful obviously PG and 12A, however Dark Knight and Inception are amongst the top 5 and they are rated 12A. But that just depends on what is actually shown in the film

We thought about our plot, how it can be quite heavy-going and scary at times and we decided that our film should definitely be higher that '12', but lower than '18' because no deaths or sexual scenes are shown. Our film will have an age certificate of '15'

Revisions after receiving feedback

After receiving feedback, we found that most of it was positive. However, with the useful criticism we were given, we took it on board to make our opening sequence better:

• After receiving constructive criticism on behalf of the clarity of the opening sequence, we had a group discussion and we said that we are going to show more continuity in our scenes instead of just showing a 5-10 second shot of a character in different locations, we concluded that this would be too random and confusing. 

• Also, we talked about how we didn't make clear how our titles will appear and when. So we came up with the idea of integrating our titles into the actual footage by fading them onto the corners of the screen, which will portray and link in with the idea of the enigmatic character being spotted in the corners and edges of the frame. We thought that would be effective and emphasise the mysteriousness of the opening sequence and also give us more time to show actual footage instead of applying the titles on a boring background.

Audience Feedback after delivering the pitch

Questionnaire

What is your favourite feature of our opening sequence and why?

Is there anything you doubt will work?

Does our idea sound appropriate to the genre and why?

What about our idea sounds engaging to the audience?

What would you change?

Do you think it will make sense in the 2-minute time frame given?

Audience's favourite features:

• The 'hostage' narration 
• Intriguing film title
• Several shots of the hostage seeing this mysterious character in different locations

Did the audience think the idea was appropriate to the genre:

• Yes, appropriate conventions. For example, the idea of an enigma

What ideas sound engaging:

• The psychological elements 
• Unanswered questions
• Voiceover

Will it make sense in 2 minutes:

• Yes, work hard to make it comprehensive and not too confusing

"Is there anything you doubt will work?"

One group said that a lot of work will have to be put in to make it comprehensive and another said that the shots of the protagonists face may be unclear and repetitive. Also, someone asked how our kidnap would look real.

"What would you change?"

One group said not to show too much walking around and another group weren't sure about how the titles will be presented and that we made that factor unclear.

Movie pitch

Creative discussions prior the pitch

Firstly, as a group, we were discussing what genre our film will be. We all put forward our suggestions such as action thriller, horror thriller, but we dismissed these ideas and ended up deciding on a crime/psychological genre because we believed it would create more of an enigma and engage the audience more than any other genre/hybrid would.

We weren't sure what shot to use to show our protagonist in the first scene. At first we were going to show a medium shot of him tied up in a basement but then on second thought we realised that it would defeat the object of an enigma. So, we decided on showing a close up shot of the protagonists face so the audience don't know where he is and what is going on, therefore provoking questions.



When we were talking about what will happen in our opening sequence, one peer suggested we should show a murder taking place. In the end, we thought that it would reveal too much in two minutes so now there wont be any deaths included in our sequence, therefore raising the audience's anticipation levels.

We were ruminating on how to make an effective narrative, so we all decided that a voiceover will be the best option as it will create a mysterious mood. Also, we conversed over what will get the audience asking questions, so we concluded on having a fractured narrative that is going to be effectual and not too confusing. 

As a group, we established that we are going to film in several locations because it links in with our plot. But we had difficulty choosing them because our initial ideas for location were too irrelevant and the locations themselves were too far away. So we chose to do our filming in places such as Leek town,  which is close and would add realism to the movie, with it being amid people. 

We also discussed what shot to use that would make our last, most tense scene emphatic and effective. The scene involves a mysterious character walking menacingly at the protagonist and then the shot cuts as the character gets close. We had a debate and ended up choosing a point-of-view shot because it will put the audience in the protagonist's perspective and make the scene unnerving and ominous.

Catch Me if You Can Opening Title Sequence + considerations

Why i like it

I like this because its different to most other opening title sequences with it being graphically shown. I think it portrays elements of the plot without giving away too much information. The character (Leonardo DiCaprio) is shown surreptitiously moving around for an unknown reason, this enticed me into watching the film to see what happens and why the character merges into different attire furtively. In addition, i have a liking for the music. It is jazzy, which is appropriate to the era the film is set and also it sounds very mysterious, which links in with the genre and the plot of the film. The colours are also appropriate to the action that is being shown.





What i need to consider when making my own title sequence

• Do the colours apply to the genre of the film
• Is the font colour appropriate and what is its connotations and symbolism
• How relevant is the font type and is it effective
• Will the sound be diegetic or non diegetic and what will be the idea and purpose behind the choice 
• Will a certain soundtrack, that is relevant to the genre, engage the audience
• Will the titles appear when the footage is being shown or will they be applied on a separate background
• How will the titles appear e.g (fade, cut)
• How long will the title sequence be

3 title sequences i don't like

Alien³ (1992) — Art of the Title

Why i don't like it

Firstly, i think the background and the colour of the titles is boring and doesn't really relate to an 'alien' even though space is shown. Also, the way the titles stay on the screen longer than they should be and then fade slowly makes the title sequence less engaging, which results in it dragging on. The cuts to certain footage doesn't appeal to me as it is random and not scary at all. Finally, i believe the music doesn't create any tension and if i wasn't aware of the name of the film, i wouldn't have a clue what it was about even after watching the title sequence. 

halloween 3 titles

Why i don't like it

This title sequence doesn't appeal to me because the music doesn't engage me. For a horror movie, i believe the music should create tension, however i think the music in Halloween 3 isn't scary at all. Also, the font colour of the titles doesn't apply to the genre of the film, blue is a positive and heavenly colour, maybe a dark or light red should have been used instead. Another element of the title sequence that isn't relevant to the film and its genre is whats happening in the background, i believe it to be ineffective and random. Towards the end of the title sequence, the music and the image gets really repetitive and boring and doesn't really build up to anything. In regards to the pumpkin flashing to a blue screen and back, i think it looks cheesy and the blue screen is highly inappropriate.

snake-eyes

Why i don't like it

I dont like this one because with the opening footage being rather peculiar and interesting, the titles become unnoticeable and the audience's attention will be focused on the action in the film. I don't find the opening sequence engaging because i think there is too much going on, and the the titles should be separate from the footage that is being shown so the audience can focus on a certain thing. Moreover, the titles are too tedious and they drag on, you never really notice when they disappear, therefore ineffective.

Halloween Opening Credits

Why i like it

I like this opening title sequence mainly because of the soundtrack, its scary, tense and ominous. perfectly suited to the horror genre. Also, i like the colour theme because it relates to halloween and murder. the black background connotes death and the orange subtitles and orange pumpkin indicate halloween which is what the film is called, so i think there is a good link there. In my opinion, its simplicity makes the sequence so vehement. The fact that there is not much going on, it emphasises the music and the increasing size of the pumpkin and that creates a great sense of ominousness.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Opening title sequence

Why i like it

I really like this sequence because it is tense and engaging and its set the mood for the film. Firstly, i think the relation between the sound and the action is very effective. For example, the way the shots cut in time with the beat of the soundtrack. The black colour theme is relevant and appropriate to the film's genre and it creates an enigma. The titles appear abruptly on both sides of the screen, i think this is really effectual because it doesn't let you relax, and accompanied by the tense music, it makes the sequence heavy going, therefore making it more enthralling. Moreover, the action is quite confusing and makes the audience wonder why certain shots are shown, this asks questions successfully and induces the audience into watching the whole film.

Analysing and comparing the opening sequences to the thriller films: Limitless, Se7en and Dark Knight

Limitless


Se7en

Dark Knight 

  

The history of the thriller genre

What is Thriller

Thriller is a genre that can relate to any form of literature, film and television. The main aim of a thriller is to engage the audience by producing excitement, tension and suspense. The tone of a thriller can be expressed through different media language techniques. For example, the use of tense non diegetic music and de-saturated lighting. Thrillers can be both fast-paced and slow-paced, yet they still aim to engross the audience however successful or not.

Murders, kidnappings, revenge, blackmail and distress are just some of the plots that are quite common amongst the thriller genre. In most cases, they create complex, compelling storylines that keep the audience on the edge of their seats



Alfred Hitchcock



Alfred Hitchcock was an english film director that was famous for shaping the
modern day thriller genre and the first to make such successful movies of his time.
His most well-knows thriller films include, The lodger (1926), Vertigo (1958) and Psycho (1960). He was the first to employ certain techniques into his films, such as the extreme zoom shot of a key in Notorious, the glowing glass of milk in Suspicion and the elongated cross cutting tennis match in Strangers On A Train. His visually meaningful concepts made his films so effective. For example, the surreal dream sequences in Spellbound and the shot in strangers on a train where the murder was shown through the victims reflective glasses.

All these techniques were new to audiences of that era, and from then on Alfred Hitchcock has been a respectable and highly influential figure in the Thriller genre and also the whole movie industry.  

What you normally find in Thrillers

• A climax 
• Emphasised danger that the protagonist faces
• Twists or unexpected scenarios 
• Good vs Evil
• A compelling ending
• Gripping action from start to finish
• Exotic Locations
• Mystery 
• Fast-paced action

For a Thriller film to be successful, it is important that its opening sequence is effective and gripping so that the audience carry on watching.

Here are 5 of the best directors that have been responsible for directing some of the most famous thriller movies ever:

• Alfred Hitchcock
• Steven Spielberg
• James cameron
• Quentin Tarantino
• Martin Scorsese

Tarantino

Spielberg

Sub-genres in Thrilers

Conspiracy Thriller

• Government and major organisations are common themes that run through Conspiracy Thrillers
• Often involves a protagonist that is a hero
• Commonly portray good overturning evil               

 Crime Thriller

• In most cases, the film ends up how it started
• Popular crimes that are committed in Crime Thriller films are murders, robberies, chases, shootouts etc.
• Investigations often carried out    

Disaster Thriller

• In a disaster thriller, a natural disaster occurs and in most cases the main character/s are involved in saving people or stopping it from exacerbating. 
• The actions within the film can be quite heroic
• Usually, the lives of the main character/s are shown so the audience gets to know them more and witness their personalities and how their lives have changed

Drama Thriller 

• drama thrillers are as engaging as other thrillers but have a much slower pace
• drama thrillers often consist of morality and immorality, family problems, character issues etc.
• Usually, there are lots of twists and turns that build tension and excitement

Religious Thriller

• In most cases, a religious thriller will consist of crimes or conspiracies that are linked to religion or religious elements 
• The plots are usually very intense and enigmatic, which engages the audience 
• Reflects the impact of religion on the world 

Psychological Thriller

• Often portrays mental and emotional conflict between characters
• Very intense plots that commonly end in violent resolutions 
• Play around with how the people's mind works and the relationships between characters

Action Thriller

• Action thrillers have a very fast pace
• Usually, conflict between the good and the evil and the good comes out on top 
• Plots revolve around character development