Research Task - By Jess Jarvis

My first thriller is se7en.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEZK7mJoPLY

The introduction looks sort of old as the character is creating a canvas which is on tea stained or just old. The fact it looks old gives us the audience the feeling of creepiness and uncertainty as you want to find out why he’s making it and what it’s got to do with the story. The font (scratchy handwriting) and jittering of the titles create an uneasy feel. They also suggest something creepy about the film. It gives some insight to a character that seems untraceable and unseen.

Camera work: It begins with an extreme close up on a paper or book turning; the pages turning creates the illusion of time passing. There is a point in the opening scene when there is an example of foregrounding as there is an extreme close up of a persons fingers holding a piece of metal, following the shot of the book unfolding, this shot may have been done to convey its importance in the film and maybe a key component throughout. As you watch on you see only the hand crafting and cutting up photos. This makes the audience ask questions as to why the person is doing this and what are they doing it for.

The straight cuts make the opening of the thriller go faster and create tension and suspense. It also makes it seem as though time is going quickly and maybe as if the victim’s time is being cut short.

Sound: The music track sounds like technology, it is parallel music as it goes with the film being shown as the film is of someone creating a picture; it’s as though he is crafting. The music goes very well with this as it sounds like someone who is making something as it screeches in places and sounds like technology being re wired.

Props: pen, canvas paper, pictures, the film of a camera.

Lighting: The lighting lights up the characters fingers with backlighting to make them stand out maybe or to draw audiences attentions to the object they are holding.

Second thriller is the Dark Knight:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OYBEquZ_j0

Camera Work: It begins with what looks like a lot of clouds unfolding which enables the audience to feel as though they are looking down from the sky. It is then followed by an establishing shot of the scenery which consists of loads of buildings and it then zooms in on a specific building which has blacked windows on the outside but we then see that inside is two young men in masks aiming a gun out of the window. I think that we should begin with an establishing shot in our thriller opening as it allows the audience to understand and adapt to the scenery. It is here that it is clear we can see out of the building clearly in the inside and they aim the gun at a man holding a mask. I can see that the mask is important as it is a foregrounding shot, which enables the audience to see that the mask may a key prop in the film.

Editing: The main editing is straight cuts, this enables the audience to feel the fast pace of the action which is happening in the film.

Sound: In this clip there is a lot of non diegetic sound like the sound of the window smashing, the guns shooting but there is some diegetic sound like the cars driving passed as they are actually in the film.

Mise en scene: costume: the main part of the costume is the masks; I can tell because they are focused on a lot in the film. They are all men dressed in black with what looks like a clowns mask on; they look very theatrical but also really scary as you can’t see their faces and their identity is undetectable as they are all clothed the same and they cover their whole body. The fact they are wearing black normal clothing makes the audience feel the realism of the film.

Third thriller is physco:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG3-GlvKPcg

Camera work: In this film there are many establishing shots, I think they were done to show the character in context. There were many close ups so we could see the characters facial expression.

Editing: There were straight cuts to make the film seem more fast pace to make the audience feel the tension. I think we should use straight cuts in our thriller opening so we can get the same impact on the audience.

Mise en scene: At the beginning of the film the lady character is clearly wearing a rain coat, the film is also in black and white which enables the film to look old and maybe more creepy. It allows the film to look creepier as the black is always considered to show darkness and evil, and the white may be to show the purity of the lady and to convey innocence.

Sound: sound affects include incidental music to create impact on the audience. The music in this film is parallel as it goes with what is presented on screen.

There were many sound affects, which have been emphasised like the scream of the girl to envoke empathy for the girl and to shock the audience.

Fourth thriller is new moon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYBF3HKzrmE

With Bella Swan’s 18th birthday she awakes up from a dream in which she sees herself as an old woman. She expresses her distaste with growing older than her boyfriend Edward Cullen, a vampire who stopped aging physically at 17.

Camera work: I think the camera used was a hand held as it is a little shaky. There were a couple of establishing shots to show the character in her context, it allows the audience to see the character with the surroundings. There was a close up on the girls face when she looked in the mirror to show her facial expression was sad. Her body language was floppy which tells the audience that something is obviously wrong with her. When the boy come into context the girl begins to look happier, this tells the audience that he must also be a main character.

Editing: The editing includes straight cuts as it makes the film more adventurous.

Sound: Some of the sound in new moon was diegetic as it was a sound in the film it wasn’t added in after the filming. The music was slow to may be to make the audience feel sad for the character.

Mise en scene: props: a mirror with an old lady looking in it, her facial expression showed us that she was upset as her eyes were teary and she had a frown on her face. There was low key lighting which made it look as if she was dreaming or having a flashback.

Fifth thriller is 44 inch chest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuMNJVImHe4

Camera work: We see from an establishing shot that the house in the film is full of smashed objects and glass all over the floor. The close up on the mans face was done as they may have wanted the audience to feel shocked as the characters eyes suddenly open when the character looked as though they were dead. There are some stills with objects moving in the background, for example when the camera was really still it still had feathers floating as if there was a wind coming from the smashed windows maybe.

Tracking shot going into the living room and we see there is a man on the floor, this may have been done sudden to invoke shock, or maybe to make the audience feel empathy for him.

Editing: The editing had straight cuts to make sure you see all of the room.

Sound: The music track was contrapuntal music as it did not fit in with what was shown in the film.

Mise en scene: The mans facial expression in the film was as though he was dead as he was still on the floor with his eyes shut, as his stomach did not seem to be moving. His outfit was just looked like old rags just chucked on without a thought. The props were things like a smashed television, smashed windows, glass everywhere and it makes the audience ask questions as you want to know what happened? How did he end up there? This is what engages the audience to want to watch on. I think this may be a good idea to use in our thriller opening.