final poster

Final Cut - Viper

Storyboard

Logo for film

New! Script Idea

After receiving feedback on our Rough Cut, we have decided to add more of a script to the film , but still keeping to minimal use of acting. We would film a purposefully mundane conversation between the two girls we have filmed at the actual kidnap, and stage what the sounds would be like before they come around the corner.

We would cut out the visuals and open doors have the sound of walking beside them as they talked about something they were doing at the weekend, for example drunk texting an ex, something that seems personal, similarly to the famous conversations in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction or Death Proof. 

rough Cut feedback

-it is really disturbing
-she looks dead at the end so we need to add something to explain that she is not dead
-we need to show that the person being kidnaped is also the person in the dark room
-we need more of the dark shots
-possibly have the two girls laughing before the kidnaping
-add some more contrasting shots
-sounds are good it add something extra to the disturbing feel
-we need credits/they should be minimalistic  

Advertising Our Film.

In order to make our film successful we would need to have good advertising to make people aware about the film. For example we could advertise our film through television, this would mean having a trailer to raise awareness of the film and get people wanting to watch it. Another way we could advertise it is by using poster situated around cities and on different mode of transport such as buses, trains and taxi's. Advertising could also be done by getting permission to put trailers or posters on to other peoples web pages ,on the internet you could also have a trailer on youtube.

What Kind Of Cinema Would Your Film Be Released In?

Our film will be released worldwide in a number of different cinema's which are big companies such as Cineworld and Vue. It would then be released into Imax and smaller cinema's across the country including The Picture House in Cambridge.

Rough Cut

The rough cut of our opening sequence has our general plot included in it as well as a sample music track that we need to extend. We need to add more footage to our video as well as the credits we should be able to finish our final opening sequence by the 21st March.

Target Audience Expectiations

For our audience we are targeting people who enjoy thrillers that have many enigmas, where there are questions raised throughout and especially in the opening sequence which we have made.

The age of people we hope to target are older teens over 15 as the content in our thriller could be seen as unsuitable for anyone younger than that.

Vertigo Opening Sequence/ World Cinema Thriller

Vertigo was made in 1958 and is a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The opening sequence in the film is a close up of a women's face, it then zooms into her eye. The music used is a classic thriller soundtrack of a high pitched violin with a repeated loud distorted sound. When the camera zooms into the women's eyes her face looks worried and scared as if she was has just been kidnapped. The camera then zooms into one of her eye's, when this happens the background turns into a red blurred effect. The women's pupil begins to turn and move in a swirled motion this is done by multi coloured graphic effects. Throughout this whole scene credits have been flashing on the screen in all different transitions. Once the credits have been completed the screen turns black and it opens to a scene of a rooftop police chase of a mysterious man running away and a policeman and another man chasing him. The establishing shot shows that the scene is set on a rooftop in a large city. The only lights are the city lights. The music then speeds up into a more fast paced sound with the continuous repeated sound being longer. There are also guns shots. The victim then jumps onto a slanted rooftop and the policeman follows. The other man with the police man then jumps and falls grabbing onto the gutter. The police man sees this and tries to help the man however the policeman falls off the rooftop with the other man still hanging off the rooftop. There are many thriller conventions used in this opening sequence. The high pitched violin sound with the distorted tone makes the thriller engaging. The close up of the women's scared and worried face makes the audience ask questions. There are many enigma's in this opening sequence like "Why is the police man chasing a man in a white jacket?" and "Why the women is scared and worried". The police chase and gun shots are both thriller conventions that also extinguishes the difference between thriller and horror.

Analysis Of Potential Thriller Titles

Potential Thriller Titles:
.The Disappearance of Elizabeth Smith
.Captured
.Seized
.Stolen
.Hijack

ideas for editing

in our editing we could try parallel editing so we have a contrast of something that could seem pretty and not at all off putting for the audience and something that is a bit disturbing.this is a way of editing that thrillers use and it seems to work well by doing this and helps stick to the thriller convention.

we could also use quick cuts which also help to disturb the audience as they can not tell what is going on very clearly and that puts then on edge and want the many questions they have to be answered.

the music for the film will need to be edgy and have contrast in pitches between instruments so then it does not sound right for a piece of music.

Blog Analysis - How We Are Going To Use Our Feedback

• With our feedback, we will go through our blog posts and look for ways of incorporating more technical language into our posts. 

• We will also target our posts which have quite a lot of writing in it and put more visual aids into it to break it up eg photos and trailers. 

This will hopefully make our blog a higher grade and include the best quality writing that we can do.

Finally, we will continue to post quality posts with variety and visual aids. 

Class feedback.

Variety of blog posts.
- have a good variety.

Appropriate visual aids.
- good use of visual aids but could use more to break up big blocks of writing.

Appropriate use of technical vocabulary.
- clear vocabulary however could use more technical language.

Quality of posts : content, explanations and clarity.
- very thorough and a lot of information.

Development of ideas/stages.
- good use of headings, development throughout posts.
- developed the poster idea well showing different stages of developing the idea and the stages to the work.

RUN LOLA RUN (Tom Tykwer, 1998)

In the opening sequence of Run Lola Run, a german thriller film, we see a lot of people on a busy open area and it zooms in on people until you get to a police man and he is talking all about games, which leads us into the idea that the film is going to be like a game. Then the police man kicks a ball in the air as if to start the game and you begin to see credits with an animated background. This moves into introducing the main characters which are the same as the main people that were focused on  in the public area right at the beginning. One of the main characters we are firstly introduced to, Lola, shows a point of view shot of when she walks through a corridor to a phone which rings and the other character, which is Manni, her boyfriend, is on the other end and we see a heated and tense phone call.

Thriller Conventions

Throughout the opening sequence we are introduced to many enigmas which is a thriller convention like what is wrong with manni why is he so destrested but before this you wonder who is going to pick the phone up that is ringing and you also start to wonder who is calling the phone you see.
you feel as though you are part of what is happening as you get dragged in in the intences opening sequence you have a feeling of confusion as you want to know what is wrong with manni and lola but you wil have to wait leaving you in suspence antious to see what happens to them.

lesson by lesson diary progress.

 28th february - Group worked on blogging and film analysing.
2nd march - Charlotte worked on editing our footage. The rest of the group worked together on analysing films, creating blog posts and discussing ideas for our music.
3rd march - Victoria worked on editing some of our blog posts. Charlotte carried on editing our final footage. Naomi and Emma did research into world cinema thrillers and analysed these. Daisy was absent. 
7th march - gathered class feedback and posted on the blog. started to work towards the changes we could make within our blog posts. Vic and Daisy posted the feedback from the class. Emma, Charlotte and Naomi posted how we are going to use the feedback.
9th march - Naomi was working on our storyboards. Daisy was working on world cinema blog posts and Victoria was producing music. Charlotte and Emma were absent. 
10th march - naomi and emma were working on storyboards and vic and daisy were working on credits. Charlotte absent. We uploaded our rough cut opening sequence  
14th march - Naomi and Victoria worked on the blog and gathered feedback from Amar and Tanya. Emma and Daisy were absent. 
16th march - Vic, Daisy, Emma and Naomi filmed some more footage and continued to edit the film. Charlotte was absent.
17th march - finished off editing the film - charlotte took control but victoria made the credits and Daisy worked on the blog.
21st march - finished off the editing. Daisy was absent. 

scripts.

 - discussion between the girl who gets kidnapped (girl two) and her friend (girl one).

girl one - so what are you going to do then?
girl two - oh i've just got to wait here for tony.
girl one -alright then ill see you later.
girl two -bye.

Changes to our work.

Due to a number of different reasons we have changed our ideas and the way the thriller will look. At the beginning of this topic we had various different ideas which all seemed very good however, we encountered some problems and had to re think our ideas and how we were going to go about producing the thriller. We originally though of some ideas which evolved around the idea of a kidnapping. We felt that our ideas were good but could be better so, we set about changing the thriller so it would not only have more impact on the audience but put across our ideas in a stronger way to the audience. We also changed the location of our filming because we felt that due to a number of reasons, it would have a better impact on the audience. We originally thought that we would film the thriller in the town centre but after thinking over a number of different issues such as how we would make it look realistic without getting too much attention of the public as this would ruin the look we wanted to create. Some other of our reasons for changing the location were that we felt it would look too unrealistic for what we wanted. For example, by filming in the centre of town we would have had to take into account the shops which surrounded the area we wanted to film in and the lighting in the location (filming during the day could look even more unrealistic).
However are re-grouping and thinking about our ideas we managed to come up with some new ideas and found two new locations to film in. We are happier with the footage that we have now and feel that we have been able to include some new ideas by changing the location.
We do understand that because of us changing certain aspects of our thriller, this now means that the work on the blog is now incorrect to what were working on but we will relate all of our new blog posts to our new idea and we will work towards changing all of our wall posts.

Volver (2006)

A woman sees Riamunda's mother(who has come to comfort her family) has begun reappearing in ghostly form -- a fact questioned by Raimunda and Sole. After a murder and an unexpected family tragedy, and Sole must decide how to respond to the long-dead mother's strange, enchanting presence.The plot is very thriller-like in that it is very complex and mysterious.

Analysis of Caché (Hidden) [Michael Haneke 2005]

How does the opening sequence of this film use thriller conventions?

   it poses a sense of mystery and investigation, through watching an empty street for a prolonged period of time, the audience is forced to watch and listen intently for anything that moves the plot forward. haneke has made use of voyeurism, a power over people that you secretly watch, a theme that is common in thrillers, where the antagonist controls the protagonist by watching and controlling them into a complex situation. and finally haneke gives a sense of something extraordinary about to happen in what seems an ordinary street.

What questions does it pose?

   what are we looking for?

   which of the people that we see are important?

   how closely are the the two characters linked to the tape?

are they the victims or just bystanders?

How does the sequence make the audience feel?

   deliberately disoriented and confused, a common technique in thrillers, and allows the audience to feel consumed by the plot and want to watch and know more about what they're looking for.

Poster Analysis - Black Swan

You can tell the film is performance orientated due to the use of make up and the raised arm of the actor. Black Swan is written in simple serif capitals and the letters are spreading apart. They stand out against the pale skin and leaves the title as the one of the most eye catching things on the picture. You can also tell a little about the story, in that the main character or plot has some kind of breakdown shown by the resounding crack that parts the darker side of her face from the light.

Poster Idea

We changes the title of the film from 'Witness' to 'X' because we dramatically changed the nature of our thriller plot. We did this because we realised we didn't have the time to film someone filming and film in a public place such as Cambridge high street, and so the witness idea went out the window. 'X' has many connotations; being that maybe an ex is the kidnapper; the film is extraordinary or 'X' rated or the kidnapped girl could be named as a subject 'X' and the thriller could take a turn towards kidnapping in the name of some psychotic mad scientist.

Even though we binned the idea of filming through a hand held camera, we kept the lens idea for the poster because we used a developing dark room, in which cameras are associated and we could reveal that cameras become a key theme introduced later in the film.

We changed the venue to being the back end of the college and inside the photography departments' dark room, and decided to keep the idea of parallel editing, between the kidnapping and the main character being held captive in a deep dark red and sinister room. 

Poster Idea

Map of the location.

This is a map of the centre of town. In this picture you can see different points in which different camera angles are going to occur. Refer to the shot list to see which shot type is at each location.

1. This is where the filming will start, it will be an establishing shot where the audience will be able to see the location and its surroundings.

(vic will finish off this)

Alfred Hitchcock - Why "Thrillers" Thrive

In Alfred Hitchcock's Why Thrillers Thrive, he explains his theory of why they survive and are popular in the film business. He highlights that most people go to the cinema to see thrillers due to feeling safe and content watching the film knowing that they are safe where they are but while they watch the safety of others being contradicted on the screen.

He also points out that our subconscious plays a great deal in the emotion we go through during thrillers as it makes us aware that we are safe in the place we are but from watching the screen we also experience emotions in the film.

Furthermore, he talks about how when you watch stunts etc on screen you have no real realization of how the scene actually looks in real life. Hitchcock continues on and explains how many of us watching perceive the danger the hero is in and that we presume that it must be grave danger and this is another way a thriller thrives as the events taking place in them are realistic.

Class Feedback

> differentiate with shots between the street scenes and the Dance studio scenes e.g close ups + silhouettes
> Think of name for film
> idea is similar to 1980/90's Film Witness

evaluation on alfred hitchcocks essay ''why thrillers thrive''



alfred hitchcock trys to explain why people go to the cinema he says it is to reflect life but not always lives like our own as we would never experience them ourselves but the differences in the lives of the charaters like the emotional disterbances or thrills. so these thrills would be in thrillers hence the name and this is why we like to see these films for the thrills maybe because our own lives are more boring than these of the charaters on the thrillers.

he also goes on to say how we need ''shake ups'' basically to be scared of worried other wise we get bored and lazyand that the environment we live inhas made our lives so sheltered that we are not able to get the thrills first hand which is quite sad really saying the only way that we would get thrills in life is through cinema because our lives are so boring.

the only way to experience this thrill is through the cinema as it is the best way.it must be the best way because you have the images to add on to your own imagineation.

he mentions how the things that happen on stage are detached from ourselves like the termoil and struggles which could be a good thing because if somethings happened in our lives that happen in thrillers it could ruin our lives for ever and he says that we just look at it through a window like it is not our own life because it is not.

he also says how to feel what the characters a going through on stage or screen we make try to make ourselevs feel what they feel in there consciousness but we unconscisley feel it and this is the most effective way for us to get our thrills without us actually experiencing it ourselves which could be a good thing as i dont think people would want to feel what the charaters feel.

he also says how we participate we participate in the scence we feel see and hear all what the charaters do and it helps us to understand and want to watch the film.

he describes a film that he knows and says how you feel for the main character and that all the pain he goes through you feel and that makes good cinema for the viewers as it is exciting and interesting.

he then goes on to a story of a side show that promises thrills it is a memory of his so people went in to a room and expected one thing to happen but the complete opposite happened a pillar started to fall on top of them this may have supplied a thrill to the public but not a thrill that they certianly enjoyed in fact i imagien it would have made them uncomrfortable as it is not something you would experience also it is actually happening to you and not on the screen unlike the films.

the thrills that we get from thrillers at the cinema are secondary types of thrill as we dont actually endure them but we do participate in them as in we feel exactly every little detail that the characters feels we find that enjoyable but if it was first hand we do not enjoy that even though it is also a thrill but we feel the effect more so and it is harder for us to accept this form of thrill as it scares us more.

he says how horror and thrillers are entierly different from each other thrillers are ment to add suprise and suspence and have you on the edge and not knowing whhat is going to happen and not having all the answers where as horrors give every answer and are just there to scare you not to have any sort of suspence or questions.

 

Location Recce.

We will be filming in town/petty cury.
Facts about the location -
  - fairly busy during the week but busiest in the afternoons.
  - wednesday evenings are a busy time because of late night shopping (need to take into account the problems     with lighting)
  -need to think about other people around us whilst filming (any people that may be protesting/advertising/handing out leaflets etc in the area).

Weather -
  -look up the weather forecast for the day (think about alternatives if the weather is bad).
  - if the weather is unexpectedly bad on the day, we will need an alternative indoor location to film.

Lighting -
  -we will be filming during the day or at night?
  -think about the lighting - make sure that if we want shots where it is bright, allow time it film this when there is light).
  -the shadows from the building either side of the street will create a good effect and make it look more dramatic.

Sun -
  -we will need to look into where the sun rises and sets because this will affect the way the lighting looks on camera.

Other things that will affect our filming -
  -we will need to think about the amount of people that will be around as too many will be too noisy.
  -traffic - look into roughly how many cars drive round the road that runs around the market and down beside yo-sushi - too many and this could disrupt the sound on our film.
  -other peoples well-being - we will need to think about the public whilst filming because filming a kidnapping could cause a scene and therefore we need to make it clear that we are filming and try and get the public to act normal around us.
  -our well-being - this location is a good place to film as there is facilities nearby in the shopping centre for anything that we may need on the day of filming eg. toilets, food and drink shops, source of electricity, car parking etc.

Summary of the articles.

Why thriller thrive
- Why do people go to the cinema? To get 'thrills' hence the name thrillers. Our 'nature is such that we must have these 'shakeu-ups', these can be experienced in thrillers. As we don't experience these thrills in real life anymore because civilization has sheltered and screened us from having these thrills, going to the cinema to see a thriller is the best way of experiencing them artificially.
-In a thriller we see things happening that wouldn't usually happen to us in real life and therefore seeing a thriller is us experiencing something new but were in a safe and secure environment while we watch the turmoil and struggle that occurs around us.
-When your watching a thriller your putting yourself into the characters position. 'We don't sit by as spectators; we participate'.
-Thrillers are meant to capture the audiences emotions and get them involved in the film. Whether it's through tension, sadness, happiness or sympathy. By making the audience interested in the film, the audience begin to feel part of the action and react in specific ways that relate to what's going on.

Let 'em play god
- Directors want the audience to be on the edge of their seats, therefore they create films so that the audience get involved in the action and want to break the suspense. The audience wants to get involved in the action and also they want to find out what's going to happen and become very interested in the action.

By Victoria Pryor

Why "Thrillers" Thrive by Alfred Hitchcock

 < Alfred Hitchcock

in his essay Why "Thrillers" Thrive he;

> Differentiates between acceptable cinematic thrill in danger and just plain unpleasant fear, "That provided a thrill, certainly, not the kind to please the public. There were so many complaints that the sideshow was closed down."

> Differentiates between the Thriller and Horror genres in cinema, "It is permissible for a film to be horrific, but not horrible," and that Thriller, being more exciting and "Wholehearted" will live and thrive and Horror will die.

> Shows how when the audience is shown a dangerous and deadly situation in such a way as they are put in it, that this is a good example of cinematic thriller, "Watching a well-made film, we don't sit by as spectators; we participate."

> Explains that people like thrillers because of our sheltered lives being deprived of thrilling experiences , so we "have to experience them artificially and the screen is the best medium for this."

> Tells how Screen is better than Stage  for providing a thrill, "in which a character who had won the audience's sympathy is in danger ... because the screen can produce an impression of great danger where no danger is"

Shot List

1. Establishing Shot : Location.

2. Handheld Shot : Showing path.

3. Long Shot : From Market Square looking towards characters.

4. Handheld Shot : With background noise and some dialogue.

5. Long Shot : Tracking kidnapper.

6. Close Up Shot : Victim with kidnapper.

7. Handheld Shot : Tracking past kidnapper with victim.

8. Close Up Shot : Facial Emotion Shot.

9. Over The Shoulder Shot : Looking to the kidnapper behind victim.

10. Extreme Close Up Shot : Showing kidnapper putting hand over victims mouth.

11. Handheld Shot : Tracks Past kidnapper and victim again.

12. Long Shot : From Market Square showing the struggle between kidnapper and victim.

13. Close Up Shot : More of the Struggle between the kidnapper and victim.

14. Handheld Shot : Properly focuses in on the kidnapping taking place

15. Long Shot : Showing both the girls shooting the kidnapping on handheld camera and also the kidnapping

16. Close Up : Girls reactions

17. Extreme Close Up : Kidnapper realizing the girls have seen

18. Long Shot : See panic arise

19. Close Up Shot : Kidnapper looking around panicking and dragging the victim faster.

20. Extreme Close Up : Victims feet being dragged.        

Final Ideas

Final Ideas

.Set in a shopping centre/busy people.

.Character filming with their camera

.Friends involved

.Witness a Kidnap

.Camera shots flick between the main characters camera and a long shot of the kidnap and the girl filming.

.The girl is in shock.
.Parallel editing with dancer in plain white mask.
>voice over of phone call between Witness and 999 emergency.

Inital Ideas

Brainstorming!

.Shot of a murder scene; fake blood and dead bodies.

.Hand held camera work, shot in the eye of the main character also their will be distorted camera shots as if someone is watching them.

.A character with a hand held camera and they witness a kidnap and keep filming.

.Disaster just happened, screaming people.

.Blurred vision

.Night club scene, flashing lights, missing people.

.Poster in puddle (Missing Person)
.Flashbacks of before the kidnap.
.Kidnapper in a hoody.

.Gun Shots

.Black and white effects/Sepia.

.High pitched non-diagetic sounds.

.Police involved.

Jaguar logo

Draft production company logo

Jaguars are elegant, powerful and beautiful animals and that is the effect we hope our films will produce and our logo is a reflection of that.

The shortening of Production to Pro, makes us seem modern. 

The lack of colour in the logo makes it simple and memorable and less appealing to kids of a younger age, showing that this company wont be making films.

Film Company Logo Analysis

-The paramount logo is an effective film company logo due to the fact that the meaning of paramount means the most important and having the mountain in the logo it emphasis the meaning of the intentions of the company.


-The stars can also be a representation of the quality of the their films and the people in it  which shows that they are making and funding films to a high standard and the sort of spotlight that highlights the mountain also could represent being the front runner.


-Also the mention of Viacom can make the film company more popular as it is an incredibly well known company in the US who own many channels and broadcast a lot of programmes etc.

Murder By Numbers

MURDER BY NUMBERS

Genre Elements/Conventions:
This film is a thriller, we can tell from a number of conventions. This includes the title, the use of mise-en-scene, lighting, cinematography, editing and sound. The beginning of the film starts with a track view of the sea splashing against the cliffs. The editing in this scene is the use of a sepia tone in the picture this creates a old fashioned look contrasted with the scene of the shore and the sound of the waves this adds a deserted look especially as it zooms into a deserted barn on the edge of a cliff.

Sub Genre:
From watching the opening sequence there isn't a apparent sub-genre however there is a sense of mystery because of the deserted house and two men with guns pointed to their head.


Certificate: 15 because of some strong language, violence, drug references and sex and nudity.

Target Audience:
The target audience for this film would be people interested in detective films above the age of 15. As the main characters Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds have stared in various films that have engaged the younger generation such as Miss Congeniality and the Notebook audiences may want to watch this film to watch the characters.


Institutional details:
Budget: $50,000,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend: $9,307,394 (USA) (21 April 2002) (2663 Screens)
Gross: $31,874,869 (USA) (30 June 2002)

Critical Reception:
Guardian- This very underpowered thriller ... has a garbled, unbelievable plot, dull performances and an absurd, back-projection cliff-edge finale.


Victoria and Daisy

36- Previous Student Work

In this opening sequence you can see that there is a distinguished genre of romance and thriller. You can tell this by the couples relationship and body language. As well as the use of a gun and the sound of the gun shot. The lighting is also bright at the start and changes as the thriller genre is being introduced.
This opening sequence gives too much away of the plot and doesn't leave it as a cliffhanger and questions that you would ask about the film, have been answered. However the transitions and the cinematography in this sequence is varied and effective.
Lots of different camera angles have been used including close ups and long shots which help you understand whats going on. Parallel editing has been used to show the story from two different angles. There is diegetic and non-diegetic sound in this sequence which help to add atmosphere and excitement.

By Victoria and Daisy

Derilium Tremens (Student Thriller - 2007)

Analyse of two student films

Derilium Tremens (Student Thriller - 2007)

1)genre elements


this clip fits genre elements like the many questions that don't get answered in the beginning of the film like what is in the car why are they there. also the music give you the idea that there is something wrong or these people should be worried and it helps you get into the film and feel what they feel at the time of the film.also it does not have loads and loads of drama at the beginning it is very subtle in the way it is made.

2)effectiveness


This film is effective it has edge music and makes you want to watch more with the questions that it hold like what is in the car and why are they there it also has many other questions and it seems to be really original.

3)use of camera/editing/mise en scene and sound


the use camera work is good because you have a lot of angles like at the beginning you have a 'tilted' shot of the two main people in the film and the 'tilted' shot is a good shot to use in a thriller and it adds to the edginess and suspense and then it starts to straighten up as you see the two people.quite near the end of the opening you get a point of view shot of some one or something in the car but it keeps it secret by using a point of view shot.
Editing is good because you get quick cut shots from present to past maybe something that happened the night before and it seems like a dream or that they don't remember it because it is all blurred which makes it seem like you could be seeing it through there eyes and it is quite distressing.
Mise en scene they are in a city as it looks like a built up area also they are wearing suits that look scruffy as if they have been wearing them for a really long time it is also grey and dismal weather which adds to the effect.
Sound there is a lot of non-diegetic sounds in this like the sound track but there is also a bit of diegetic sound like when the boy was walking around the car park.

36 (Student Thriller - 2007)

1)genre elements
Many questions are posed in the first few minutes of this film, for example, why is the filming in black and white? Why are the two boys sleeping in the car, and why does one of them leave the other? 
2)effectiveness
it is effective because of the questions posed and it looks professional, there is a sense of a story being told which is challenging to follow but that is what thrillers are for
3)use of camera/editing/mise en scene and sound
There is a lack of any sound to begin with, forcing the viewer to really listen to what they are seeing.
the mise en scene included cities and industrial estates, a seemingly abandoned docks and the interior of a car, the costumes are simple and don't seem interesting in any way. the filming is in black and white, this may be because they intended to create a mystery about the beginning or that this was in the past, and a key point of referral and may help the audience understand the film.

Analysis of Real Thriller Opening Sequence


Salt (2010)


Genre Elements/ Conventions


Main character, Agent Evelyn Salt, is a CIA agent which in itself adds a sense of mystery to the film already and throughout the opening there is a tenseness in the scene. Also during the questioning of the Russian Defector the micro elements included in creating the scene make the atmosphere tense and gives the whole opening a bit of suspense.

Sub-Genre Elements


The film has many sub genres that we can identify as Action, Mystery, Sci- Fi and Detective. We think this due to in the opening sequence there is a lot of action but also when we see the questioning of the Russian there is a lot specialist equipment for example the brain scanning which gives the film a bit of a Sci- Fi feel.

Certification

Salt has been classified as 15. This is due to there being strong language and also strong violence which is shown from the beginning.

Target Audience


Its primarily aimed at men due to the content of film being action/thriller and also due to the main character, Agent Evelyn Salt, being played by Angelina Jolie.

Box Office Information


The budget of Salt was $110,000,000 and as of 24th October 2010 it made up its budget by grossing $118,311,368.

Critical Reception

The receptions from critics and journalists relating to the film was very positive and most of them gave a 10/10 which is very positive for a new film and means that it could go on to be very successful in DVD sales.

Momento

Momento, released in 2000, was directed by Christopher Nolan who is a successful film writer and director originating from London. Born on the 30^th July 1970 has always been interested in all aspects of film and has studied in many different formats of the profession. He is most famous for directing and writing Thriller genre films and his most well known films are Momento (2000), Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and most recently Inception (2010). Nolan has won and has been nominated for many awards. The awards he has ascertained for Momento are, in 2001, the BSFC award for Best Screenplay and the ALFS Award for British Screenwriter of the Year. Also in 2002 he won the AFI Screenwriter of the Year, the Bram Stoker Award for Screenplay, Critics Choice award for Screenplay and an MTV Movie Award for Best New Filmmaker.

           

In Momento the film starts at the end of the story. We see the main character Leonard, played by Guy Pearce, killing Teddy who turns out to be the murderer of Leonard’s wife “John G”. We are then shown throughout the film how Leonard goes about trying to find who raped and murdered his wife. After we see the death of Teddy, we are introduced to Leonard’s “15 minute memory” and how he uses Polaroid photos, notes and tattoos on his body to remember everything and how he tells everyone about Sammy Jankis who also has the condition. Halfway though a new character, Natalie comes on the scene and we find out that she helps Leonard with his investigation. Later on, however, we find that she is the False Hero of the narrative (following Vladimir Propp’s Theory of Narrative) as she uses Leonard and his disability to manipulate and help her in her own troubles after her husband is missing after being involved with drug dealing. Then it is revealed that Teddy is actually John Gammell who is the murderer of Leonard’s wife. This pulls the film together and connects all the events to the end where we find that Leonard isn’t actually the person we think he is and Sammy Jankis is actually based on him but he has convinced himself that it isn’t. Also we find that he has already killed a John G and that he is re-investigating due to not remembering killing the previous John G.

 

At the beginning of Momento we are bought into the film with the opening sequence where we are introduced to Leonard, who is to be the main character. The scene is set in an empty hotel room with minimal props and with the frame black and white. Also we find out about Leonard being confused as to why he is in the hotel room which can give you a hint about the film being a thriller due to usually in a thriller the protagonist has an ‘Achilles Heel” which is taken advantage of by the antagonist in the narrative which in this is Natalie/Teddy. Furthermore the phone call that Leonard receives from the unknown caller in the beginning is the start of the complex plot line, which is also another convention of a thriller.

One of the key scenes in the film in my opinion is the opening scene where we are introduced to Leonard and his short term memory problem and then see the death of Teddy as it starts off the whole plot, which turns out to be incredibly complex – sometimes points that the film is a thriller. Especially when we witness Leonard kill Teddy as this can be seen as a convention of a thriller due to it being a murder.

Another key scene in the film is where the whole film comes together towards the end as it opens up the complexity of it and we find out that Leonard has already killed another John G. and the investigation is being completed again during the film.

Emma Lawrie

Christopher Nolan By Daisy Dunnett

Review of Memento

12T1 Media Thriller Unit- Review Writing

Christopher Nolan was born in 1970; he studied English Literature at the University College of London while beginning to make his own films at the College Film Society. Christopher has directed other films such as The Dark Knight, Inception and The Prestige. Christopher has a vary of trademarks that he uses in all his films which include beginning all his movies and introduces his main characters with a close up of their hands performing an action, usually starts films with a flashback or a scene from the end of the movie and his main characters are usually men with a goal who face adversity.

Leonard is determined to avenge his wife's murder. However, unable to remember anything that happens day-to-day due to a condition he sustained, short term memory loss, he has to write himself note after note and apply tattoos that still don't mean anything after he falls asleep. He has learned to cope with his memory loss through dealing with a man named Sammy Jankis, a person he investigated professionally who also had short term memory issues. The film contains flashbacks of Leonard dealing with his condition and trying to find his wife’s killer who he believes is a man named John G, a name which is tattooed on his body. Leonard is assisted in this mission by a man named Teddy and a woman named Natalie.

The opening sequence is a man holding a photograph, these objects then get continued into the film as a commonly used prop. The non-diagetic sound in the opening sequence is a main factor which introduces the thriller genre because of its slow and low pitched sounding; the sound gives a sense of misery. Another feature that brings out the thriller genre is the use of blood in the photograph and the scene of a murder on the photograph.

Towards the end of the film is a scene where Leonard kills a man that he mistakes for John G, his wife’s killer. This scene contains violence and senses of torture. The emotions of Leonard are anger and scenes of confusion. Leonard only goes by the photographs he has taken and the tattoos on his body because he has no traces of any memories except the ones before his wife’s death. Leonard uses a gun to force Teddy, his companion, to explain what is going on. Flashbacks are then used to distinguish the truth about his wife and to show the links between himself and Sammy Jankis. 

The black and white scene in the film is used to show a major incident that Leonard makes. This colour shows that it is in the past and creates a dark, cautious feeling. He is talking on the phone without even realising that he has a tattoo hidden by bandages telling him never to answer the phone. When Leonard unties the bandage a look of terror and fear appears on his face as well as a high pitch non-diagetic sound which also creates fear and caution to the audience.

In my opinion, I found the film confusing because of the way it was ordered however I did enjoy the storyline and the twist at the end. I feel that the actors were casted well especially Leonard as he made the condition extremely realistic. I would recommend the film to people that like the work of Christopher Nolan.

Daisy Dunnett

Review of christopher nolans film memento

introduction to christopher nolan

christoper nolan was born in london on the 30 july 1970 he has a wife and three children he has been married since 1996 until present day. he first started to make films using his action figures and his dads 8mm camera. he went to the universtiy college of london where he studied english litrature and he graduated and made films involving reall people one of his short films was shown in 1996 at the cambridge film festival many of his films begin with you seeing the main characters hands also most if not all his films are the genre of thriller or they could be put into sub-genres of action thriller etc.

summary of event in the film memento

the main events of the film memento are that it starts of at the begining of the end then goes to the enda and you then go back in the film every fifteen minutes or so to main event of the film like him meating natiel and teddy and going to the hotel you even see him tell everyone about this man he knew called sammy who has a condition alot like his own you also find out a bit about his wife and what happened for him to get this condidtion and write at end of the beginging of the film you find otu a very vital fact and that is that leonard has already avenged his wifes death and killed john d and he lie to himself to keep himself happy.

how does the opening sequence introduce the thriller genre

the opening sequence introduce the thriller convention by leaving you questions. you first of all see a hand holding a photo of a man whos brains have been blowen out at this point you wounder why this person is holding this photo and you also wonder who exatly it is.then the picture starts to fade and that seems strange as it goes and fades more you see a man go and hold the polaroid up to the positon where you would take it out of the camera and it gose in so you see that it is going in revers this whole sequence could give you the idea of what the film is about as it gose back in some ones memory of what has happened . you then see a dead man the one that was on the polaroid time is still going in revers at this point and you still dont actually know who these to are at this point leaving you with questions


Key scene1- thriller convention

this is the scene where leonard finds out that he had tattoed to himself that he should never answer the phone but for many scenes before this you see him answer the phone or at least be on the phone he wrote this message to himself to remind him not to answer the phone because his achellies heal as the protagonists of the film is that he has a fifteen minute memory and he wont be able to know if the person on the other end of the phone is telling the truth also it makes us wonder who it is.


Key scene 2 thriller conventions

in this scene you see leonard and natalie in bed she is a sleep and leonard is there talking about the last thing he can remeber and about his wife and how he misses her and how he is annoyed that he can not rember things so if he can not remeber things that are important how will he heal after the loss of his wife he shows his weakness again as the protagonist with memory loss you also have slow music that is quite in the back ground he then has to go to a picture to remember the girl in the bed with him and remembers that she will help him find his wifes killer forgeting that he has already done so.


opinnions and recomendations

the narrative of this film is a bit teddious and could possibley be improved also there could possible be less flash back in the film so they could of gone a bit futher back in the film and played it up to then point they were at then they could play a little bit further back and play from there to the next point because you would still get the same feel that leonard got in the film from his condition i like other films that christopher nolan has done like the prestige and the dark night and batman begins but this film of his does not appeal to me as much.
by Naomi Wilson

Christopher Nolan - Memento

12T1 media thriller unit – review writing.

Christopher Nolan was born in London in 1970. He started making films at the age of seven and has been making films ever since then. He has directed a number of famous films including Memento, Inception and The Dark Knight. In most of his films he uses men with a goal who face adversity as the main characters. Another trend in Christopher’s work is that he quite often starts the films with a flashback scene or a scene from the end of the films, in the case of Memento he starts with a scene from the end of the film.

Memento is a film that follows an ex insurance investigator who suffers from short term memory loss but uses photographs and tattoos on his body to remember clues in his investigation to find out who murdered his wife. In this film Christopher has started with a scene from the end of the film and the film goes backwards to show all of the events that have happened.

The opening sequence introduced the thriller genre by leaving the audience with lots of unanswered questions. Other reasons that prove that this film is a thriller is how it’s based on crime and the micro elements add to this. For example, in the opening sequence you see a photograph of a dead man, which is fading away. This makes the audience think that the photograph is important and they want to find out more about the dead man and why the photograph disappeared.

The last scene contains thriller conventions because there is a very panicky atmosphere. The music in the background speeds up and the cut become quicker and more frequent. The micro elements add to this making it look like a thriller even more because of props such as guns and bullets and the man’s blood stained clothes.

Another scene that gives evidence to support the genre of this film is when Natalie walks in with blood on her face. This makes the audience panic and therefore the background music speeds up, the cuts become quicker and the camera angles are closer because in doing this it creates tension and makes the audience want to find out what’s going on. 

In my opinion, I liked this film but I think I would need to watch it again to understand because I am unsure about what happened in some parts. I think it’s very clever how Christopher has produced this film because it draws the audience in and catches their attention. I though that the film was quite slow at some parts towards the beginning and it was quite confusing as to what order the scenes went in. However I would recommend this to other people because it’s different and make you really think about the story line. Although I was confused at some points and unsure of what the main character had already done and what he hadn’t, I liked how Christopher has created a film with such a different feel to it.

By Victoria Pryor

Christopher NOLAN Charlotte RAYMEN

MEMENTO (113 mins) review
Christopher Nolan has redefined the world of thriller with such hits as Dark Knight (2008);  Inception (2010) Batman Begins (2005) and Prestige (2006) one of his best films was that of Memento, which came to cinemas in 2000, based on a short story written by Jonathan Nolan called "Memento Mori" in which a man, suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and tattoos for the man he thinks killed his wife.

The plot is going in two directions, backwards and forwards, throughout black and white scenes, it shows a forward timeline in which Leonard is explaining over the phone how he came to lose the ability to make new memories and how he lives through repetition and story telling, explaining a similar tale of conman Sammy Jenkins, it is unclear until the very end when in time he is speaking.The backwards order of the films events allows the audience to feel what the main character, Leonard, is feeling, it creates a sense of confusion and loss which goes perfectly with the theme presented throughout and allows the audience to be taken on a journey with the various plot twists.

Leonard, as the protagonist, only has a 15 minute memory, caused by an incident in which he says killed his wife and set the rest of his life searching for revenge. This flaw in memory poses as his main weakness that is exploited by the antagonists, Natalie and or Teddy aka John G, it becomes clear by the end of the movie that there are no certainties in Leonard's life, and some of the questions posed are never answered.
I think the key scenes are; when Natalie goes starts shouting and swearing at Leonard, this lets the audience realise that she is using him for her own gain and doesn't care for his plight, and the last scene, in which the narrated thoughts of Leonard ambiguously ties knots and shows that he had planned this all for himself, to give his life a purpose

Analysing a thriller opening sequence - Se7en.

Keynotes

The narrative consists of no dialogue or acting sequence, rather a series of close up shots of rough looking fingers processing pictures and making a book and black or dark backgrounds with the credits scratched or carved into the film, this conforms the conventions of thriller openings because the images placed in front of the audience pose a lot of questions, such as are they following the people in the photographs, are they planning to kill them?
We do not see a lot of the character, but the actions shown, for example peeling skin off of fingers or developing photos in a dark room, which looks sinister and allows the audience a window into the mind of the Antagonist.
The narrative shows that the antagonist is crossing out the eyes of photos before crossing out the entire face giving the impression that he's going to blind his victims then kill them. The antagonist is seen shaving his skin off his finger tips, this could be to destroy any chance of under covering any of his fingerprints of any of his victims.
 Red can sometimes be seen as a warning of danger so when you see the photos in the container and the lighting is red, this makes you feel uncomfortable about whats about to happen and it also makes you aware of the photos that he's developing.



By Charlotte, Naomi, Victoria, Emma and Daisy

Preliminary Task

This was an exercise to help our ability with continuity editing, various camera works, and a little bit of acting to help prepare us for our main Thriller composition.