Individual narrative ideas- Miss Georgiou

When thinking about creating my own thriller clip, I thought about all the inspirations that I found from films I have watched. These films gave me ideas as to what I could include in my opening thriller clip.

Films that have inspired me - 

• Prom Night
• Red Eye 
• Asylum
• The Strangers

The film 'Prom Night'  inspired me as the killer is wearing a hat and dark clothing in an attempt to hide his identity. This helps to build suspense in the scene, as we do not know who the killer is and neither does the victim. This makes the audience anxious to know who he is and engages them in the scene. This is something I will definitely be using when portraying the killer in my thriller clip.

The film 'Red Eye' inspired me because the location is set in an everyday house, specifically in the bathroom for the 'attack' scene, which for me is the most memorable scene. This inspired me because the setting is un-stereotypical to a thriller film, but it still had the same effects as if it were set in a haunted house for example. This setting makes the scene seem realistic, giving the audience something to relate to which is what I aim to do in my thriller clip. 

The film 'Asylum' inspired me mainly because there was a lack of iconography and dialogue. The lack of iconography was used in my opinion for dramatic effect to allow the audience to focus on the female and her actions, rather than being distracted by props. This is something I would consider doing in my thriller clip as it meant the audiences full attention was on the characters actions and this meant they were fully engaged and not thinking about other things, allowing them to feel the full effect of the clip.
The lack of dialogue helped build suspense in the clip as it meant the audience were always left sitting on edge, wondering what was to happen next. This film incorporated the 3 S's (Shock, Surprise & Suspense) into their film, which is something that many thrillers do for effect. This is something that I will be using when making my thriller clip as I think it helps to engage the audience.

When thinking about Mise-en-scene and Cinematography, 'The Strangers' inspired me. This film used cinematography for effect; they used a high angled shot looking down on the character to portray her as the victim, and this built an emotional response from the audience.  With Mise-en-scene, the film used low-key lighting as an indicator to the audience of the films genre, and to build a mysterious atmosphere. I will be using Cinematography and Mise-En-Scene in my thriller clip, and will think about how to use them appropriately and for effect.

Body language and facial expressions have been a huge inspiration to me from a variety of different films. They can help the audience understand about a characters personality, how they are feeling and who dominates the scene. They can also show hidden meanings, such as those used in 'Asylum'. In Asylum, the body language of the woman shows her to be standing up tall, with her shoulders back, giving me the impression she is focused and strong-minded. However, her facial expressions show her to be worried, suggesting to me that her strong personality is all an act, and she is only trying to be strong.
When using body language and facial expressions in my thriller clip, I will think about using them appropriately and whether or not i need to include any hidden meanings.

First individual idea -  

My first idea for my thriller film was to be about a child having nightmare. She dreams about being in a park on a swing, happily playing, before the killer takes her.

To make this conventional to a thriller, I have thought about how I would use Cinematography, Iconography, Mise-en-scene and editing. 

Firstly, I would set my clip in a detached house and a park which is surrounded with parts of a forest. This is conventional to a thriller as it gives the audience something to relate to, but at the same time is not near anywhere to get help or to escape the killer.

I would use a high angled shot at the beginning of the clip, looking down on the child who is tossing and turning during the nightmare. This will indicate to the audience that she is the victim. To make it clear it is a nightmare, I will use the diegetic sound of the child breathing heavily or of her heartbeat, to build tension. I may also show an eye level shot of her asleep, focusing on the sweat on her face to make it even clearer to the audience.

I would then use an editing technique such as a 'fade' to show the transformation between showing the nightmare and being in the nightmare. I could do this by building the music and sound effects to a climax before the child opens her eyes and everything goes silent. This would focus the audiences attention on the child's eyes, and with the 'fade' would give the impression of going into her dream.

The next frame would be of the child in the park on the swing, playing happily. I could present this emotion through her body language being relaxed and a smile on her face. I would use a mid shot for this and could edit in a non-diegetic sound of the traffic or sounds from the forest, along with the diegetic sound of her laughter.

I would then introduce the killer, by darkening the lighting such as making a clear sky go dark grey and all sounds would stop. I thought a good way to show the killer and still keep his identity hidden would be by showing extreme close ups of the killers body. E.g - His feet & hand. I would then use a deep focus to show the killers shoulder and the girl on the swing in the same shot. This would show the audience the mise-en-scene and also the different representations of the two characters.

For the attack scene, I would use jump cuts of the killer getting closer to the victim, whilst hearing the diegetic sound of leaves crunching beneath his feet and a parallel sound such as eerie music to build the tension. I would only use low key lighting to help keep the killers identity hidden. This also minimises the amount of detail the audience can see, which makes them sit on edge for the following section.

I have thought about using Iconography and dialogue, and have decided to keep this minimal, so the audiences' attention will be focused on the scene. The iconography I will use for my first idea is a knife and a teddy bear. The knife can be shown in the extreme close-up of the killer when he is first introduced, and the teddy bear can be with the child at all times to show her youth.

I am not sure yet how I will use different conventions to end my thriller clip, but the basic idea is for the girl to wake up in her bed, and then have a zooming in shot from her bedroom window to the park outside, where the teddy bear will still be.

My target audience for my thriller clip would be between 15 to mid 20's, but I would give it an age certificate of 15, as strong violence is allowed as long as the film doesn't focus on the infliction of pain/injury. This would suit my narrative as the idea of the girl being taken seems quite violent but you would not actually see this action happen, and so it is simply like an idea. If I was to give my narrative an age certificate of 12 or 18 it would not be as suitable, as a 12 rating states that weapons that are accessible to 12 year old should not be glamorised and since I am using a knife as a key piece of iconography the 12 rating would be too low. Also, an 18 rating has no limits on anything and so since my narrative doesn't go into explicit detail, this would also be inappropriate. I therefore have given my narrative an age certificate of 15 and will focus on the psychological impact, rather than the gruesome and blood. 

Research into Editing Styles - Miss Georgiou

Editing Styles in Thriller Films

Editing in any film is used to create a certain effect and make the audience feel something. In thrillers, if used correctly, editing can be used to tell the audience who the villain/victim is. It can also help the scene to flow and/or build suspense.

I have analysed a clip called 'Here's Johnny' from the film 'The Shining', to show my understanding of how editing can be used in thrillers.

The first editing style I analysed was a straight cut, which can be seen from 0:07 to 0:08 in the above clip. A straight cut is a change of shot from one viewpoint/location to another, and is used to change the scene. It draws our attention to the woman trying to escape which shows her fear. Before this cut, we did not know what was going on in the scene, as we only saw the male character which we immediately associated as being the killer due to the iconography of the axe he was holding. Due to the lack of detail, the audience are left feeling confused and so this cut begins to make the scene clearer to the audience. It allows us to see the woman struggling to escape which tells the viewers she is the victim and so we feel sorry for her. Having a female victim is very stereotypical to the thriller genre.  The struggle we see foreshadows that the rest of the scene will show her in further danger, and so this makes the audience sit on edge.
A straight  cut is conventional to thrillers as it is a quick way to verify to the audience what is going on in the scene. It is commonly used as it can make the audience feel a variety of emotions from a very simple cut. It can make the scene realistic as before this cut, the audience may have found the killer funny due to his facial expressions, but the cut allows viewers to see the danger the girl is in and so they realise that it is supposed to be serious.

The next editing style I analysed was a Reaction Shot, which can be seen from 0:10 to 0:13. A reaction shot is any shot in which a subject reacts to a previous shot. In thrillers, this is a good way to introduce new characters, such as the boy in the above clip. We see the boy looking up at the victim who is desperately trying to escape from the killer, as shown by the frame opposite. It is here that we see the setting of the scene which appears to be in an abandoned house that has been snowed in on. This is conventional to thrillers as it makes the audience feel nervous for the victim as if she cant get out through the window then she will never escape in time. This reaction shot showing the boy, gives the audience a glimpse of hope that he will get help and save the woman. However, the viewers are also made aware in the same frame that even if he does find help they may not be able to get into the house. This creates a very nervous atmosphere for viewers as they watch on anxiously hoping that the victim will be able to escape. A reaction shot is conventional to thrillers as it can help the audience understand the characters better, enabling them to connect with them emotionally. The emotions discussed above are all shown through the reaction shot of the boys facial expressions, showing that this type of shot can be very effective.

Reaction shots are used vaguely throughout the clip to allow the audience to understand how the victim reacts to the villain, and vise verse. It is used a lot because it is a good way to clearly portray the characters emotions, which can lead to a certain atmosphere being created, such as one filled with suspense. It is a constant way of showing the audience how the victim is feeling which every time makes the audience feel even more sorry for her.

The next editing style I analysed was Slow Editing, which can be seen from 1:16 to 1:18 . This is when clips are juxtaposed together at a slower pace, in order to create suspense. In this clip, the slow edit is used to exaggerate the use of the axe which makes the audience 'gasp' as they wonder whether the killer will actually axe the door down. In these 2 seconds the audience can experience a 'heart stopping' moment as they realise the victim is in serious danger and cannot escape. They know what is to come but still in the few seconds hope that something will happen to change the events, which proves they have connected with the female character. The slow edit makes the scene scary from the build of tension, as during this edit the audience feel several emotions and a very nervous atmosphere is created. Without this edit, this scene would not have the same effect and so is conventional to thrillers as it is a quick way of building suspense.

The last editing style I analysed was a Jump Cut, which can be seen from 1:14 to 1:16. This is when the film suddenly focuses on something, which in this clip is the killer preparing to axe down the door, which is protecting the victim. They are usually used in thrillers when multiple things are going on that the audience may be unaware of, and so these jump cuts fill them in and allow the audience to make their own assumptions on what the story will be like. They are also used to speed footage up, such as showing a character walking down a path; it is not necessary to show the whole length of the footage, and so jump cuts save time and fasten the pace of the film, building suspense. In this clip, the victim has no idea the killer has an axe and this creates dramatic irony as the audience do know this. This creates tension for the audience, as they are worried about how the female will react and what will happen to her.
In the clip above, the jump cut is used to follow the path of the axe going into the door which draws our attention to the axe. This jump cut helps to increase the pace of the scene so that when the killer uses the axe, the audience jump. Using a jump cut is a very traditional trait to thriller films which is conventional as it builds tension for the audience and keeps them engaged

In conclusion, I found that editing styles are much harder to pick up on than camera angles, as when used correctly, they make the film run smoothly. Having looked at the editing styles, I would say the most common ones to a thriller are jump cuts and slow editing. This will help me when creating my own thriller clip as I now have a better understanding of the different types of editing used and the effect that they have.
For example, slow editing is a quick way of building tension, which allows you to manipulate your viewers as they can experience a variety of emotions. This inspired me to use this in my opening thriller; in my groups narrative, the slow editing could be used each time the little girl focuses on something, such as the tree and the scarf which triggers the flashbacks. This would build tension and would make the audience wonder what the girl is thinking, feeling and most importantly remembering before and in each flashback, which would create a very nervous atmosphere.
The use of jump cuts in this clip, gave me an idea to use in my thriller clip. During our narrative, the events that occur happen whilst the little girl is walking through the forest alone. Therefore, we do not need to keep seeing the girl repetitively walking, and so jump cuts would make the footage more interesting as well as increasing the pace of the clip, which would consequently help to build suspense. 

Research into Cinematography - Miss Miller

Cinematography is used to build a relationship between the audience and the characters through all of the different camera shots/angles used, which helps the audience gain an understanding of the film. 

The clip I have decided to analyse is called 'Red Eye - Trying To Kill Me'. I decided to use this clip because it has many different examples of cinematography, and so I thought it would be a good clip to show my understanding of it. 

The First shot I analysed, I recognised to be a Mid - Shot. I noticed that there was more background filling up the shot than the actress and this showed me that the actress was made to look small within her surroundings. This heightens her emotions of feeling scared and immediately tells the audience that the female is the victim and so we feel sorry for her. The audience may relate to this frame as we can see that the female is in her bedroom, and yet she feels threatened by someone or something. This may make the audience feel on edge as they begin to wonder if this scenario may happen to them.

Although the actress only fills up a small part of the shot, we as an audience are drawn to look at her because of the way she is presented. In thrillers, this is a good way for us to focus on her emotions and actions, such as the weapon she is holding, whilst still being able to see what's going on in the background. This shot is conventional to the thriller genre as it builds suspense as the shot gives away enough detail to make you feel engaged, but at the same time it doesn't show a lot of detail, so you are left questioning the scene.   

The next shot I analysed was a long shot. The focus in this shot is not necessarily on the actress, but on herself and her surroundings (background). This is so the audience can relate to the character and the situation she is in, as we can see that the attack is taking place in a bathroom, which is not a stereotypical setting for a thriller. 

The shot is used to give the audience a sense of the situation and what is going on within the frame. With the use of the unusual setting, it makes the audience connect with the actress as they believe the attack could happen to them and so makes them sympathise with her. 

This shot is conventional to the thriller genre as it creates an enigma; stereotypically we would expect a female victim to be weak and gullible, but this frame (below) shows the female to be in a 'warrior' stance. This suggests that she is not weak and is willing to fight if need be. This leaves the audience eager to know what happens which builds tension.

The next shot I analysed was a shallow focus. This shot is used to show the main object in full focus, whilst the rest of the shot is out of focus or blurry. In this image, the phone is in full focus whilst the rest of the background is out of focus and blurry. This shows that the phone is an important factor in this section of the clip and makes us think what is to happen next. This emphasises the reality of the scene as most viewers will own a telephone and so it makes them feel vulnerable as the events occurring in the scene could easily happen to them.

This shot is conventional to thrillers because it is used to direct the viewers attention to an element of the scene. In thrillers, this tells the audience that something is about to happen, and whilst this builds suspense, it also makes them feel eager to know what is happening next.

I then analysed a part of the clip where zooming in was used, which can be seen between 1:05 to 1:18 in the above clip. By zooming in on the actress' face, it creates an importance in the clip. It draws the audiences attention in on the actress' emotions and allows us to sympathise with how she is feeling, thus creating a closer bond between the character and the audience.

In a thriller film, the zooming in is used to focus the audience's attention on (in this case) her face, where we can see her emotions clearly. During this phone call, the female is alert as there is a man in her house. She speaks quietly to the person on the phone, and this whispering is conventional as it builds the suspense for the audience. The zooming in could therefore show that she is scared that the killer may hear her. This builds tension, and makes the audience experience that heart stopping moment as they fear that she is in danger. This shot is conventional to the thriller genre as it creates a tense atmosphere, whilst building suspense.

The next shot I analysed was a high angled shot. A high angle is used to make the object look smaller, and us usually a clear way to portray a victim, but in this case it is used to make the male character look weak. In thrillers, this shot makes the audience lose all sympathy for the man as he has been attacking the woman. It is used to make the villainous character look weak, so the audience can see that although he may look scary, as he is the killer, he is just as weak as the victim.
It is also to draw our attention to the female, in the shot that follows this one. It makes the audience feel proud of the female as she is finally doing something about the attack, and not doing what the villain says, like a stereotypical victim would do. This shot is conventional to the thriller genre as it is typically used to clearly portray who the victim is. The use of this shot in the above clip shows that it can also be used to present the villainous characters, and so its variety of uses can help the audience gain a better understanding of the many characters.

The next shot I analysed was an eye level shot. An eye levelled shot is used to engage the audience with the scene. In this frame, it is used to focus our attention onto the central position of the knife, making us guess what will happen next or who will grab the knife first.
This shot is used to allow us to see the emotions and thoughts on the male characters face, in contrast to the focus in this scene, which is the knife. It usually builds the scene to a climax by making the audience constantly sit on edge. The audience can relate to this scene as they can see that both characters are at an equal distance from the knife and so either one may grab it first. It builds tension as the audience can think back to a time in their lives where they were in a similar situation with a different object and so this creates a nervous atmosphere.

The last shot I analysed was a two shot, which is when two people are featured in the frame. This frame shows us that the man is dominant and the woman is the victim, from the way the man is restraining the females hands up against the wall so she cannot move. The two shot is used to show how the two characters react to each others dialogue and actions.
This shot helps to show the audience who the villain is and who the victim is. It is a clear way of presenting emotions (etc) in a thriller. In this shot, the audience immediately feel sorry for the woman as she is trapped, as seen by the male holding her wrists to the wall. Her emotions are  reflected on the audience, making them sympathise more with the female character. This shot is a good way for the audience to gain a better understanding of these characters and it is also conventional to thrillers as it portrays the female as being the victim which is a very stereotypical thing to do in thriller films.

Having looked and researched into Cinematography, I have learnt a lot about camera angles and the effect they can make if used correctly. For example, I originally thought that a high angled shot should be used to portray the victimised character, but from the high angle used in the above clip I have learnt that is not true. A high angle can be used to make a character look small and vulnerable, and although this is normally done to portray a victim, it can also be used to portray the weak side of a villainous character. This will help me when creating my own thriller clip as it will remind me that I don't have to use cinematography in the stereotypical way certain shots are used in thrillers. Some of them can be used in another way but can still create suspense and provoke a response from the audience.          

Research into mise-en-scene - Miss Georgiou

Asylum Thriller Analysis - Mine-En-Scene

In this post i will be analysing a clip called 'Asylum Movie Clip - Leave me alone', as i feel this is a good clip that shows all the aspects of Mise-En-Scene.

Mise-En-Scene is everything that is put into a scene. It communicates essential information to the audience and involves;

• Setting & Iconography
• Costume, hair & make-up
• Facial expressions & body language
• Lighting & colour 
• The positioning of characters/ objects within the frame

During Asylum, the Setting and Iconography play an important role as they build the expectation of what is to come. As the scene begins, we see a woman walking up a set of stairs in a location we cannot yet determine. This is so the audience can immediately relate to the female character as the scene seems to be set in an everyday location. However, as the scene develops, we see that she is actually walking up a stairway of a tall clock tower. This could be set within a busy city and so is not stereotypical to the thriller genre, as normally the setting would be in a detached/abandoned house etc. I think this is done to build suspense and have a bigger effect on the audience, so that when the female falls, the audience are surprised and shocked. This is a technique (the 3 S's - Surprise, Shock & Suspense) that many thriller films use to make the audience feel engaged with the scene, and so this is conventional to a thriller.

Throughout the clip there are only 3 major settings and these are when the actress is walking up the stairs, on top of the roof and when she has fallen and is surrounded by people on the ground. Each setting tells the audience something about the scene. For example, when she is on the rooftop, we can see how high up she is and this makes us wonder why she is up there and what will happen next. 

Throughout the clip there is a lack of Iconography, as there are no props used. However, i think this was done for dramatic effect to allow the audience to focus on the female character and her actions, rather than being distracted by props. Usually, specific iconography would be used to indicate to the audience the genre of the film, but in this clip, the genre is indicated through other conventions such as low-key lighting. 

The Costume, Hair & Make-up used can help the audience understand each characters personality. In this clip, the woman appears to be well dressed in an evening gown, and her hair clipped back. This gives us the impression that she is a well respected lady, who is not short for money. She is not wearing loads of make-up which helps the audience to relate to her as being an everyday person. 

It is because of all this that we are surprised when she jumps off of the rooftop. There is no reason for us to expect her to do this, as she looks calmly focused from when she was climbing the stairs. This is conventional to a thriller because it helps the audience understand that the victim can be anyone, and not a stereotypical blonde girl. This makes the audience feel vulnerable as they realise this could happen to them. It also shows them that a person is not always what they seem to be, as we didn't expect the girl in the clip to jump, just like in thrillers you can sometimes be surprised by who the villain is.  

Facial Expressions are a clear indicator of how a character is feeling within a film. Where as body language can indicate a characters feelings towards a certain situation or another character and their relationship. 

In the frame opposite, the woman's body language is strong as she is standing up tall, with her shoulders back. I would therefore get the impression that she knows what she is doing and is focused. She also doesn't look 'scary' or domineering, as shown by the gentleness of her actions, and the calm expression on her face. This would reflect onto the audience as they wouldn't worry because they trust the character they have connected with.
However by looking at her facial expressions, my thoughts change as she looks worried. This suggests to me that she is trying to be strong but is doubting herself. This will also be reflected onto the audience, making them feel worried for the character. This in turn builds suspense and makes the audience feel nervous as to what will happen next. This build of suspense is conventional to thrillers as it helps to move the scene to a climax which exaggerates the effect of the shock when she falls. 

In comparison, the body language in this image seems more genuine. He is crouched over the female, with his hand on her face, showing he cares for her. This on its own could be seen as fake, which would make the audience nervous and on edge as to what he will do to the woman, but with the worried look on his face, shown by the wrinkles on his forehead from his surprised expression, i think it is genuine, which tells me a lot about his character. This makes the audience believe the woman is safe with this man, which in turn makes them feel they are safe them self.
I think this is done to build tension for when the woman speaks. The audience are left feeling that he is concerned for the female, but when she replies 'leave me alone' we are left with a sense of confusion. This would make the audience doubt their original thoughts on this man, and would then worry about whether the woman is safe, which proves the audience have connected with the characters. I think this sense of confusion was done deliberately because normally we would sympathise with the victim, but the victim in this clip is unclear. By using facial expressions and body language, it allows the audience to understand both characters clearly, and then make their own mind up as to who the victim is. 

Lighting and Colour are crucial in all types of films, as when used correctly they help to create a variety of effects.  In this image, low-key lighting is used to create distinct shadows of the stairs on the wall. The light is focused on the actress' face, to show the audience where we should be looking. Low-key lighting helps to disguise the detail in the frame, so that not a lot of information is given away. This helps to build tension and makes the audience feel exposed as they cannot determine what will develop of the scene and so are left waiting. This is conventional to a thriller because it tells the audience what genre the film is, due to the limited detail, and helps to create a mysterious or suspense like atmosphere.

Usually we would associate the victim to be the girl, however  the colour of her dress is blue. The denotation is blue which connotes mystery or sadness, but if she was the victim then it would be likely she would wear white as this represents innocence. The man however, is wearing white, and so this could suggest he is also the victim. 

There is definitely a sense of confusion as to who the victim is, and i think this has been done deliberately. The confusion of colours could suggest that they are both in fact victims in different ways, and this would leave the audience feeling overwhelmed as to which character to believe.
The use of colours is conventional to a thriller as usually it would be a clear indicator as to who the victim and villain were. In this case, the colours are conventional to show that thrillers can be misleading and the people and the ending may not be what is expected.

It is important in films that the positioning of characters or certain objects is done correctly as this helps draw our attention to them. In the opposite image, the actress is central and so is dominant in the picture. Although our attention is drawn to her as she is in the centre, you also feel that she is small compared to the rooftops in the background. 

I think this image shows how the character is feeling, and these emotions are reflected onto the audience, who are made to feel overwhelmed by her actions. She is central and so looks in charge of her actions, but she doesn't look like she belongs and so we feel worried for her, as we did earlier with the facial expressions and body language. 

This is a typical positioning within a thriller as it normally shows that the killer has the most power. In this clip, we could therefore conclude that the female character is her own killer, and so not a victim.

 In conclusion, I have learnt that thrillers don't tend to have a lot of dialogue in it and so replace this with music to help increase the pace of the clip and build suspense. As well as this I have learnt that thrillers don’t always need any iconography or many different settings, and sometimes by keeping everything simple, you can create the best effects. This will help me in creating my own thriller clip as it inspired me to plan to keep the majority of the conventions simple, such as only using one location, so that my viewers don’t feel overwhelmed unintentionally by all that will be used in the scene.
I plan to use this idea in my thriller opening by not using any dialogue and only using 2 pieces of Iconography which are a knife and a scarf.

The setting used in this clip inspired me as they made me realise that it is not the setting which builds the tension, but everything else, and so you can film a thriller anywhere as long as the edits and sounds build suspense. This helped when planning my group narrative as I knew we did not have a big budget and couldn't possibly film in the sets that professionals use, and so we kept things simple, by using a forest which is easily accessible and a swimming pool for the river scene. The edits and sounds we will go on to use will hide the lack of our budget and should build tension, just like any other thriller film does.