Location Recce

Before we start filming our film we will need to check out the locations. We will need to do this for many reasons:

• To see where we could put the camera and where the actors could stand
• To see what time it will get dark and to see if the visibility would be right for the shots we need to make. 
• To see if there will be any issues with traffic/bus times etc. This could add unwanted noise to our film.
• To make sure that the location provides what is required for the shots.
• To make sure the location is what we expected it to be.

By checking to see if the location is suitable it will save us a lot of time. It will also lead to making a better film as our shot will seem more professional and effective.

 

Whilst on location, we could do a digital storyboard, doing this will enable us to get an idea of what a good idea is when we begin to film. The digital storyboard will allow us to experiment with different angles and views of the location helping us to decide what will and will not work.

Issues with the location

•  The location is near to two busy roads, to avoid the issue of too much background sound we will film further away from the roads near to the centre of Jesus Green.
•  Members of the public will be walking through Jesus Green, these need to be kept out of shot

Agenda for Project

• Script
• Shot-list
• Story-board
• Costume
• Test shoot/Location Recce
• Actors
• Schedule
• Ident Sequence?

Pitch - Evaluation

We delivered our pitched about the concept of our film and how we are going to film/edit the film to the rest of our class. Here are the questions we were asked by other members of our class.


Q) What classification is your film going to be and why?

A)  We chose our film to be a 12 certificate because of the low level of violence. The only real threat shown will be the threat of kidnapping.

Q) Who are you going to use for your actors?

A) At the present moment, We shall be playing the roles in the narrative. We need to decide on a filming date before we can ask our friends if they can help us.

Q) What time of day will you film this and why?

A) We will be filming in the evening so that it would be quite dark and quiet.

Q) What do you want to improve on from the last project?

A) The Titles in our children's film project were at a basic level, in this project we want to make sure our titles are quite advance

Q) Will you use any animation in the project

A) Other than the animation of the scanner in the Ident, No.

Q) why did you choose your location?

A) We chose the Midsummer Common/Jesus Green area because, it is quite isolated and it would be realistic place for a kidnapping to occur. there are also not many street lamps so it will give a low lighting effect that we are looking for.

Breakdown of Narrative

Here is our basic narrative of the opening sequence for the first two minutes, broken down into 10 second descriptions. This will later help us to create a shot list and will better manage our timing, editing and filming.


0 - 10 seconds:
On screen: Production logo/ident as film begins. Starts intense.

10 - 20 seconds:
On screen: We will see the protagonist (a student) walking through a park, heavily breathing and alone, conscious for his safety as he is looking around to see if there is anyone following him. Focuses on him, and the sound, so that the audience can empathize with him.

Off screen: As only one actor is on screen the other group members will be controlling the cinematography. The director will be using a variety of shots, but mainly close-ups shots from different angles which will pan the character - this will intensify the uncertain feel.

20 - 30 seconds
On screen: Voiceover begins (scripted later). Character still frantic and nervous as the music intensifies. Scene ends with black as the flashback finishes. Title.

30 - 40 seconds
On screen: Story from beginning. Students are walking from University through park at night. They are talking casually. Some midshots will be used, and also some handheld of the path ahead.

40 - 50 seconds
On screen: Walking may continue into this 10 second period. Walk past 'shady' character on the bench - talking stops immediately. POV shot at the man.

50 - 60 seconds
On screen: Two of the remaining students look at each other with a frown (midshot of faces). They comment on the man, and then say one of there friends names.

60 - 70 seconds
On screen: Their friend has gone, we see this through a POV shot. They a long shot could be faced back at them as they are shock.

70 - 80 seconds
On screen: Shot frequency increases as they panic. Look back at bench - the man is gone. Frantically begins to look around.

80 - 90 seconds
On screen: Frantically looking around, speed up walking. Begin to hear voiceover/or some noise. Illusion of 'shady man' in different places.

90 - 100 seconds
On screen: Illusion of 'shady man' in different places.

100 - 110 seconds
On screen: Voiceover indicates that he will be back, and that he believes that he's dead. Constantly focused on many shots of remaining students.

110 - 120 seconds
On screen: Remaining student are terrified. Get out there phones are start calling people, and walk fast away from the scene. Instant black with voiceover saying "that was just the beginning".

Analysis of Inspiration: Taken

The 2008 thriller "Taken" is a perfect example of a young person who gets kidnapped. Seventeen year old Kim goes on a trip to Paris where she is kidnapped by an Albanian gang. Her father, Bryan Mills, who is a retired CIA officer takes on this gang in order to save his daughter who has been forced into the slave trade.

The young kidnapping gives the insight of how a victim may feel, and will give some sort of inspiration to our actors in the way they present young people. The intense scene where the girl is actually kidnapped offers a good base for how we should film and edit our first scene, which is infact the last scene of the story. The kidnapping in "Taken" shows the girls nervousness and weakness against the gang.

Below is the trailer for "Taken" which features the kidnap scene, and the psycho kidnapper on the phone. Unfortunately I was unable to find a more specific clip of the kidnap scene.

Analysis of Inspiration: Cellular

The 2004 film "Cellular" has offered inspiration for our film/sequence. During the film we see an unsuspecting women get kidnapped, she has to put her trust in a stranger to find and protect her son, along with helping her to escape from the antagonists. This gave us the inspiration for using everyday people as the unsuspecting victims of a kidnap. The film also has psychological themes as she is trusting someone that she has never met before, just as our characters will be psychologically threatened by the illusion of the kidnapper. Above is the trailer which gives an overview of the film, however note that our thriller will not include a comical element as "Cellular" does, as this would defeat the objective of the thriller idea.

Analysis of Inspiration: Fargo

Earlier in our research process we analyzed the film, Fargo, which is a comical thriller that involves a women being kidnapped in return for a ransom. This event in Fargo has inspired us to include a kidnap in our sequence. Again the character kidnapped is an unsuspecting women, and this fits with the unsuspecting students. Our narrative idea also fits the unconventional plot of Fargo, this is because every time the protagonist tries to sort out his problems it makes him financially worse. Our students have a similar idea, as they try to protect themselves or make there situation better each day, but it doesn't help and another is kidnapped every time until there is only one left.

Here is the kidnap scene from Fargo.

MoodBoard

The mood board is all images related to Thriller Theme and images that inspired our story line.

Editing Roles

Video Editor
This editor will be cutting the footage into the correct positions determined by the storyboard and shot list. They will also add in transitions/other effects which helps to generate meaning within the sequence, and keep the narrative linear. They will also import the sound files, title screen and ident when they have been completed.

Sound
A soundtrack that represents the storyboard will need to be made. This needs to emphasize specific parts of the sequence, and will be more intense during the climax. Sound effects and the voiceover will also need to be organized by the sound editors. Garageband has the function of manipulating the sound of people's voices, which could help us to create a more realistic voiceover for our kidnap character. A simple sound will be created for the ident to help the audience recognize the company brand.

Poster/Title
A poster will help to create the product identity. The poster will include clues to the narrative and conventions of the thriller film which tell the the audience what kind of film it is and will encourage them to watch the film.

Ident
We have already created the ident logo for our production company here, and can be seen below. However we want to animate this ident to make is more interesting than just fading in and out. Therefore we are planning to add the animation of red barcode scanner that fits the convention of mystery, identity and searching for the resolution to the crime/thriller event.

Filming Roles

We will all have different roles, varying from actors, director, camera man, costume manager.

The Director:
The Director will have control over the exact location of filming and how certain angles should be shot. Although this maybe decided before the filming process, things may need to be changed for certain reasons.

Professional director of a film

Camera Man:
The Camera Man will make sure the camera is steady, at an appropriate angle and that the camera is safe and that no equipment is left on set and captured on film or broken. The Camera Man will also have a say on how the shots are taken i.e. what angles etc.

Prop and Costume Manager:
The Prop and Costume Manager will be in control and be in charge of the costumes and props and making sure they are appropriate to the story line and theme. They will also make sure no props or costumes are left behind, broken or left in the shot during filming.

The Actors:
Will obviously be following the directions of the Director, Camera Man and Prop Manager in order to make the film look and feel how it is intended to. They will also need to try hard to make their acting seem realistic and as professional as possible.

Titles

In most thrillers the title clearly indicates the genre, the topic, possibly the medical condition of the main character. In our case we are going to be creating a psychological thriller so the focus will be on mental threat. To create a realistic title I have collected a list of different psychological thrillers below.

• Se7en - seven days/seven murders, psychological threat using numbers or counting down.
• Vertigo - antagonist suffers from vertigo where you feel dizzy.
• Psycho - indicates the antagonist is a psycho.
• The Prestige - indicates the magic/illusion themes of the film.
• The Sixth Sense - an unnatural human sense which is the ability to talk to the dead.

To keep our film inline with psychological thriller it is important to have mental condition for a kidnapper antagonist, and also for then the have a death obsession. Therefore we are initially considering that our main character has the medical condition Cotard Syndrome, where they believe that they are dead.

Following this thought the working title will be "Life After Death".

Relation to Themes & Conventions

Our initial idea indicates that the main themes will be psychological, here we will explain why and how they relate to specific thriller conventions found here and here.

Firstly, it might not seem so but the narrative/character backstory is actually quite complex. The kidnapper will probably have quite a complex mental condition which has caused him to start kidnapping these people, and also the reason for the revenge he possibly seeks. The title of the film will indicate the genre and topic, this could be through the name of a mental condition. This was earlier used in the film Vertigo.

Next we have the common use of mirroring through the illusion of the kidnapper appearing and then disappearing, which causes uncertainty for the audience - another convention.

Voyeurism is another very obvious convention which we will use in our sequence, the audience will watch the students as they are kidnapped. We will see both through there eyes, through the narrator/kidnappers eyes, and also as an onlooker giving a three dimension feel to the sequence.

Typical of a psychological thriller we will use the idea of flashbacks, the complication of whether the events are reality of a dream, and the main character having a fascination with death - as the kidnapper may have the medical condition of Cotard Syndrome where he believes that he's dead.

Classification

Initially we believe that the film idea will be suitable for a 12/12A classification. Below is the full guidelines for the classification, and then also our reason why we below this is the right classification.

Guidelines:

• Discriminatory language/behavior must not be endorsed by the work as a whole.
• Any misuse of drugs must be minimal and should not be condoned.
• Moderate physical/psychologic threat may be present but should be infrequent and unsustained.
• Dangerous behavior that could be imitated should be absent from film.
• Moderate Language is allowed.
• Brief sexual content is allowed.
• Mature themes are allowed but must be appropriate for younger teenagers.
• Violence in the film should not be focused on gore/injuries unless it is justified by the context

Our film suits this classification because we will have themes of psychological threat and illusions. The act of kidnapping is a mature theme which could appear as a threat to younger audiences, however, it will not too focused on this act and so no higher classification would be needed.

Location Considerations

One of the most important aspects of our film is the setting. We all put a lot of thought into where we should   film it. We came to a decision that it had to be somewhere creepy and scary to help build tension and keep the audience interested and drawn in. We also decided we should film it at night, this is because it is harder to see and generally bad things happen at night. we also decided we should do the filming within cambridge because then it would be easily accessible for all of us. the things we are looking for are:

• Dark and out of the way from other civilization to make the audience think they are alone 
• Tall dark trees, bushes etc. that people could hide in/jump out of
• A single path, somewhere that someone actually might walk to make it more believable
• somewhere with no noise to make it silent, to build up tension and to be able to effectively place sound affects on top of the track.

We think that these aspects are important to a setting to make it believable and yet still scary and full of tension. We have considered various places in Cambridge such as:

Midsummer Common

A very large park with a long path and large trees (as seen in the picture below). The park isn't too far away from the colleges in Cambridge, which means the location would fit the narrative well. However there may be a lot of other pedestrians in this area, which will ruin the filming process as we want a quite area. We are also unaware of the lighting available.

Jesus Green

Another suitable location, similar to Midsummer Common  but not as busy. There is the advantage of benches which we need for our narrative. The disadvantages are that the park isn't as big as the others, and so could cause us problems when filming.

Christ's Pieces

Another good location with a cross pathway which causes decision making for the characters, and also confusion on the direction to take. Though it's very close to buildings and this could cause noise problems in our sequence.

Decision

We eventually decided on Midsummer Common Jesus Green, it is the most out of the way and provides us with dark trees and quiet area. At night this will create an eerie effect which is perfect for the narrative and themes of our sequence. However it is important for us to consider the lighting that would be available in a location such as this, if it is bad we may have to consider one of the other locations.

Initial Narrative Ideas

The inspiration for our film has come from the well-known University in Cambridge. We have taken advantage of this historical area which will cause a large audience to recognize the location, and therefore relate to the film. The main characters in the film are in fact University students.

Here is the initial narrative for our thriller, it is likely to change slightly as we progress through the project and our ideas will develop. The film would start with one student walking through a park alone, the shots will focus on his nervousness, and unease in this park as we hear him heavily breathing and frantically looking around. This is actually the end of the film, and the film will begin as a elliptical narrative where the kidnapper has a flashback to how the kidnapping of the students began.

The students were just walking through the park, at night, after being at the University. They are talking about something they had heard in a lecture, or something else.  As they are walking through the park they see a 'shady' man sitting on a bench, they quickly walk past but as they look back to the path one of them has gone. They immediately think that the man on the bench has taken him, but they look back and find he's not there. The next shots will see the illusion of the man seen in lots of different places across the park, and we may even heard a voiceover of him. For our two minute sequence this is all we would need.

If the sequence was continued into a film, another student would be picked off, and then another, eventually leaving just one. The film would be following these students, and would show their live at the University as they find that their friends have been kidnapped. An idea is that the remaining students that walked down through the park think that they are more prepared than the previous night, with more protection or going a different way - but their not. It's possible that the kidnapper is getting revenge on the last student who we see at the beginning of the film, before the flashback.

Our idea of kidnap relates back to the earlier thriller that we analysed, Fargo, which has a kidnap event.

Production Logo Fonts

As mentioned in our previous post, production company logos are really important in identifying the genre of film. Therefore we have decided to make our own logo, which we may be able to may into an ident later in the project.

We decided that we would create a more original production company name this time. The name we chose was Barcode Films, this relates the thriller general because it shows the themes of mystery and identity along with being similar to the Matrix. Therefore we had a barcode image placed on a black background. The fonts are also very important and there were three to choose from.

'Abstract' font

'Rough Typewriter' font

'Quibix' font

We decided that the 'Rough Typewriter' font looked best with out barcode, and would work best with the theme of identity, giving an crime-thriller feel as it could be reflective of typed documents. We think that the 'abstract' and 'quibix' fonts looks too modern, and would suit sci-fi films better. Below is our final logo.

If we have time to make this logo into an ident we will have a red light flash across the barcode, like it's being scanned. The scan with indicate the genre further as it shows the mystery of trying to find something, a solution or work out the problem. The red colour shows the theme of dead or blood.

Production Company Idents

Idents are used to identify the film production companies involved in the creation of a film. Touchstone pictures distributed the thriller film, The Prestige. Although they distribute a wide variety of film genres their ident does convey a message that the film will be more suited to adults. In the case of The Prestige, the logo is quite dark and has a flash of lightening, These are representative of the genre and conventions.



Although Idents are consistent throughout films. Production companies choose to change them depended on the genre of film, this helps the audience to understand what to expect from the film.
for example in The Dark Knight, the ident of Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures changes from it's normal colour to a darker blue and is quite metallic. The opening to The Dark knight can be watched here.

Modified Version of Warner Brothers logo.

Modified Version of Legendary pictures logo.

Garageband Sound Task: for 'Identity'.

We watched the opening of the 2003 film 'Identity' which stars John Cusack, it follows ten strangers in a motel on a rainy night as they gradually get killed off one by one. After watching the opening (without sound) we created our own sound to fit the video, this has helped us to get good timing for sound effects in the video and to use an appropriate soundtrack. You can see in the screenshot below that we imported the video so that we were accurately able to add music to it. Also noted is that we have muted the sound of the movie - this prevents it from conflicting with our own.

Movie track (muted)

Most of our sound used came from the preset loops that are found in the Garageband program. There are a variety of different sound effects, along with soundtrack clips that can be combined to create different atmospheres or moods. For this movie, which was a thriller, we needed to to be dark yet intriguing causing suspense and tension for the audience. You can see an example of how we selected our sounds in the 'loops' screenshot below. There are many different categories available, which makes it easier to find the sounds that are suitable. The software is even able to show the tempo, key and beats that the sound has which could be helpful if you were trying to make something distinct and show continuity.

Example of 'Loops' in Garageband

We decided to add the diagetic sounds first as they were the most intense. Our first ambience clip was for the rain in the background, we repeated the clip many times so that it appears natural and ongoing. The track volume was also considerably lowered to reflect how it is not the main focus of the sound, and that there are many other elements. Another ambience track, the thunder, which was added to fit with the lightning seen. Both are screenshots below.

Another important part of the diagetic sound was the tape recorder. There are two parts to the sound here. First is the static-like sound which we added as the tape recorder began. We found this under machines in the 'loops'. However, there is also another part to this, the clip of the bottom. We found it particularly hard to find a clip or a button sound that was appropriate. Instead we used the keyboard built into Garageband and used a low note as the click. This can be seen on the track 'Pop Kit'.

Tape recorder sounds (static & click)

After adding the diagetic sound we began to add the non-diagetic soundtrack that we expected to be heard. This would have have many more layers and would have been longer, but we didn't have enough time to add it in. Therefore we have the opening section with a slow violin piece which helped to add suspense.

Non-diagetic soundtrack

All together the final screenshot of our Garageband sound look like this:

Sound Terms

Here are the sound terms which we will use during our research and evaluation. They are particularly relevant to the earlier sound task where we created our own soundtrack to fit the opening of 'Identity'.

• Ambience - background noise or natural sounds
• Atmospheric - Sound that is used to create a distinctive mood/feel.
• Empathetic - Sound that matches the feelings of the character.
• Amenpathetic - when sound doesn't match characters feelings
• Asynchronised - when sound doesn't match visual, caused by bad editing.
• Character theme - a non-diagetic sound that is attached to a character
• Aural Motif - a diagetic sound that is attacthed to a character.
• Contrapuntal sound - opposite to what we expect.
• Diagetic - sounds within the narrative which the characters can hear sounds.
• Non-diagetic - within the scene characters can't hear the sounds.
• Sound bridge - diagetic or non-diagetic sound that helps the transition between scenes/shots
• Soundtrack - the music composed or collected for the movie.
• Sound effects - Sounds that are added in post-production for an effect of increased impact.
• Voiceover - The narrator like talking over the video, telling the story. This can also be dialogue between Characters with different image.
• Narrator - Dialogue that explains missing detail.
• Discordance/Cacophony - Sounds which emphasise chaos, these sounds are non-melodic (clashing together).
• Dialogue - Conversation between characters.

Soundtrack Task

We were set a task to create a soundtrack to some opening footage of a thriller film. We created the music on GarageBand and had to take into account the theme of the film, the mood and the weather. We had a quiet backtrack of rain to build tension as the clip progresses, then we added stings which got loader, they were creepy sounding and helped to build up tension. Thunderclaps were added in certain places to draw attention to certain elements. When the man on the tape starts to shout we introduced a different track that was louder and more intense.

Analysis: Sound in 'The Descent'

We listened to the sound used in a scene of the film The Descent (2005, Neil Marshall), by doing this were able to see how effective the sound is in creating atmosphere and giving a more realistic impression of the scene.

The diagetic sound of dialogue and water immediately indicates the atmosphere and the mood of characters. The non-diagetic soundtrack starts midway in the scene this helps to build tension and anxiety for the audience, warning them something is about to happen. The shock of he loud sound at the end is followed an increase of pace in the dialogue by the characters, showing they're scared or shocked.

Analysis: Previous Blog (R1-18)

The thriller video they produced was good. They used effective camera angles, for example, the point of view angle of the man on the ground. There is a good mix of hand-held footage, which makes the audience feel they are seeing it through the victims eyes, and tripod filming which gives the audience and clearer view of what is happening. The special effects, like the blood on his hand and the lag on the camera is effective and the blood on the hand is effective.

The soundtrack is contrapuntal to what is happening on screen. The music is quite up-beat, the music in thriller's tends to be low in tone but this video has quite a high pitch tone. The music doesn't really work with what is happening, and it would be better if it was a low tone and less repetitive especially when what is happening on screen is particularly violent. e.g when the man is holding a gun to his head. 

Their blog is well written. However, they don't go into a lot of detail or explain how they could improve their mistakes. They also do not have many screen grabs of the filming process or other resource material.

Analysis: Previous Blog (S1-22)

We watched the opening sequence for a previous thriller project, S1-22 (here). The sequence began with a character that we might believe is a detective as he examines the map board, however, this is not the case as he is a psycho-stalker. We follow him as he walks the streets, and begin to see his strange personality. The sequence ends with the image of him in a rabbit mask, as he talks to the girl waiting at the bus stop.

There is a wide range of shots, close-ups on the map board, long shots as it pans to follow him walking down the street, along with a range of angles that look up at the stalker to show his power. The shot is held steady which meets the criteria, with the occasional handheld which represents the characters POV. The mise-en scene was appropriate as well, as the main character just appears like a normal man until we hear him talk to the girl. The mask at the end meets the idea of a psychological thriller, as it quite out of place and abstract. Perhaps the most clever part of the sequence was the credits, or titles. This is because we see them on the map board as newspaper cuttings stuck on the board. Each of the young people we see on the board are people from the group that worked on the sequence and blog. The music is fairly slow and shows the psychological theme that continues through the piece, the sound effects and sci-fi music are also very representational of this type of thriller. You can see the sequence below.



Group S1-22's blog has included a vast amount of detail that fully backs up their sequence, and shows that they have though every part of the video in great detail. This meaning that the video appears even more affective that before. All there writing is backed up with photos, screenshots or clips from YouTube.

Marking Criteria for Video

The video is marked out of 60. Here are the different levels, with the marking bands and exam board comments.

Level 1: anything up to 23
Level 2: 24 - 25 (Basic)
Level 3: 36 - 47 (Proficient)
Level 4: 48 - 60 (Excellence)

Criteria:

• Holding the shot steady where appropriate
• Framing a shot including and excluding elements
• Using a variety of sot distances
• Shooting material that is relevant
• Selecting mise-en scene
• Editing so meaning is apparent to viewer
• Shot using varied shot transitions
• Sound fits or has an appropriate meaning
• Using titles appropriately 

Fargo: Crime Thriller

Conventions: 
Fargo is a dark crime thriller that tells the story of a man with financial troubles creates a plan to get some quick money - to have his wife kidnapped, and his father-in-law to pay the ransom which will actually be given to him. Obviously, this type of thriller has different convention to our earlier posts, we will be describing the crime thriller conventions here.

Firstly, it involves criminals/villains through the two thugs which are hired to kidnap Jerry's wife. However, they don't follow the conventions of normal villains as they were convinced into doing it, and they were confused as to why Jerry wanted his own wife kidnapped. But they did have an interest in the money and car that Jerry offered them in return.

There is a criminal event, such as the kidnapping in the film, but it could be a murder or some other violent act. Jerry's wife is kidnapped and this shows another convention of an innocent victim, that is a binary opposite of the criminals.

The location was cold and snowy area which adds the feeling of the cold-heartedness of the lead character, as it plans for his wife to be kidnapped.

The crime doesn't go to plan, as the kidnapping was quite difficult for the two criminals. Jerry also has problems as the finance he was sorting out to pay the criminals for the kidnapping, and also for his own debts, was turned down by his father-in-law. It is fairly common for the lead male character to have personal problems in a crime thriller, like the debt Jerry has.

Although, unconventional is the way he solves his problems. Each time he tries to get a loan or find money, he almost makes it worse for himself. This deepens the plot line and confusion for the audience, this also enforced by the variety of details that are key to the plot.

Characters:

The first character we see in the film is Jerry Lundegaard, a car-salesman who is severe debt and hires two criminals to kidnap his wife in an attempt to gain money from the ransom which his father-in-law will pay. Carl Showalter who is a talkative small time crook who hired by Jerry to kidnap Jerry's wife, His partner Gaear Grimsrud who is quiet unlike carl. These follow conventions of a partnership where one is small but is seen as the smarter one and the other is seen as the thug who does most of the dirty work. Not much is leaned about Jerry's wife, Jean Lundegaard who is represented as a stereotypical housewife.

Editing/Filming Techniques:
The editing quite conventional because it was parallel editing, shows two different events happening at the same time. There are a lot of conversation shots (180 degree rule), showing how the film develops through the conversations, and is an important element of the film. The shots increase in pace during the scene of the kidnapping. There are many shots on the face of the characters, particularly when the criminals chase another car, pace is important again here as the shots from character to road increase. Like other thriller subgenres we see dark lighting, and emphasis on the cold and unknown.

Conventions: Vantage Point (Analysis)

The film is set against the political background of The US President giving a speech in spain. This is a really important event during film because it represents political union between the two countries, we see that it is being broadcast around the world. However, this event is distributed when the US President is shot.

During the film we are able to see the conventions of a political thriller. Unusually the film shows the audience what they'd think would be the climax at the start, and then works backwards giving the audience insight from each of the 8 perspectives. The protagonist of the film, the Chief Bodyguard for the President, is assisted throughout by a variety of characters with information. It is also clear that he believes no-one can be trusted, this is a general convention of a thriller. The film was also fits into the psychological conventions of a thriller as it has themes of time and memory, as the story is replayed backwards and from different perspectives. Although the story is repeated several times, the audience almost gets confused more and more each time, as there is an increased amount of information to consider. Finally, the location of the film is set in Spain in an old historical building which shows the opposing culture to the protagonist  

Conventions: Action Thriller

We made a list of the conventions present in action thriller films such as The Recruit (2003) and Taken (2008). One of the conventions present in the action thriller genre is gore, this is quite un-conventional other Thriller genres such as psychological thriller and political thriller were gore is not seen at all or is kept to a minimum. One of the character conventions of action thrillers is that they both contain Antagonists who is usually the villain or the hostile force towards the protagonist) and the Protagonist, who is the leading character in the narrative, who has to fight against the antagonist. An example of a protagonist and antagonist is The Batman and the Joker in The Dark Night (2008). Another character convention seen in action thrillers is that the leading character is never fully understood by the other characters or the audience (The audience will often understand the character's motives by the end of the film). While other thriller films are located in one area, action thrillers are often shot in multiple countries such as the USA and Countries across Europe. The Bourne trilogy is an example of films that were shot in multiple countries across Europe and America, locations include, New York, Paris, London and Moscow.

The Batman and Joker.
The Protagonist & Antagonist

Example of a film shot in multiple countries
and locations

Conventions: Psychological Thriller

Psychological Conventions

• A character's sanity is brought into question as well as deciding whether what is happening is happening in the film instead of a dream for example.
• The plot can be quite confusing for the audience, this can become clear at the end of the film, on the other hand, it can end on a cliffhanger.
• It is dark themed, with dark things occurring within the film i.e. murder.
• The film is themed around a characters memory or dream.
• Some characters have a fascination with death.
• Parallel editing is quite common
• Flashbacks are used often
• Characters are in conflict with there own mind
• 2 Characters play with each others minds.
• Danger is on a mental level rather than a physical level
• There is a sense of mystery in the film, something must be solved or found out. 

Some examples of Psychological films are:

• Inception
• Donnie Darko
• Exam
• Fight Club
• The Game
• Sixth Sense

Conventions: Seven (Analysis)

Seven has a lot of conventions that suit a thriller film. In the mise-en-scene the lighting is very dark and there are very earthy colours, the bland and dark colours will make the brighter and lighter colours stand out more, for example blood, the colour of it stands out a lot more. The costumes of the characters also fit in with the conventions of a Thriller film, the costumes which are also part of the mise-en-scene portray the characters and give the audience an idea of the characters personality, even though the costumes are bland in colour, there are differences in the clothes worn. Morgan Freeman's character is a smart and organized man, this is seen through the organization of his daily routine and his clean, smart clothes. Brad Pitt's character is the binary opposite of Morgan's. Pitt's character does not wash and wears unwashed clothes. He also has his ties tied on a coat hanger.

Morgan Freeman's character is isolated, he lives on an estate with lots of loud neighbours. However his house is very clear, and smart. There is a metronome used in this scene showing his difficulty in sleeping, and the psychological themes of the film. When he's getting ready Freeman's character has lots of props, and looks at himself in the a mirror - the use of reflection is a key convention in thriller films. The isolation of this character are also shown when we see that he doesn't get on with his colleagues and appears to not have any interest in anything other than his work. It appears as if he is psychologically haunted by the murder scenes which he has to deal with, it's become part of his life.

The use of mature; expensive actors means that the film should be more serious and appealing to a wider audience. The actors should generally act out the thriller better as they are experienced and reputable. The title of 'Seven' indicates that the film may be about 7 days, or 7 murders. The credits definitely agree with this, with a montage used to show a 'killer' working on some documents that are linked to the murders.

Political Thriller Conventions (expanded)

We made a list of conventions present in Political thriller films such as Vantage point (2008), V for Vendetta (2006) and Frost/Nixon (2008). One of the narrative conventions that we see in the genre is that the film set against a political struggle backdrop, Vantage Point (2008) is an example of the use of a poltical backdrop, our analysis of Vantage Point can be found here. The convention of Protagonist and Antagonists are also present in the political thriller genre, The Plot is designed so the Antagonist tries to give political power to somebody whilst the Protagonist tries to to stop this. Another convention of Political Thriller films is that Innocent characters are drawn into the Political world (such as Evey in V for Vendetta) and have to prove their innocence. There are themes of deceit in the films. and the films also contain helper characters and false heros.

Evey (left) Is seen as the helper character to the
Protagonist, V (who is on the right)

Convention: Political Thriller

Examples of Political Thrillers are Frost Nixon, Blood Diamond, JFK, The last King of Scotland, Munich, Manchurian Candidate, Interpreter and Vantage point. Here are the conventions of a Political Thriller. 

• Threat set against a backdrop of political struggle, such as war or political revolution.
• Plot designed to give political power to someone while the opponent tries to prevent it.
• Innocent people drawn into political world.
• Plots of proving innocence
• Wide variety of locations and cultures.
• Themes of deceit, particularly from a false hero.
• Helper character assists the protagonist, by giving them information or weapons.

Conventions: Thriller & Horror Comparison

We have compared the conventions between Thriller and Horror genres.

Thriller

• Suspense to the climax at the end.
• Less focused on gore, more mystery/crime narrative.
• The Audience learns more about the characters, location and plot.
• Actors are generally more mature and experienced.
• Variety of locations used, usually in the city.
• Themes of psychology

Horror

• Tension all the way through.
• More gore/blood
• Don't get to know characters as well.
• Young cast of characters usually when they are in the start of their careers.
• Sub-urban setting.
• Adult characters are absent 

Conventions: Thriller

Here are the conventions that we thought to be associated with the Thriller genre. These will be incredibly helpful during the evaluation process.

• Complex narratives which usually involve a lot of layers to the story, with several events happening at the same time.
• Mirroring themes which could involving reflection of actual mirrors or characters who are seen to be mirroring each other's actions.
• Themes of mistaken identity
• Mystery or confusion usually with a character who falsely accused.
• Ominous soundtrack which gives the impression of being dark.
• Lighting is usually low-key with use of shadows.
• Title indicate clues to content or the main themes of the film.
• False equilibrium resulting in a plot twist.
• Binary opposite characters, e.g. Protagonist & Antagonist.
• Female objectification especially during the 1960s period of Thriller films.
• Voyeurism is the pleasure of watching as if you where there but could not be seen.
• Protagonist is an isolated character usually has an achilles heel which the antagonist uses against the protagonist. 

The Prestige (George Adamson)

Narrative - In the Beginning of the Film, We see a shot filled with top-hats which is commonly associated with magicians, so the audience straight away knows what the film is going to be about. The first words of Dialogue we hear are “Are you watching closely” by  who I presume to be Alfred Borden (Christian bale) we then see Cutter (Michael Caine) showing a little girl a magic trick, the audience Identifies “are you watching closely” and Cutter showing a magic trick to be aimed at them during this, Cutter explains the process of a magic trick to the Little girl and the audience in three parts. The pledge, the turn and the prestige. Whilst this is being said it is used as a voice over showing Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) performing his “transported man” trick and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) spectating this. Angier takes up the opportunity to inspect the “Transported man” apparatus and makes his way under-stage where he witnesses Angier drown, the audience is left with mystery of why Angier died and whether Borden killed him. After this, the scene changes to a court room concession of Alfred Borden’s Trial where Cutter continues his dialogue as if everything that he had just said was spoken in the courtroom.

Cutter explains the process of a trick

Characters - The first main character we see is Cutter who at the start is narrating but he seen as the storyteller because he is talking to a little girl the way a grandparent would might tell their grandchild a story. We learn that Cutter knew both Borden and Angier from the courtroom scene where is aware of a strong rivalry between both of them and testifies against Borden. The second main character we see is Alfred Borden who is watching Angier perform his “transported man” trick at a theatre. Borden is being accused of Angier’s murder however the audience still feels sympathy for Borden as we learn that the girl Cutter was showing a magic trick to was Borden’s daughter and that he would be separated. The Final main character we see is Robert Angier who is known as ‘The Great Danton’ The Magician is seen performing ‘The Transported man’ however the trick goes wrong and  he drowns. However the mystery remains whether Borden killed him and what motives Borden would have had to kill him.

Robert Angier (The Great Danton).

Mise-en-scene - One very noticeable mise-en-scene element is the costumes. The Costumes are period costumes. Costumes also help indicate the class of the characters. For example we see that Robert Angier dressed smartly indicating he is successful however we see Alfred Borden dressed in shabby clothing indicating the difference in class. Another element of Mise-en-scene we see is the lighting mostly of the lighting is natural lighting which appears in pockets in the background of most of the shots leaving the characters lightly lit in the forefront. This lighting helps to emphasis the texture of the film making it quite mysterious in a similar to the conventions of film-noir. Sets are made to look realistic and of the period that they are set in. For example the Courtroom contrasts with how a courtroom would look like today, likewise with a prison in todays world. Props are also made to look realistic however the ‘Transported man’ apparatus would not be something the audience would usually see this heightens the sense of mysterious around what is going to happen in the film. 

Alfred Borden.

Robert Angier and 'The Transported man' apparatus.

How this sequence meets my expectations of a Thriller? - All of these themes help to meet the expectations of a Thriller because they all help generate a feeling of mystery (Mystery which is one of the most important conventions in the genre) of what is the transported man? Did Borden kill Angier and why? Mystery which is one of the most important conventions in the genre. The Narrative is an elliptical narrative which means it begins with the end and then goes back and eventually ends up back the beginning this is often used in Thriller films such as Donnie Darko (2001, Richard Kelly).

The Prestige (Sam Payne)

The Prestige is a mystery thriller film from 2006, starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Cane among others. After watching the first 15 minutes of the film I am able to pick out the a variety of media techniques, the first being the narrative themes. The main theme was obviously that it’s a thriller, this is a result of a combination of things - including the mysterious plot line, intense soundtrack, and suspenseful opening which immediately grabs your attention. I think that the first shot of the top hats was extremely clever, and drew the audience in so that they would pay attention - this being the most important part of the film. Other themes were the illusions/magic, hierarchy between the judge and accused, poverty shown by the context of the time, and the power of a magician.

The narrative of the section I watched is very interesting, and tells the viewer a lot. We see a shot of the hats which become later relevant, and then the voiceover of Cutter (Michael Caine) asking the audience “Are you watching closely?”. This adds yet more suspense to the opening. The magic/illusion theme is clear here as Cutter explains and performs a magic trick - he describes the three main parts - the Pledge, The Turn and The Prestige. This opening quick turns to a courtroom scene with Cutter on the stand, and Borden (Christian Bale) as the accused of the murder of the Great Danton (Hugh Jackman). After this short scene Borden is offered payment of a magic trick of his - “The Transported Man”. This particular conversation shows the class/hierarchy and poverty of the time - the clothing also indicates this. We are then thrown into yet another scene, where the story really begins to unfold with the Great Danton trying to work out his rivals trick - it begins as a reading from his diary. At this point the audience may feel quite uneasy and confused because the narrative does not follow a chronological order or have a main perspective, it seems to jump around, and is therefore another reason for the identification as thriller genre.

There are three main characters in the first section of the film. Obviously, the Great Danton is one of them, he is said to have been murdered by Borden. The audience sympathize and focus on this character as he is seen as a great magician, the audience believe that Borden wanted him to die in the water tank. Borden is another character, he is seen as another character, again we sympathize with this character as he is threatened with his daughter being put in a work house. Both these characters could be seen as protagonists or antagonists, of themselves and one another. Cutter is perhaps the final main character, he is a neutral and seen in the beginning of the film, he knew both the magicians and appears at a narrator.

As we analyze the mise-en scene of this section we are able to learn more about the characters, themes and story line. The costumes obviously reflect the time period well, most of the clothing is very smart and this represents the showman ways of the characters, and helps to show a theme of magic/theatre. However we are also able to see the difference in class through the prison outfit that Borden wears, and the suit that the solicitor wears. Also different personalities have different costumes, so the Great Danton dresses far smarter than Borden during the film. Lighting and colour have been used together to great a darker more mysterious setting, but this is also reflective of the time period and the use of natural light. This helps the audience to view this as reality for the characters. Spot lights are used to show the showman persona again. The locations in this first section are of a wide variety, there are scenes in a house, a courtroom, a prison and then out in the mountains. I think this fast showing of locations is used to get the audience into that period, and to quickly get engaged in the film. They all indicate that the period is very non-technologically advanced. Music is also crucial, with the beginning being silent this increases the suspense. The orchestra led soundtrack adds to the period, and mystery of many of the scenes.

The Prestige represents thriller films in a number of ways. Firstly it is highly suspenseful and mysterious, grabbing the attention of the audience quickly. Throughout we find it to be very obscure, and confusing, the story/narrative seem to jump around so there is no chronological order. The narrative also has multiple layers which, for me, makes the story more interesting and intriguing. Lastly, there is a murder, which is an example of a violent act - typical in a thriller.