Runaway - Final Production
Thursday, 26 November 2015
Monday, 16 November 2015
Application of Thriller Case Study
In my previous post , I explored the conventions of three genres; Horror, Action and Thriller. Later in the year we are being tasked with producing an opening to a Thriller film so this will be my main focus in the following weeks.
What i can learn about Thrillers from this scene/ film?
The film I researched last time was "Jackie Brown". It is one of the most iconic and successful Thriller films from the highly decorated director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino has won 2 Oscars and has another 108 award wins plus 130 award nominations. As a very successful Thriller director, I plan to use many of Tarantino's signature shots. From my external research I have found a website called:
"Quentin Tarantino's Trademarks"
http://wiki.tarantino.info/index.php/Quentin_Tarantino's_Trademarks
This website details all his stereotypical shots/ scenes and examples of where he has used them in his films. Examples from this website that interest me include: The Gods eye PoV shot, the use of black and white, television shot and possibly the "violent awakening".
Gods eye PoV shot
This shot for me puts the audience almost in an eavesdropping position, like we are watching the character from a far or almost spying on them. I'd like to somehow incorporate this shot into my Thriller as i think audiences can get a broad sense of the action on the screen. In addition it conveys, to an extent, the innocence of a character as they don't know they are being watched. Moreover, I think it would be an interesting shot to use and a reward technique if it I implemented it correctly.
Television Shot
This shot involves a character watching TV. Its normally a Close up shot of the television set. Close ups here suggest the character is completely focused on the TV and oblivious to the action around them. I could use this to connote innocence and suggest vulnerability in my Thriller. On top of that, the TV shot implies normality with the character and situation.
The violent awakening
The violent awakening is a Thrilling scene and one that makes the audience question whats happened to the character. Its an immediate sense of panic and concern and can be used to grip the audience. If this shot was used right at the start I believe the result could confuse the audience and make them intrigued to understand more about the character and investigate the cause of the concerning awakening.
What i can learn about Thrillers from this scene/ film?
The film I researched last time was "Jackie Brown". It is one of the most iconic and successful Thriller films from the highly decorated director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino has won 2 Oscars and has another 108 award wins plus 130 award nominations. As a very successful Thriller director, I plan to use many of Tarantino's signature shots. From my external research I have found a website called:
"Quentin Tarantino's Trademarks"
http://wiki.tarantino.info/index.php/Quentin_Tarantino's_Trademarks
This website details all his stereotypical shots/ scenes and examples of where he has used them in his films. Examples from this website that interest me include: The Gods eye PoV shot, the use of black and white, television shot and possibly the "violent awakening".
Gods eye PoV shot
This shot for me puts the audience almost in an eavesdropping position, like we are watching the character from a far or almost spying on them. I'd like to somehow incorporate this shot into my Thriller as i think audiences can get a broad sense of the action on the screen. In addition it conveys, to an extent, the innocence of a character as they don't know they are being watched. Moreover, I think it would be an interesting shot to use and a reward technique if it I implemented it correctly.
The Use of Black and White
Black and White can be very useful in showing danger and mystery. Its commonly used in scenes to intensify them. From my preliminary task I am confident enough to successfully put a sequence into black and white. Something else to consider is using black and white whenever a certain character is on screen or using it fully up to a certain event/ conversation and the introducing colour onto the screen. The use of black and white in these examples could show feelings/ emotions/ personality.
Television Shot
This shot involves a character watching TV. Its normally a Close up shot of the television set. Close ups here suggest the character is completely focused on the TV and oblivious to the action around them. I could use this to connote innocence and suggest vulnerability in my Thriller. On top of that, the TV shot implies normality with the character and situation.
The violent awakening
The violent awakening is a Thrilling scene and one that makes the audience question whats happened to the character. Its an immediate sense of panic and concern and can be used to grip the audience. If this shot was used right at the start I believe the result could confuse the audience and make them intrigued to understand more about the character and investigate the cause of the concerning awakening.
Sunday, 15 November 2015
Thursday, 5 November 2015
Tuesday, 3 November 2015
The Start Of Thriller Research
In our first lesson after half-term, we began Thriller research. In this lesson we began to look into what the difference was between a Horror film, an action film and a Thriller film. This will be useful to us as when it comes to filming/ planning our Thriller we will know what to include/ avoid to ensure we are sticking to the genre as close as possible.
Action
Nearly all action films will feature a main character who is a hero/ heroine. This is the character that is most important to the plot. For example, in the Bourne Identity, the hero is Jason Bourne. These characters are often credited with being able to "defy gravity". What we mean here is that the are an incredibly strong and tough character. For example, in the movie "Die Hard" John McClane (Bruce Willis) survives a lot of painful experiences e.g fight scenes and explosions. Explosions are a common "ingredient" in action films.
Example Clip: Casino Royal Parkour Chase/ Fight Scene
This is a clip from the very famous Casino Royale. During this extract we can observe many aspects of a typical action film sequence.
The combination of the heroic, death defying acts and the explosions during this clip are used to keep the audience on edge. It is a very fast yet tense scene that keeps the viewer fixed to the screen. These features are defining factors of a great action film and are typical to the action genre and the James Bond franchise.
Horror
Horror films are defined by having a supernatural feature. This could be in the form of the villain e.g a Zombie or a Ghost. Other characteristic features of the Horror genre include graveyards, coffins, blood, dark places (where people are most vulnerable) and good vs evil. However, these feature arent restricted to Horror and many of them can be seen in other genres. The deciding factor for what becomes a Horror film is the use of Supernatural beings.The Horror genre is credited to have first been seen between the 1910's and the 1920's. Since then the amount of Horror films produced per year has dramatically increased from around 10 a year to over 6,300. (2015) Figures: http://www.imdb.com/search/title?genres=horror&explore=year
One of the most iconic Horror films was Dracula (1957) staring Christopher Lee. During the final scene of this film, as Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) is killing Dracula we can see many aspects of the Horror genre. For example, in the start of the extract, we can see Dracula place a women's body into a grave. This gives the audience a "chill" and retains the horror feel of the film. This scene is set at a rather dark time of day. This creates a tense atmosphere as the audience has a fear of the unknown.Darkness or dim light is an extremely common feature of a Horror film.
Thriller
Thrillers can be very similar to a Horror film. They often contain very similar features including dark lighting and violence. Thrillers however are more realistic and resemble real life which gives them their "Thrilling" nature. Iconic Thrillers include: Inception, Casino Royale, Jackie Brown and the Bourne franchise. One of the most highly decorated directors within the Thriller Genre is Quentin Tarantino. Famous for his Thrillers: Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol.2 and his work on Sin City. The extract i have chosen is from Jackie Brown. This scene features many stereotypical Thriller features. For example, a common feature of a Thriller, or at least Tarantino films, is a low angle, car boot shot. This puts the audience in a position of vulnerability. What's more, Thrillers also feature a lot of Guns as even if they aren't fired the viewer is reminded of the killing potential o
f these characters. This gives the film an edge to it as violence could break out at any moment. In this extract, Tarantino uses few cuts and shots. During the 7 minute scene there are 8 different shots. T hat's just under a minute per shot. This reinstates the realist aspect of a Thriller and give the characters and action a more believable feel. All of these are great features of a Thriller but arguably the most iconic is the use of Noir lighting, noir obviously being French for Black. This kind of lighting is extremely common in Thriller films and can be seen during this extract.
Action
Nearly all action films will feature a main character who is a hero/ heroine. This is the character that is most important to the plot. For example, in the Bourne Identity, the hero is Jason Bourne. These characters are often credited with being able to "defy gravity". What we mean here is that the are an incredibly strong and tough character. For example, in the movie "Die Hard" John McClane (Bruce Willis) survives a lot of painful experiences e.g fight scenes and explosions. Explosions are a common "ingredient" in action films.
Example Clip: Casino Royal Parkour Chase/ Fight Scene
This is a clip from the very famous Casino Royale. During this extract we can observe many aspects of a typical action film sequence.
- The clear hero/ heroine in this sequence is James Bond (Daniel Craig). This clip is towards the start of the film and we can already see who the main action star is for this movie.
- There are many examples during this scene where Bond is seen to be "defying gravity" which are all used to assert Bonds power and/or his hero like properties.
- In addition to this, another feature of the action genre we can see in this clip are explosions. Explosions and other collisions are used to grip the viewer and keep them engaged with the sequence.
Horror
Horror films are defined by having a supernatural feature. This could be in the form of the villain e.g a Zombie or a Ghost. Other characteristic features of the Horror genre include graveyards, coffins, blood, dark places (where people are most vulnerable) and good vs evil. However, these feature arent restricted to Horror and many of them can be seen in other genres. The deciding factor for what becomes a Horror film is the use of Supernatural beings.The Horror genre is credited to have first been seen between the 1910's and the 1920's. Since then the amount of Horror films produced per year has dramatically increased from around 10 a year to over 6,300. (2015) Figures: http://www.imdb.com/search/title?genres=horror&explore=year
One of the most iconic Horror films was Dracula (1957) staring Christopher Lee. During the final scene of this film, as Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) is killing Dracula we can see many aspects of the Horror genre. For example, in the start of the extract, we can see Dracula place a women's body into a grave. This gives the audience a "chill" and retains the horror feel of the film. This scene is set at a rather dark time of day. This creates a tense atmosphere as the audience has a fear of the unknown.Darkness or dim light is an extremely common feature of a Horror film.
Thriller
Thrillers can be very similar to a Horror film. They often contain very similar features including dark lighting and violence. Thrillers however are more realistic and resemble real life which gives them their "Thrilling" nature. Iconic Thrillers include: Inception, Casino Royale, Jackie Brown and the Bourne franchise. One of the most highly decorated directors within the Thriller Genre is Quentin Tarantino. Famous for his Thrillers: Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol.2 and his work on Sin City. The extract i have chosen is from Jackie Brown. This scene features many stereotypical Thriller features. For example, a common feature of a Thriller, or at least Tarantino films, is a low angle, car boot shot. This puts the audience in a position of vulnerability. What's more, Thrillers also feature a lot of Guns as even if they aren't fired the viewer is reminded of the killing potential o
f these characters. This gives the film an edge to it as violence could break out at any moment. In this extract, Tarantino uses few cuts and shots. During the 7 minute scene there are 8 different shots. T hat's just under a minute per shot. This reinstates the realist aspect of a Thriller and give the characters and action a more believable feel. All of these are great features of a Thriller but arguably the most iconic is the use of Noir lighting, noir obviously being French for Black. This kind of lighting is extremely common in Thriller films and can be seen during this extract.
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