Preliminary Exercise

This task was compulsory for media, our teachers gave us a tutorial, and it enabled us to get more familiar with the equipment, (how to achieve different camera angles and shots). We learnt how to use the Imac computers for editing. Now we are experienced with the equipment, it is going to be easier for my group, to film and edit our 2 minute thriller opening. Also when we finish our 2 minute thriller the exam board can compare the preliminary exercise with the film, this is going to show them how much we have learnt about the film making process and editing, and how far we have come from the exercise.

Analysis of my Preliminary exercise

We used simple basic camera shots. There was a medium shot in the beginning, at the end of the medium shot, Paul accidentally tilted the camera, we tired to cut it out but then the scene was to short to load, so we had to keep it. The scene then dissolves onto a medium shot of Sir walking into the room, as he gets nearer the camera wobbles. It dissolves onto another medium shot of sir sitting down, then pans to the side. When he walks to the front of the classroom his whole body is cut out you can only see his arm. There is a close up shot of me crying, then dissolves onto me looking out the window. You can see half of my head and the field. We found it difficult to shoot, however at the end we got a hold of it. I am sure our final film will have no camera problems.

We should have added music because we cut many things out and the dialogue sounds unusual.

Bourne Identity (2002)

Bourne Identity

I watched this movie at home, it was based on the novel by Robert Ludlum and directed by Doug Liman.

The film is about a man who is found in the sea with bullet wounds on the back of his body . He sufferers from amnesia and tries to find out his identity as well as trying to avoid people who want him dead.

His first clue is the projector of a laser which has the details of a Swiss bank account which is embedded in his hip. Before the movie was made Bourne Identity was a television series.

More Conventions of a Thriller

I have researched further, on thriller conventions, and have identified more conventions, which identify the fact that the film is a thriller film.

• These are the conventions -
  Usually non-diegetic music is used in the beginning of the movie e.g. seven, vertigo, the inside man etc.


• The opening titles, editing cuts are quick e.g se7en.


• The use of colour suggests the themes of the film e.g. red can represent murder/danger.
  


• A crime usually takes place in the narrative.


• Enigmas, Cliff hangers and Red Herrings are used to create more suspense for the audience.


• The film usually starts from the point of view of the protagonist or antagonist.


• The antagonist and protagonist are usually binary of opposition, e.g. In Hannibal there was an inspector and a serial killer.


• Usually identity is questioned e.g North by North West, Bourne Identity etc.


• Usually an innocent protagonist is drawn into a violent, criminal world by the antagonist, or police to go undercover and tackle the evil schemes of the protagonist.


• The protagonist is empowered by the antagonist with weapons and his henchmen - hit man, gangsters etc.


• Voyeurism - watching something when your not supposed to.


• Protagonist has a weakness which the antagonist takes the advantage of.


• Complex dilemma.


• Dramatic irony.


• There is a mystery.

• The editing is quick during the action but slow during the suspense of the film.
  

• The music fits with the scene, in action thriller scenes the music would be upbeat but in suspense scenes the music will be slow and deep.

• If the film was a noir film then the lighting would be dark, there would not be many bright lights or colours. The lighting depends on what effect the director wants to create. Low key lighting contrast dark and light areas known as chiaroscuro, this creates an atmosphere of danger and builds up tension. Back lighting creates silhouettes it gives a mysterious vibe, especially if it is used behind a character. It makes the character look powerful, he can see us (the audience) but we can not see him properly.
  

• The camera work depends on the situation, if car chases are taking place in thriller films then tracking shots are used to follow the action. During fighting scenes the camera usually pans. Point of view shot is effective during running scenes, it builds up tension.
  

Most people ask what are the difference between a murder mystery and a thriller, in a thriller you mostly know who the antagonist is, and you have to tackle obstacles to take him down. But in a murder mystery you do not know who the killer is until the protagonist unravels it.

The narrative of a thriller goes through 4 steps.

In the beginning of a thriller everything is Equilibrium - everything is normal and balanced, then a Disequilibrium occurs - events or actions that occur, to disrupt the balance and normality. Then a Resolution takes place - the problem is solved. Finally a new Equilibrium is established - where everything is normal and balanced again but it is different from the Equilibrium in the beginning.
In North By North West, Equilibrium - Thornhill's life is balanced and normal, Disequilibrium- he is mistaken for his identity, Resolution - he saves Eve, New Equilibrium - his life is normal and balanced but is married to Eve.

Vertigo (1958)

Vertigo

The word vertigo is defined by the Britannica encyclopedia as a 'motion in which the individual or the individual surroundings seem to whirl dizzy.'

This film was directed by Alfred Hitchcocks.

He was the first person to introduce a reverse zoom shot - background comes towards us, then foreground goes down. He achieved this shot by tracking away from the shot of the object while zooming towards the object. Combining these two shots - the zoom in and track out created this effect. It visually makes the audience feel as dizzy as the protagonist.

The film is about a retired detective called Scottie, who is hired to follow his college friend's wife, for her peculiar behaviour. Madeline - his friends wife tries to commit suicide. Scottie manages to save her and they fall in love. She tells him about her bad dreams. He tells her to confront the dreams, so they both go to the location - the church . Suddenly she runs up the stairs, Scottie fails to chase her up the bell tower as he has acrophobia and hears a scream. Madeline commits suicide, later he bumps into a women who looks exactly like Madeline and he find out the who Madeline really is.

Analysis of Vertigo opening titles

The camera fade from black, to a close up of a women lips, the camera tilts up to the nose and eyes. There is an extreme close up shot, of the eye. The image goes red. There is a graphic match of coloured spiral circles. The spirals increase in size, then decreases and fades back into the eye. The spiral image shows the psychological state of Scottie.

The music is suspenseful, it is fast, a deep loud sound is repeatedly occurring and adds to the idea of suspense. The music builds up (gets louder and louder) and changes. The new music is the same pace but has different instruments playing in it. the deep sound repeats. At the end, the music is the same as the beginning.

Se7en - 1995

Se7en

I recently watched this movie over half term, I found it very interesting as it gave me an insight of the murderers psychological state. It is a crime thriller directed by David Fincher who is well known for his thriller films, such as The Panic Room, Fight Club, Zodiac and Killer.

This film explores the psychological state of a murderer, two detectives try to take down a serial killer who kill according to the seven deadly sins; Gluttony, Envy, Pride, Lust, Greed, Sloth and Anger.

Analysis of Se7ven opening titles

The title sequence of Se7en, introduces the psychological mind of a murder. The titles are shaky and words are quickly flashed on the black background. There are close up shots, high angle close up shots, and some panning shots. There are close up shots when the killer is slicing of his fingerprints, this shows that he will go to through extreme lengths, to cover up his tracks. Also it shows he is mentally unstable.

From the sequence, I have gathered that the murderer is researching, from books and newspaper articles. He is very organised, it seems like he is searching for something. There is an extreme close up shot, of the word God being cut out of money, this is very significant, as it conveys multiple meaning such as, the connection of the title - Se7en- the Se7en deadly sins - the money connects to the sin of greed. The colour (green) is also associated with envy. Some Images are red, which contributes to the idea of the 7 deadly sins - sin of anger. It also represents the blood that is going to be shed and how dangerous this person is.

The music is upbeat throughout the opening titles, there are deep notes, and the film sounds scratched. There are sounds of technical cliches. near to the end the music gets faster, and more upbeat. When there is an image of God being cut out, someone sings, 'you bring me close to God.' Thus suggesting the killer is devoted to God.

Target Audience

Target Audience

I wrote a questionnaire, and gave it to 34 people. I calculated my results and put them into a bar chart. (I wrote 9 questions, the questions are written below).

1) Are you male or female?
Response: 17 people who took part in the questionnaire were Male and the other 17 were Female.

2) How old are you?
Response: 8 people from the age of 12-15 and 16-19, took part in the questionnaire, and 6 people from the age of 20-23, 24-27, 27+ took part as well.

3) What types of film do you commonly watch?
Response : From the age group of 12-15, all 8 people, commonly watched thriller films, from the age group 16-19, only 6 people out of 8 watched thriller films. The other 2 people often watch horror. From the age group of 20-23, 4 people out of 6 people often watched romance, the other two people often watched comedy. From the age group 24-27, 3 people out of 6 watched action films, the other 3 watched comedy. From the age group of 28+ 3 people out of 6, watched action the other 3 watched comedy. No one watched Sci-Fi films.

Most people from the age of 12-15 and 16-19, often watched thriller films. This shows that thriller films are popular amongst teenagers. It was mostly popular in the category of aged 12-15, everyone watched thriller films.

4) What is your favourite genre film?
Response: From the age group of 12-15, 6 out of 8 people favourite genre was thriller, the other two people liked horror. From the age group of 16-19, 6 out of 8 people favourite genre was thriller the other tow liked comedy. From the age group of 20-23, 4 people liked action, the other two liked horror. 5 people out of 6, aged from 24-27 liked Romance, One of them liked Comedy. 4 people out of 6, aged from 28+ liked action films, the other two like romance. No one liked Sci-Fi films.

I noticed the older you were the less you liked thriller films. Again thriller films are more liked by 12-15 than 16-19.

5) Do you like thriller genre films?
Response: All 8 people from the age of 12-15 and 16-19 liked thriller films. All 6 people, from the age group of 20-23 liked thriller films. Only 4 people out of 6, aged 24-27 liked thriller films, the other two people did not like thriller films. All 6 people from 28 and above did not like thriller films.

Most ages liked thriller films, apart from two people aged between 24-27, no one aged 28+ liked thriller films. I may consider aiming my film to people aged 15, as the thriller genre is very popular amongst them, and they often watch it as well.

6) What type of thriller sub-genre do you prefer?
Response: Aged 12-15, 1/8 people liked psychological thriller, 7/8 liked crime thriller.
Aged 16-19, 6/8 people liked people liked crime thriller, 2/8 liked religious thriller.
Aged 20-23, 4/6 people liked religious thriller, 2/6 liked medical thriller.
Aged 24-27, 3/6 people liked action thriller, the other 3/6 people liked techno thriller.
Aged 28+, 5/6 people liked crime thriller, 1/6 liked action thriller.

Most people from ages 12-15 and 16-19, liked crime thriller, fortunately most of my initial ideas were a part of that sub-genre.

7) What typical conventions do you expect from a thriller film?
Response:Aged 12-15, 4/8 people expected fast pace action, the other 4/8 expected car chases.
Aged 16-19, 6/8 people expected car chases, 2/8 expected fast pace action.
Aged 20-23, 4/6 people expected SFX, 2/6 expected dramatic irony.
Aged 24-27, 3/6 people expected SFX, other 3/6 people expected an obvious antagonist.
Aged 28+, 2/6 expected an obvious antagonist, 4/6 expected dramatic irony.

I learnt teenagers, , expected fast pace action and car chases, I would want my thriller film to be fast pace and involve cars, so I can appeal to this audience.

8) What would engage you in a thriller?
Response:Aged 12-15, 6/8 said the storyline would engage them, 2/8 were engaged by music.
Aged 16-19, 6/8 said the storyline would engage them, 2/8 were engaged by music.
Aged 20-23, 4/6 said the actors/acting would engage them in a thriller, 2/6 were engaged by mystery.
Aged 24-27, 3/6 people were engaged by enigmas, the other 3/6 people were engaged by the mystery.
Aged 28+, 2/6 people were engaged by the actors/acting, 4/6 people were engaged by the enigmas.

Most teenagers, (12-15, 16-19), were engaged by the storyline and music, I think my storyline is different and unique. Everyone expects that Sara is a normal girl, but they are in for a surprise. This will add suspense to the film and will attract them to my thriller film. I would make sure the music is flows with the scenes.

9) What would appeal to you in a thriller?
Response: Aged 12-15, 4/8 were appealed by the storyline, the other 4/8 people were appealed by the suspense the thriller created.
16-19, 4/8 were appealed by the storyline, the other 4/8 people were appealed by the suspense the thriller created.
20-23, 4/6 people were appealed by the cliff hangers, 2/6 were appealed by the crime.
24-27, 3/6 people were appealed by the non-diegetic and diegetic sounds, the other 3/6 were appealed by the crime.
28+, 4/6 people were appealed by the cliff hangers, 2/6 were appealed by the sounds.

Again most teenagers (12-15, 16-19), thought the storyline would appeal to them and the suspense created. I would make sure suspense is created through the mis-en-scene. I would make sure you can not see the full face of the gangster, this will add suspense by making the audience question his identity, who is he? This will be mysterious, also I will edit some scenes in black and white, this will create a dark atmosphere in the film.


The British Board of Film association rate British films. My film is aimed at an audience who like thriller movies. It would target people from 15 to 18, but I would precisely aim it at the certificate audience of 15. I would limit the sexual scenes and inappropriate language. There still would be a lot of violence. I have decided to aim my film at this audience, from the results of the questionnaire the thriller genre is mostly popular around them. If my film is shown on television, I will make sure it is on after the watershed (9:00pm), as I do not want young children to be affected by the violence scenes.

This focus group helped my group understand what an audience wants from a thriller. Their opinions on why not, or why they like thriller films. The males enjoyed a thriller with explosions, fast pace music and car chases. The girls rarely watch thriller films. They were more interested in social realism. There were no microphones available, as students were using them, therefore there is a buzzing sound in the background, but you can clearly hear their responses to the questions.

From this focus group I learnt that thriller films are more popular to males than females. The SFX attracts males to the genre. They especially like conspiracy films - The Manchurian candidate. The girls also like conspiracy films, Aicha really likes Alfred Hitchcock films. I also learnt that some people may find the thriller genre confusing, Jaye was not sure if the last film she watched was a thriller. This has showed me that I need to include most thriller conventions, so it is obvious to the audience that my film is a thriller film.

♫ Diegetic, Non-Diegetic sounds, Sound Bridges, Parallel and Contrapuntal Sounds ♫ (Pre production process of sounds for my film)

The word Diegetic means sound within the world of text, non-diegetic means the world of the text.

Diegetic sounds

Diegetic sounds are sounds that are apart of the film, it comes from the source of objects or people, e.g. Dialogue, kettle boiling, or music from a radio. It can occur off screen, (we do not see where the sound is coming from) or on screen (we know where the sound is coming from).

Non-Diegetic Sounds

Non diegetic sounds are sounds that the character cannot hear, the audience does not know where the source of sound is coming from, e.g. background music, narratives voice.

Sound Bridges

Sound bridges are when music or sounds continue into the next scene. It creates smooth transitions from scene to scene.

Parallel Sounds

Parallel sounds are sounds that match a scene, e.g. a happy scene will have happy music and laughter.

Contrapuntal Sounds

Contrapuntal sounds are sounds that do not match the scene, e.g. a happy scene will have sinister music. This is effective as the audience immediately know something bad is going to happen.

Hopefully in my film i will include a variety of diegetic sounds, non-diegetic sounds, sound bridges, so the scene can flow through well, and parallel or contrapuntal sounds in my film when it is appropriate.

Camera and angle shots, that i can use in my film║███║

Camera and angle shots

In my film i would want to use a variety of camera and different angle shots, to make it more interesting. I would always have steady shots, as that is a part of the coursework - to see if you have held steady shots, unless your doing a point of view shot, which then obviously means the shots will not be steady.

I would focus on the camera framing, and make sure all the important aspects are in it, and not cut out from the camera, e.g. in an interview I would include the persons head as well as a body, my teacher told me a student filmed an interview and all you could see were their face. This would have made it boring, they should have filmed the actors body language as well, as it plays a huge part in communication.

There are many camera shots I aim to do such as Panning, Medium shot, Long shot, Close up, Extreme close up, using different shots will make it interesting for the audience to watch, it will engage them more with the film.

Panning shots - when camera moves from a fixed axis, slowly from side to side.
Medium shots- when camera is far, (not that far) away from the actor/action, you can see everything in the scene.
Long shot- when camera is far away from the actor/action/object
Close up- when the camera is really close to something
Extreme close up- when the camera is extremely close to something

I would also aim to have high angle and low angle shots, as high angle shoots symbolically represents power and low angle shots represent vulnerabilities.

Costume

Costume

The costume will depend on the role of the character, if the character is a hero they would wear light colour but if the character is a villain then they would wear dark colours. I will describe what costume my characters would wear in my 5 initial ideas. (My Initial ideas are written in detail 4 post below)

1st Film Idea
A baby getting kidnapped and a Ransom Note is Left behind.
Costume
The baby would be wearing pink or blue clothes, this shows the gender of the baby. These two colours are very innocent - babies are commonly known to wear these colours.
The kidnapper would be wearing dark leather gloves with black trousers and a black coat.

2nd Film Idea
A girl suffering from schizophrenia, she starts talking to her friend, as the camera pans around you can see the girl is talking to herself. There is no one here, evidently it shows that she is unaware of her condition.
The girl would be wearing white to show represent her innocence, her supposedly friend would be wearing black. This contrast with her white costume and show her friend is probably a bad person. The black costume makes the film more sinister.

3rd Idea
A girl who has been drugged, wakes up in a room to fins herself injured, she tries to escape through a small window before the kidnapper comes into the room.
The girl would be wearing a white dress, showing blood stains, this will show she is a good person who has been attacked by an evil person. The kidnapper will be wearing black leather gloves, black shoes, black jumper and lack trousers. You will not see his face - this will make it suspenseful and mysterious for the audience, as they do not know who the person is.

4th Idea
A cat and mouse chase - a boy witnessing a murder and the murderer trying to find him to silence him.
The boy would be wearing casual clothes - jeans and a t-shirt, this shows that he is an ordinary person who has been drawn into the world of violence.
The murderer would be wearing a grey suit, with a Rolex watch, this shows that the criminal is very rich and could be an important mobster.

5th and Final Idea
A girl is getting ready to go out, she hears police sirens and starts to run with a bag, the bag is then reveled to have drugs in it.
The girl would be wearing casual clothes-colourful dress, leggings and bangles to make mis-lead the audience to think that she is a normal girl.

Examples Of Costume

Locations

Locations

I went to visit my uncle in Kent and came across some chilling places. It is unrealistic for my group to go Kent and film, but I still took pictures, because the locations seemed to come from a thriller movie. It is not a very clear picture, (I apologize for the poor photography), but you can see it is a dark castle.

This camera shot is a high angle medium shot, you can see the front of the castle, with a dark gloomy sky.

The pictures below were taken in Dagenham. It will be convenient for my group and I to film here, as they live in Dagenham, and the location is not far from where I live - Seven Kings.

It is a high angle, medium shot of a church, I can film all my ideas here. Nearly all my ideas have someone running or walking, I can film them walking/running by this church.





This camera shot is a high angle shot, you can see the church more in detail. Such as the windows the gate and grass. The high angle makes be personally believe that I am looking up on God.








I took more pictures of a different church, this church looks bigger, and again I could use this location to film my actor/actress walking/running. It is a medium shot, I could have improved the shot by moving my camera to an appropriate position where i could have capture the whole church. I should have moved further away from the church and have my camera opposite it.









This is the side entrance to the church , it is a medium shot. You can see it was a wet day when i took these pictures by the puddles in the ground and the grey sky.

This is a picture of a little mini-garden, it is gated up. I liked this image, as it symbolic represents the characters suffocating situation. They are trapped.

The Inside Man (2006)

The Inside Man

This film was directed by Spike Lee, it is about a bank robbery. Men dress up as painters and take down CCTV cameras by shining ultra-violent lights at them. The robbers order everyone to wear overalls and masks.

They open up a vault 392, this vault has no bank record, and is the vault of the bank owner. The contents are revealed as diamonds, and then the audience find out, the owner of the bank made some dealings with the Nazis,and the diamonds belonged to his Jewish friends whom he betrayed.

Two detectives try to negotiate with the robbers, exchanging the hostages for any items they want e.g. helicopters. The robbers send out a hostage with a message, the detective plans a way to get into the bank without the robbers knowing. When the plan was about to proceed, the detective (Denzel Washington) realizes the message was bugged, and tells the officers to back down. Once the robbers hear this, they throw smoke bombs and release the hostages.

The robbers and hostages are wearing the same clothes so no one knows who the robbers are. They get away with the 'perfect bank robbery'. The film is started off with people in police stations giving statements, talking about what happened to them. Then it flashbacks onto the incident of the bank getting robbed, and we finally see who the robbers are.

Analysis of Inside Man

The music for the opening titles is bollywood. I am bengali, and I have been born and brought up being a part the Indian culture, I can understand Hindi even though it is not my own language. Over the years the more bollywood films I would watch the better my understanding would get of the language. This song is one of my favourite Indian songs, it is from the film Dil Se. 'Chaya Chaya' means walk in the shadow. Symbolically it shows the people in the car are antagonist, there about to do something wrong, there following the wrong path - thus connecting to 'Chaya Chaya.'

The music is continuous throughout the opening sequence, apart from when the robber is talking. You can hear the music slightly in the background on low volume, when he stops talking the volume increases again.

There is a steady shot of a man talking about is plan for a bank robbery. His facial expression is stiff, his eyes are wide open and this shows the audience he is powerful, his eyes are looking straight at the audience, and makes them feel involved. This is effective as it makes them feel vulnerable. As he is talking the foreground comes closer. It then dissolves onto a man walking. The camera pans to the side - following the man. The camera tilts up and cuts to the logo of a bank. It cuts to a medium shot of a van driving down the road. It cuts to an over the shoulder shot of a man driving. The cuts to close up architecture - wolf and an owl.

There is another medium shot of the car, then a point of view shot of the driver, then it cuts to an eagle. The driver is represented as an eagle, symbolically eagles are known for their strength, this shows that the the driver is bold, strong and courageous- not everyone has the courage to rob a bank. There is a fixed medium shot of the car stopping and a person in white is getting inside the van. The camera tilts up to the sky, this shot is open to interpretation, symbolically I believe the is looking up at God, God knows exactly what their going to do. This is effective because you feel calm, despite the upbeat bollywood music. There are close up shots of statutes, I think there are many images of animals, to represent the personality of the people, that are in the car. There is a deep focus in the background - camera shot of the car, the foreground is not in focus. This is effective, as it is controlling the audience on where to look. Near to the end there is a tracking shot, this makes it easier for the camera and the audience to follow the van.

My Thoughts on Previous Films made by Robert Clack Students

Alice

This opening sequence of the thriller was made by a Robert Clack student, I enjoyed the film as the storyline was different. There editing was very good, I liked how they changed the colour of the film to red, it made the film seem more suspenseful.

The camera shots flowed very well, they used a variety of different camera shots and angles. In the beginning there was a high angle shot of the girl sleeping, this gave the audience a feeling that someone was watching her. There were close up, high angle, medium shots of the dolls, it was effective as it made the dolls seem alive. There was an extreme long shot of the girls eye this added to the effect that someone was watching her.

They could have used diegetic sounds as it would have made the film more interesting, and the girls voice was weak when she said Alice they could have made it a bit stronger. Besides that the film was interesting to watch.

Till Death Do Us Part

I loved this thriller, the music went well with the scenes, the camera shots were edited smoothly. I liked the scene when the bride and groom were getting changed, because the shots faded well together. While they were getting married the scenes were black and white, this contrasted well with the colour scenes, of the wife paying the hit man and her husband dying.

It made the audience helpless knowing that the husband is going to get murdered. I was quite shocked in the end, when I found out she wanted her husband dead.

They could have used diegetic sounds, when the couple were walking down the aisle I heard someone talking in the background this made the film look unprofessional.

When Summer Ends

This film was good, I like how their summer memories were in black and white, and the other scenes were in colour. Various camera shot were used, long shots when the guy was eyeing up the girl, close up on girls arm, and extreme close up on pictures of his next victim. The music went well with the scene, they could have improved it by not shooting in school. But overall it was fine.

Initial Ideas

Since I have started this coursework, I have watched many thrilling films, and read many books, to help me explore the genre of thriller. Films have given me a taste of what an audience expects from it, such as, typical conventions of a thriller e.g. violence, fast paced movement, car chases etc.

I have made a couple of plots, which I am hoping to discuss with my group, once half-term is over. My group has 2 girls named Patience and Dionne and a boy called Paul.

Brief Ideas

My first idea was influenced by a book i read, called 'The Devil's Closet', the novel is about a 5 year old girl, called Hanna Parker who was abducted and was found later, murdered. The killer dressed her up as a doll. Detective Ceecee must try and stop the killer, before he strikes again.

My idea is to have a couple downstairs watching television, and a baby upstairs sleeping, you would see a person looking through the window at the baby. The parents will hear a noise upstairs, and find their baby gone. A ransom note is left behind.

My second idea was influenced by a play i directed for Drama GCSE, about a young person suffering schizophrenia.

It is about a girl walking down a road/school/park, hearing voices, laughter, and screaming. She would be continuously looking around, to see where the voices are coming from.

A friend would come up to her and ask if shes okay and while she is talking to her friend the camera would pan behind her and over her shoulder, and you would see there is no one there,(she is talking to herself).

My third idea is a girl waking up in a small dark room, she is in pain and spots dry blood on her clothes. Then there will be a flashback, you would see someone spiking her drink, and dragging her inside the room. Then you would see a person holding up a picture of the girl and burning it.

The girl spots a small window and tries to get out, while she is escaping, the person who drugged her would be walking closer to the room. As the door handle turns, the girl is almost out of the window, then the person comes into the room to find that the girl has escaped.

My forth idea was influenced by a book i read called 'The Client'. It is about a drunken lawyer, who is trying to commit suicide, by placing a gas pipe in his car ,until he sees a young boy, who is trying to take the gas pipe out of his car.

He attacks the boy and forces him into the car where he will commit suicide. He confides the young boy Mark Sway about his client, 'Barry the Blade' - Gangster, who killed a senator, he tells him no one knows where the body is apart from him and his client. He tells Mark where the body is, as Mark escapes the lawyer shoots himself in the head.

Mark is on the run from the gangster who wants to silence him and decides to find out if the body is actually buried where the lawyer said it was buried.

My idea is to have a young boy witnessing a murder, the murderer sees him and tries to kill him, fortunately he escapes, but is still on the run from the murderer.

My final idea (5th idea) is to have a girl listening to music, getting ready to go out, (the audience think she is an ordinary girl) until you hear police sirens. The girl quickly puts opaque mini sacks into a black bag and reaches for her money and passport, then runs out through the back door. You see the police come in and searching the place. Then you see the girl getting into a car and the contents of the bag is revealed as drugs.

My Favourite Idea

My favourite idea was the final one, as the location are more realistic to film. It is faced paced, and the audience is kept in suspense until the end. The audience finally finds out what was in the bad and why the girls was running. It shows you should never judge a book by it's cover, the young girl seemed like an innocent, ordinary teenager, however looks can be deceiving.

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

The Manchurian Candidate

I preferred this version than the 1962 version. It was easier to understand and more interesting as the music was suspenseful in tense situations.

The main difference of this new version is that Sergeant Raymond Shaw and Captain Marco are inserted with a probe. When anyone says their full title the probe is activated. The other main difference was that Marco was brainwashed into assassinating the opposition but he killed Shaw and his mother instead.
There is a major cliff hanger in the end, the audience do not know if Marco is going to kill the opposition party, they do not know if he is going to be stopped in time.

The Mancharian Candidate (1962)

The Manchurian Candidate

This film is based on the book 'The Manchurian Candidate,' it was written by Richard Condon. I watched both versions of the film, (1962) and (2004).I personally found the 1962 version, of the film difficult to understand.

It is about an army who is kidnapped, and brainwashed into thinking Sergeant Raymond Shaw saved their lives, battling by himself with the enemy, while other members of the army were passed out.

When they go back to the United States, Captain Marco starts having recurring dreams of Shaw murdering two of his soldiers. He finds out another solider has had recurring dreams similar to him. Marco start to investigate on what really happened that night.

Marco finds out Shaw's mother is behind all this, and Shaw can be hypnotised by the queen of diamonds, and will do anything his mother tell him, without remembering. Raymond's mother tells him to assassinate the opposition part, as he arrives at the hall Marco tries to stop him. Raymond then shoots his mother and step-father and commits suicide, while wearing the medal of honour.

Analysis of Trailer

The music is the same throughout the trailer. There are deep notes played and a continuous ringing sound. There are non-diegetic sounds such as screaming, punching,fighting. When Janet is introduced the music decreases in volume, when the image of the Manchurian candidate appears the music continues. Deeps beats are consistent.

Words appear on the screen. There is a close up shot of a man waking up, his eyes and mouth are wide open, and his eyebrows are arched up, his facial expression shows that he has woken up from a bad dream and is scared. Words appear again then it cuts to a over the shoulder shot of a guy getting punched. There is a medium shot of him falling to the ground. Then it cuts to a close up shot of a bloody nose and a medium shot of the two men fighting. There is a high angle shot of a women dressed as queen of diamonds, this shows she is a powerful person.

There is a point of view shot of Raymond looking outside the window of his car. It cuts to the crowd, then onto a high angle shot of a person holding a gun, this shows that he is powerful. Then it cuts to images of the actors, there are graphic matches from the image to the scenes of the movie. A dutch tilt is used after Lawrence Harvey introduced. It dissolves onto him talking then onto him at the beach with a women. Finally an image of a women is zoomed up on the image it says the Manchurian candidate.

A History Of Violence (2005)

History of Violence

This film is directed by David Cronenberg, it is about a family who own a small restaurant, two men try to rob the place and the owner Tom ends up killing them both while defending himself. He becomes know as a local hero.

He is visited by a gangster who claims Tom was a gangster. Tom denies this, the gangster - Carl demands he comes back and Tom gets into a fight with him and is men and they end up dead.

Tom then admits to his wife that the accusations are true, his brother Richie tells Tom to visit him as they have to discuss issues. When he gets their he brother Richie tries to kill him, Tom defends himself and kills his brother and his men.

No Country For Old Men (2007)

No Country For Old Men

This movie is based on the book written by Cormac Mccarthy, it was published in 2005, and was made into a film 2 years later. I watched this movie in class, it is a western movie.

The story is about a drug dealing that goes wrong. A man called Moss comes across abandoned vehicles, with dead bodies everywhere. He comes across a car, it seems as if the killer is inside it or something bad is going to happen, by the slow actions of Moss - This is known as eniqma. But instead he finds a man injured and begging for water.

Then he discovers a suitcase of money. Moss sets a chain of violence, when he takes the suitcase. A hit man is hired to find the money, (there is a tracking device in the suitcase). His on a race against the hit man to save his family and himself.

The Conversation (1974)

The Conversation

This film was inspired by the 1970s watershed, vice-presidents would bug the opposition parties, in phones, or their office, so they would know what to expect from the opposition party, and then plan to do something better. It was during the parallax period-period of conspiracy.

I watched this film at home, it was directed by Francis Ford Coppolais, it is about a surveillance expert named Harry. He can easily record conversations between people, one recorded conversation led three people to die, and he has been living in guilt ever since.

The beginning of this film was intriguing, as there was a point of view shot which followed a mime artist, this made me believe he was the main character, until I saw him following a man, who seemed to be spying on a couple. My favourite part of the scene was when the couple were talking. I could hear what they were saying, there voice was mechanical, and I heard their conversation through the ear piece, of the man who was spying on them. The couple even suspected the man was following them. It seemed very suspicious.

Memento (2000)

Memento

I watched the film Memento, as my media teacher told me it is a great film. I watched the beginning of it in class and then decided to watch it at home. I found this film very different from other thriller films, as it is shown backwards.

It is directed by Christopher Nolan, the story is about a man who is on the search to find his wife's killer, and his attacker. Two men broke into his house and raped and murdered his wife. He was knocked unconscious by one of the guys. This attack gave him amnesia, the only thing he remembers about his past, is the brutal murder of his wife. It stopped his brain from storing new memories. All the evidence he finds is tattooed onto his body, and he keeps Polaroid photos, and writes notes on them so he can remember all the evidence/information he has found.

The film is in black and white an in colour, the parts that are in black and white are chronologically ordered unlike the coloured scenes which is in reverse order.

Analysis of the opening titles

As the titles are going on, there is a low angle close up shot, of a polaroid photo being held. The photo shows a wall covered in blood . The photo is shaken and appears to have faded in colour. This is repeated another 3 times until the photo turns blank.

The camera cuts to the person holding the photo, you can only see his wedding ring, beige suit and blue shirt. The camera tilts up and rewinds, on what happened before the photo was taken. There is a close up shot of the mans face, you can see dried blood near his eye. It cuts to dripping blood, a bullet, a pair of bloody glasses and a man's head surrounded with blood. Their is a high medium shot of the man in the beige suit, the camera tilts down following the character. It quickly rewinds and shows him shooting the man. Then fades to black, there is a black and white close up shot of his mouth, nose and eyes.

In Memento there is slow instrumental music, there are no beats. The music hints to the audience, that this film deals with emotionally issues. The blue coloured titles add to the emotion of sadness, (the colour blue is usually associated with sadness). The music continues until the flash of the camera, this sound is sharp and loud. When the scene replays you an hear the bullet rolling and the movement of the glasses. The gunshot is loud and you can hear the man shouting.

Cliff Hangers, Red Herrings and Eniqmas

Cliff Hangers

According to the Britannica encyclopedia this word means 'adventure presented in installments, each ending in suspense'.

It is commonly used to show a thrilling situation. Characters would have to face difficult problems, e.g. In North by North West, Eve and Thornhill are literally hanging of a cliff.

The aim of a cliff hanger is to keep the audience engaging with the film, to see if the problem resolves itself or plummets to more danger and possibly the destruction of the hero/heroine.

Red Herrings

A red herring is a false trail, which is aimed to divert the audiences attention from the truth, e.g. In the Untouchables, Eliotness is given information on a warehouse that is storing Al Capone's alcohol, leading up to this scene there is slow suspenseful music, the treasure department surround the warehouse and break in. Inside the warehouse no traces of alcohol were found. It was a false lead.

Enigmas

Enigmas are puzzles, mysteries or problems, the protagonist must solve them in order to defeat the antagonist.

http://www.britannica.com/bps/dictionary?query=Cliffhanger