Thriller Sub-Genres.

Thriller Sub-Genres

The thriller sub genres are as followed, with examples:
Psycological thriller
Action thriller
Crime thriller
Political thriller
Spy thriller
Horror thriller
Sc-fi thriller
Religious thriller

The two sub genres which inspire me at the moment are Psycological thrillers and Action thrillers. Psycological thrillers inspire me as the plot is usually unpredictable which makes the film more interesting than other genres. Thrillers usually focus on the plot rather than the characters, however psycological thrillers are different as the characters are emphasised as much or even more than the plot. An example of a psycological thriller is the 2003 film The Recruit it stars Colin Farrell and Al Pacino, it is about a CIA trainee being told by his mentor to find a mole in the agency, however not everything is as it seems. This film literally leaves your mind aching as you try to work out the characters and their motives this indicates that psycological thrillers effectively engage the audience which is another reason why they inspire me.




Action thrillers usually feature a race against the clock, some form of protaginist and an antagonist, action thrillers have elements of mystery films and crime films but is mostly filled with action. Action thrillers inspire me as they are fast paced and interesting with the chases and fights. An example of an action thriller is the 2002 film Bourne Identity, it stars Matt Damon and Franka Potente. Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is found floating adrift in the sea with gunshot wounds in his back and has a laser implanted into his back. He then realizes he can speak many languages fluently and knows martial arts, later on he discovers he is works for the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) This films' action sequences make it a success and the mysterious plot is another reason why action thrillers inspire me.

Analysis of 9 shots from Art of the title sequence

The style of the titles used was italic bold and white very sharp a medium size font was used as well. The titles also have a bright white light behind them.

The titles say the production companies name which is Fox pictures and regency enterprises, it also says the name of the film and that is was based on a novel. The titles are placed over images of nerve endings and the inside of the human body.

Planning Preliminary match cut excercise & Filming and Editing Preliminary Match Cut Excersize

I have decided to do these two blogs as one as they are both about the preliminary match cut:

Planning Preliminary match cut.

The rules for the match cut were that two people had to exchange a piece of dialogue whilst sitting on a table we had to obey the 180 degree rule which means we could not pan the camera by 180 degrees as the two people sitting on either end of the table did not swap places. We also had to include shot reverse shots into our piece this is when the camera jumps to one person and then to another which is mainly used for dialogue in soaps etc. Obviously we had to include a "match cut" which is when the camera cuts from one shot to another with the action carrying on.

First we had to make a story board so we could plan what would happen:





















We decided for a person to walk down the corridor and enter the room this is when we would have the match cut, with the person entering the door then showing them enter from the other side of the wall. We also decided to have two people on opposite sides of the table having a normal discussion.

Filming Preliminary Match Cut

After planning, we then of course had to film, filming took approximately an hour and a half as we took so many takes, this is when i realised that to get good footage, lots of scenes would be necessary. I was the camera woman, the only think i found hard was not using the zoom button, as getting closer to the characters was difficult.

Analysis of Thriller clip

The clip we watched in class was called Seven, in the actual clip there was a lot of flashing images ending with Brad pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow in bed!

The use of camera was very still and steady. The sound used in the clip really loud drums there was no use of dialogue and no sound effects.

In the clip the Mise en Scene included props such as needles, paper, pens and pictures of peoples faces scratched out this creates suspense within the clip.

The way the analysis clip was edited is with pictures being merged together. The titles contained flashing images also the writing was thin with a small font. there was also writing that looked like scribbling, this may give the impression of a nervous disposition of some of the characters within the film creating a sense of suspense.

Detailed analysis of Thriller clip analysed in class.

The clip i chose to wrote about was the title sequence of seven, it stars Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow. From the title you do not get a clear picture about what the titles are about. However the use of fast pace editing and flashing images merging into each other suggests that a character or a group of characters are unhinged and unstable. The gruesome images of needles embedded into skulls are disturbing and forces the audience to envisage pain and suffering. Also the use of writing and books aswell as glypses of metal surfaces and equipment connotates hospitals and mental asylus The non digetic sound of the drums help to build tension throughout also the effects of negative give the impressioned of a warped mind. Furthermore the size of the font is small which makes it harder to read. The ending of the title is unusual as it simply ends with Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt lying in bed which is completely normal opposed to the beginning which is warped and unusual.

Analysis of opening of No Country for Old Men

No Country for Old Men uses it's own unique way of building suspense. By having a running narrative over images of dusty, desolate wasteland we as the audience are forced to listen to the voice and words which we are hearing.

The narrator is talking about a sequence of events and this is a clever trick as we want to hear more about this story and we wonder if we are going to see the sequence of events mentioned unfold or if they have already happened. It is a very subtle anticipation which leads to dramatic suspense.

We don't even see people until very near the end of the opening at which point we see a police office leading a man to a police car, this looks out of place in comparison to the scenes of bare land.

We then find out that the narrator is the police officer and we are able to put a face to the voice. The ending of the opening is a shot of a long highway which is intriguing as it could be seen as a metaphor as we don't know where the road is going, no do we know where the story will take us.

A thriller genre can include the following sub-genres:
Action thriller, Conspiracy thriller, Crime thriller, Disaster thriller, Drama thriller, Legal thriller, Medical thriller, Political thriller, Psychological thriller and a Religious thriller.

The thriller sub-genre that inspires me at the moment is a psycholoigcal thriller because it creates a lot of suspense throughout the film. I also like the idea of mind games and how they contain elements that are related to the mind or processes of the mind; they are mental rather than physical in nature.
Examples of a psychological thriller are:
-Hide and Seek
-From Hell
-Fight club
-Phone booth
-Don't say a word

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Three Labour MPs and one Conservative peer will face criminal charges over their expenses, the CPS has said.

How suspense was created in the film ‘No country for old men’.

In the film no country for old men a lot of suspense is created which makes the audience wonder what is going to happen next. In the opening scene the credits create suspense as they are in silence no music just a voiceover which may suggest that the whole film will be very suspenseful. In the first scene, a murder has been committed by a criminal the man on the phone and the foreground, however the camera zooms in to focus on the killer this created some suspense. When the killer is free he gets into the police car and stops an innocent driver, he asks him to get out of the car as he does the killer holds a hose full of gas to his head this makes the audience wonder what he is going to do therefore suspense is given, it is also suspenseful because the audience do not expect him to kill him with a hose pipe full of air.
The parallel editing –showing events in two locations both reaching for the same point creates a build up of tension being a primary emotion felt as part of the situation. Also another bit of suspense shown was when the ex-cop found the foreign people all shot dead. He looks around in all of the cars and they are all empty but when he at the yellow car the camera zooms in on the window smothered in dirt/dust at this point the audience fear for the worse as he opens the door to find a man shot fighting for his life. When the same ex-cop is running away from the police, he jumped into the river in order to get away, however the police set a pit bull dog after him and as the man reaches dry land the dog leaps in the air aiming for his throat while he is fiddling with his gun. The audiences are left in suspense waiting to see if he will shoot the dog before the dog gets him first.
One of the last scenes is when the ex-cop finds the tracker for the tracking device in the briefcase full of money. He places the tracker on the bedside table in the motel room and turns of the light leaving the passage light on so he can see the killer’s feet. When the killer’s feet are shadowed outside the door the audience think that he is going to go in and start shooting the ex-cop however they are left in suspense as his feet disappear from the door.

Suspense: is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work. Suspense is not exclusive to fiction, though. Suspense may operate in any situation where there is a lead up to a big event or dramatic moment.

04.02.2010

Thriller Clip - 'Se7en'

For most films, the most dramtic hard hitting stuff happens at the end, and it's only after watching thewhole film that you could possibly fall in love with it. However, have you ever been amazed by simply the opening credits of a film? Without a doubt the best credit openings belong to the ‘Thriller’ genre, the clever use of daunting music and specialised fonts mean that even when paired with a blank screen they can still leave the audience with a feeling of suspense and anxiety which is nothing more than thrilling. An opening to a film is like a blurb to a book, if it doesn’t portray the feeling of the text then you are unlikely to continue further.

Se7en consisted of a narrative opening with the titles running throughout as once we have watched the film we become aware that the hands at the beginning where the hands of the psycho in the film. However, Se7en could also be classed as a discrete title sequence as before we have watched the film, we have no idea that the sequence has relevance to the overall plot of the film. Also, it could be classed as titles on a plain background, followed by the narrative opening as we are shown a black background with the titles shifting in and out of focus in a distorted fashion.

The clip involves many different images with fast cuts, giving the audience a feel of confusion and nausea. We are shown dirty hands touching an old, worn book and fiddling around with papers. The font used is very off focus and unattractive, by the time we are able to focus on it the name has changed making the audience feel very unsettled. While the music accompanying the titles is very loud and steady, like the beating of a drum, or the beating of a heart.

The camera angels remain steady but the colour tone of the sequence is very brown and grim, with the occasional red, leaving the audience wondering what the film will be like if just the opening sequence makes them feel this sense of foreboding. The opening makes the audience feel a range of 'bad' emotions, sick, scared and confused. These feelings are ideal for that of a thriller.

04.02.2010

There are many different definitions of suspense.

Merriam-Webster’s definition;

- Mental uncertainty anxiety: pleasant excitement as to a decision or outcome
-the state or character of being undecided or doubtful

Another would be Oxford’s definition;

A quality in a work of fiction that arouses excited expectation or uncertainty about what may happen.

Suspense is vital to keep people entertained and interested.

This week's news has mainly been about the earthquake in Haiti, which happened 3 weeks ago, due to the country's low GDP their hospitals are not equiped with the right equiptment so they are getting aid from the world, amazingly some people have been found under rubble after a week. More recently a group of Americans have tried to take some of the Haitian orphans to america however they do not have the right documents to do so, so they are now being held by Haitian authorities.




Also the grammys happened this week with Beyonce winning 6 grammys and Taylor swift winning four. Michael Jackson won lifetime achievement award which was accepted by his children.
















Lastly Andy Murray lost to Roger Federer 3 sets to 0.
Federer now has won 16 grand slams.