suspect notes.

Narrative structure: linear , follows a man + woman in what looks like an office, we are introduced to the man as " chief justice" this tells us they are in the courts.
The room is brown and bland, this suggests somethinb boring and everyday will happen.
the conversation they have hides much from us, as we don't know what is in the envelope or fully what they are talking about.
We are then shown the man as he carries on average conversation with another woman, howvere we are completely throw off direction when he commits suicide unexpectedly.
we switch to a different area, it is outside and we are shown men swimming in a lake, where they find a dead woman.

Thriller codes + conventions:

Partial vision is one of the main techniques, we arent shown how the woman was killed.
Question and answer model is the main one, we arent told why the man shot himself, we arent shown why the woman was killed, or who she is.
during their conversation we arent told or shown what is in the envelope he hands to her.
Their conversation seems to be in code, as if what they are speaking about means something else, this leaves the viewer wondering what they're really talking about.

Concealment: we aren't shown who the hooded man is who is watching when we are shown the dead woman.

transformed city is used , we are in the courts, a place of law and usually a security until the man shoots himself, it becomes a place of danger.

Camerawork: tracking is used a lot during the office scene, to show who the main characters will be for this scene.
the camera is always positioned at the corner of a room, and lots of over the shoulder shots are used during the conversation, hinting at maybe we should'nt be there.
many of the shots are still with no motion so show no action is happening..
mise en scene. IT isnt made obvious why the people are in the courts, or why he is handing her an envelope.
there is contrast between the dull and dark court room where the " chief justice" shoots himself, to the outdoors where the men are lively, and the colours are bright, hinting there may be a difference in the deaths.

SOund: During the credits there is a creepy non Diegetic music that is high pitched with a low beat which repeatedly builds to nothing.
It then switches to the diegetic sounds of speech where it is an average conversation. which then switches to the men shouting and laughing outdoors.

Editing. during the office scene it is very slow to suggest a boring event, shot reverse shot is used during the conversation, this is match on action.
The editing is fast when all the men are running, it switches from one angle to another, this shows that something is happening and maybe something more. the editing slows again when th body is found, suggesting a change in mood.

Graphics, all of the titles are the same blue colour as the background, this suggests unimportance. However all of the names are large.

silence of the lambs

Today we made notes on the opening to the film "silence of the lambs" We noted down all of the conventions, camera angles etc etc.

narrative structure- We see that a woman is on a running somewhere. However we do not know where she is going or why.... She is sent to the boss' office leaving the audience thinking what she's done She sees something that might be of importance on the wall which leaves the audience thinking what it is

Codes and Conventions:

Partial vision is used a lot as mentioned in narrative structure, we aren't shown what she see's on the wall until later on, and at the start we aren't shown why she is running.

Question and answer model : The audience have a lot of things hidden from them during the intro.

Tansformed city is used when the woman is running through the forest, as it's a police assault course, yet it is made to look dangerous to us.

THe woman is shown to be exotic as she is completely different to everyone else in the police depot, small, and wearing grey where-as everyone else is wearing either blue or red.

Camerawork: The woman runs into the shot when she is on the assault coure. An over shoulder shot is used when the man comes into shot, this shows that maybe we shouldnt be there, hinting to us that maybe he shouldn't either.

Mise-en-Scene:

COntrast is used when the woman enters the elevator dressed in gray and small, while all the large men dressed in red enter.

Sound: There is a quiet non-diegetic music which is supposed to represent a heart beat increasing. There are diegetic sounds of leaves crunching and breathing, the breathing becomes very heavy, There is little dialogue.

Editing:.The fast paced editing matches the action while she is running.

Graphics: Peoples names are black with a thin white outline, bold and in the centre of the screen.

Thriller notes pt 2.



this blog is posted late because we had no phone line for over a week.


Today we watched the film "Jaws" and made notes on all of the following categories.
Narrative structure:
Linear, flowing, follows what happens in a normal structure and shows us whats happening in the naturla order.
Equilibrium is used when the are having a party on the beach.Howver dis-equilibrium is used when the shark is attacking the woman.

Thriller codes and conventions:
Transformed city is one of the main conventions used in the opening sequence, the safe beach, crowded with friends is turned into a dangerous place when the shark attacks
Partial vision is used in the introduction a few times, when the camera uses the eye level shot we cant tell who we are, this creates the question and answer model too.
The question and answer model is used when we are questioning the fate of the teenage girl “whats happening to her?" "does she survive?"

Camerawork :
At the very start of the opening sequence we are given an eyelevel shot, seeing what the shark is seeing, this creates an unsettling view for us as we dont know who we're following, or why..
there is a tracking- mid shot of the teenagers as the camera slowly tracks through the party. This puts us in line with the characters,and because we are in an over the shoulder shot we get the impression that we shouldn' be there, as if we're peering in, this makes us think, as the audience " should the teenagers be here either?"
We are given a close up of the drunken male to show his importance.
a high angle shot on the teenagers makes them look vulnerable or weak, as if something bigger is watching them.
There is a low angle shot is then used when the boy falls, maybe to show us him losing his power over her?
A long shot establishes where the girl is compared to the drunken, passed out boy.
a low angle shot is then used while the girl is swimming, however is used nconventionally as is doesnt show her being powerful to us.

Mise-en-scene:
The party on the beach is shown to us to be a safe place and there is no urgency between the characters.
The scene however, is very dark which creates partial vision, makes us feel as if something is in wait in the darkness.
Sound: non-diegetic music is used, a piece which later became a very famous piece of music.
There is a diegetic sound from the bell of the bouy... maybe to replicate the sound of a toll bell, symbolising death.

Editing:
The first scene is a very long take which could show whatever we are following is in wait.
When the drunken boy and the girl are running a shot/reverse shot is used to show sexual tension. A long take is also used in the underwater scene at the beginning. A cross cut is used between: underwater and the beach party, this could mean that it's changed to a safe area, knocking the audience's balance off guard.
Graphics:
during the intro,there is bold, white font which makes the credits the centre of attention.
the name Steven Speilberg is bright white and larger than all the other credits so that it is " in your face"

Seven. - day late blog.

This blog is a day late due to not being able to connect to the internet last night!

Today we watched the end of the film seven, which was a great help learning all about thrillers, it shows some high quality camera angles, and contained a lot of feature's/ techniques that will be applicable to our thrilller.

What Makes A Thriller. -

What Makes A Thriller?

.... A thriller is a genre of fiction that attempts to thrill the audience by placing the characters at risk.

There is no clear ingredients in what a thriller should be, thrillers are a problematic genre.
Thrillers can be categorized by fast paced action and editing, and heroes who must outwit the villain,however not always!
Devices such as red herrings and cliff hangers are commonly used.
Thrillers usually take place in exotic places, such as foreign cities, deserts etc.
The hero is usually a "hard man" accustomed to danger, usually a normal person.
Thrillers often overlap mystery stories, however, thrillers usually work on a much grander scale. Big crimes, mass murders etc.

SUB GENRES -

Action Thriller - Race against time. Violence.
Conspiracy Thriller - Hero confronts a powerful group.
Crime Thriller - Hybrid of crime films and thrillers. Usually focuses on criminals rather than the police.
Disaster Thriller - Conflict against a natural disaster.
Drama Thriller - Slow paced, great deal of character development.
Eco Thriller - Protagonist must rectify environmental problems.
Erotic Thriller - Popular since the 1980's, such as "Fatal Attraction".
Horror Thriller - Conflict between the main character is up against a bigger/harder force.
Legal Thriller - Lawyers in danger, have to win the case to save their lives.
Medical Thriller - Heroes are doctors who solve an expanding medical problem.
Political Thriller - Hero must create stability for the government.
Psychological Thriller - Conflict is mental and emotional.
Spy Thriller - Government Agent, such as "Bourne Identity".
Techno Thriller - High tech equipment being used by either the hero or villain, sometimes both!


RULES

The Transformed City - Should expose "the poetry of modern life."
Thrillers are the possibility for excitement in a boring place.

Heroic Romance - Every day person can be a hero - To become extra ordinary in extrordinary circumstances.
The hero is in similar worlds to romance, however exchanges romantic settings for modern cities.
The laws of nature are usually suspended.

The Exotic - Something exotic in the film. (Jewels, location, girls etc.) Usually involves middle east artifacts and filmed in unfamiliar or foreign locations.
Mazes and Labyrinths - Audience works things out by clues given.
Full of twists/dead ends which keeps the audience guessing.
The audience takes pleasure in prolonging the "journey", which results in the story being complex.Partial Vision -
The audience is only given so much to see. Some things are hidden from view.Concealment & Protraction - Audience pulled in different directions based on clues given. Often to create confusion, and a delay of outcome.
Important things are deliberately hidden from view.

Question & Answer -

The audience is in suspense, always questioning. Wrong answers are given, and after the opening sequence the audience are left with clear questions.