Our gradual decision on our final thriller Idea.

Our orignal idea was that a group of friends were out walking the dog, but got out too late. They are walking around the forest when you see little bursts of light shining through the leaves and branches of the trees. The footage would be filmed handheld with elements of normal filming too. We thought that using handheld footage would be better because it makes the opening seem more realistic and believeable. Next, after the group of friends have recovered from the weird light display, they see one huge light shining onto the group with the person holding/shining the light unidentifyed to create suspense. The light would progressivly become closer and you just see the feet of the unknown person, a scream and a dog whine/howl, the camera is then dropped on the floor and you see someone being dragged away.


We soon realised that this was extremely difficult to conduct as you would need expensive filming equiptment to be able to film in the dark, and we would need to find lighting bright enough to be able to see it. So, Sam, a boy in my group came up with an idea of a laboratory experiment, where there would be two scientists creating a chemical that would cure some sort of illness or virus. Then, scientist 1 would walk off to get some other chemicals, then scientist 2 was left by herself. A soundtrack would play then someone would suffocate scientist 2, and the enigmatic character would steal the cure and we would then see them travelling to a secret/unknown location. At this location the thief would empty the cure into the river where scientist 1 had followed them and pushes the theif into the river so she drowns. I thought this idea was very complicated and difficult to do. For example it would be very difficult to create a drowning scene with-out special equiptment and create it to look realistic. Sam came up with the idea of hovering a plastic container with water over the top of the theif to give the illusion of drowning but I decided that it defintatly not work because the water in the plastic container would be clear whereas the water in the river would be dull and murky. Also, the idea of a plastic container wouldn't work because I don't think it would give an effect of drowning in water as she wouldn't actually be in the water. This idea is also too long for two minutes so we all agreed that we needed to come up with a simple but menacing idea to create tension and suspense for the audience that would look realistic and have time to use more cinematography.


Next, I came up with a new idea, I suggested that there was a girl/woman going to visit her mentally ill sister. However when she approaches the house, there is one light on in her house and the door is wide open. We would then see this woman searching the house for her sister- she is no-where to be found. She hears a radio sound, which is on upstairs. As she approaches the radio in the bathroom to turn it off, she gets brutally forced and locked into the bathroom, where no lights were on, and you don't see the person who did this. A dramatic soundtrack is played in the backround whilst the girl/woman tries to escape the claustrophobic space.You then see a shadow appear under the door frame and the film stops, leaving you in suspense as you don't know what will happen to the girl/woman, who the attacker is, or where the womans sister is. I really liked this idea because it uses thriller conventions such as small claustrophobic rooms, bathrooms, dark, menacing atmosphere, and the shadow. But, however I was told that the idea was too complicated eventhough I had only explained the first few seconds, It was then I knew we had to come up with another idea. I struggled to see this, but I agreed to come up with, yet, another idea. I do also think that my idea does have too much of a feel of a horror element because of the way it is a dark housewhich was then meaning we were going to be doing the task completely incorrectly.


We were then advised to back to Sams idea, but I suggested a few things to improve upon. For example I suggested that there should be no physical killing as it if difficult for people of our age and knowledge to conduct a murder scene that would be realistic. Billie then came up with the idea of a poisening murder. A teen would be making a harmful chemical due to research and poisen their friend out of jealousy. This time we were going to have the production of the chemical in a garage, as this is a confined, claustrophobic, ominous location in which something evil is being created - you can then easily discover that this is thriller genre. We got the idea off of 'Essex Boys' because we thought that it really built up tension and suspense so easily.Then, we would go to a shot of some friends hanging out at a home. The killer would then stare blankly at the character of which they are jealous of, and offer to make them a drink. You see the killer pour the poisonous chemical into the drink(s) and the film closes on hands taking the drinks. We all really like this idea as it is simple, and we decided on camera angles such as panning and tracking of the feet for example, straight away because this was such a good idea and easy to mould. We also thought it was quite an original idea because not many thrillers include a poisoning from a teen.


*STORY BOARD COMING SOON*

The murder scene of 'Witness'.

Director: Peter Weir

Writers:  William Kelley (story), Pamela Wallace (story),

Stars: Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis and Lukas Haas

This film starts off with an eight year old character named Samuel Lap. He is Amish because he is wearing an Amish costume which involves simple black trousers with braces, a blue shirt, a black jacket and a black bowler/derby hat. The Amish community all wear the same clothing because they believe that clothing for men and women tends to serve utilitarian purposes and is not designed to accentuate physical features.

Unlike outside communities, the Amish do not believe that clothing is meant to distinguish the individual from the group by making that person more "attractive" over others. The Amish identity is important in the film because the representation of  Philadelphia in America  where the Amish  mother and child travel to, and the fact that  Amish church groups usually seek to maintain a degree of separation from the non-Amish world. Philadelphia is a stereotypical place where murders and crimes constantly take place, whereas the Amish community from which the mother and child come from, is very religious so everyone follows certain rules and guide lines. The followers of this religion are under pressure to behave and function in a completely different  to Americans, for example they choose not to use power-line electricity, telephones, and automobiles and anyone who chooses not to abide by the rules, will instantly be excommunicated and then shunned. The fact that this film uses this culture to reinforce stereotypes is very interesting. The use of a culture that would never usually mix with the out-side community is very strange itself.

Firstly, the scene starts of with the young boy, Sam, looking up at an extremely revealing statue in a dim lit train station that is beyond his cultural reference. The dim lighting creates a murky and sinister atmosphere. The camera angle is from Sam's point of view, looking up, (a low angle shot), showing that the statue shows significance and power over the boy revealing his vulnerability. Then, there is another low angle, close-up shot of Sam looking up at the statue which shows his expression where you see his confusion and curiosity. Then, the camera shows Sam as a comparison to the outside world by using a high angle shot from the statue's point of view. This shows how insignificant Sam is and suggests he is a person who is reserved. You then see the mother pull Sam away from the statue, suggesting that she thought it was inappropriate for him to be looking at. You then see the two characters sitting alone in a very isolated area, where you see a vanishing point into the corner. This allows the audience to experience enigma and it also establishes the location of where they are.

Sam then asks his mother if he could to the toilet. His mother carelessly allows him to go independently. This reflects her naivety and the culture of the Amish society, because she assumes he will be safe from experience at home. You see Sam walking off into the vanishing point leaving us with suspense. It then cuts to a medium close up of a man washing his face into a wash basin.

The toilets are a generic location for thrillers because they are claustrophobic which indicates that something is going to happen, creating tension. You hear menacing non-diegetic soundtrack playing as you hear a diegetic sound of the door opening- creating anxiety for the audience. This scene is ambient lit, making it more realistic and believable for the audience. The sound stops and you see a close-up of the villian washing his face- revealing his importance with-in the film. Soundtrack and diegetic sounds stop. You see Sam walking into a particularly dark cubicle with the man watching him, through the mirror. Whilst this is happening, you hear footsteps of someone in the background- there is a low angle shot of a man in a suit reflecting authority or high class. Because we don't see his face, this leaves the audience with enigma and keeps the mystery going. The crime happens and you see the man's face who walked in for the first time. Shot reverse shot shows us the expressions on the victim, attacker and Sam's face, this is a good technique because it allows you to see the reactions of the characters at different times when you are not seeing the actual crime happening. The idea of Sam secretly hiding in the toilets and watching through the crack of the cubicle, creates tension and enigma because you don't know if anything will happen to him.

It then cuts to a close up on the weapon which is a knife. A point of view shot from Sam watching allows us to see the horrific murder as if you were actually there. This also reinforces the immediate danger he is now in. The murder finishes and you see Sam backing away from the door, and the attacker hears him, you feel his fear and suspense climbs through your body at this stage. There is silence and all you can hear and see is the threatening sounds and shots of the attackers footsteps, with this he is violently opening the doors of the other cubicles-rapidly increasing anticipation for Sam. Cutting suddenly to a close up of Sam trying to lock the door, with difficulty, builds up enormous amounts of panic and tension. You then get the close up of the villains feet as his progressively gets closer and closer. As the attacker struggles to get in to Sams cubicle, Sam shows his intelligence as he quickly slides onto the next cubicle. He then symbolises his religion as he stands like Jesus on top of the toilet seat. He stands with his arms stretched out- like Jesus and the cross which could represent that Jesus saved him.

Prelim Task - Evaluation

Firstly, my group and I spent a few minutes, listening to each others idea's. We started off talking about what our main topic of our task was going to be. I remember one of my group members coming up with an idea where one of us would be walking to a room to be then surprised for her birthday. We planned on using camera angles such as; tracking, close ups, and long shots, but we then felt that this wasn't enough. We then mind-mapped  some other shot ideas like - bird's eye view and over the shoulder. Bird's-eye view allows the audience to see that the character is vulnerable and naive because of how small the shot makes the character looks. We used these shots because we thought that it would give more of an interesting insight into what the actor was doing- rather than just watching someone walk with one, simple camera shot, as this lacks excitement. We then decided that we could make the shots even more interesting by tilting the camera angle slightly to disorientate the audience, it gives an illusion sort of affect. Before deciding this, we noted down on a story board, where, roughly we were going to walk and what angles at the different stages. 


This is helped us a lot because we actually had an idea and outline to base our task on so we didn't get lost in what we were doing. We then decided that a 'surprise' birthday conversation would be too complex for this task as it only was supposed to be a couple of minutes long so I came up with the idea of talking about what was in the news at the time - the man who drew the 9/11 picture- before it actually happened. I thought this would be appropriate to talk about as it's interesting and a very ambiguous subject. At first my group and I had difficulties on agreeing with each others ideas. but eventually after working together as a team, we decided to use my idea because of the complexity and relation to media.


When I first tried out using the camera, I felt that my accuracy was poor, as I couldn't figure out why the camera wouldn't focus when I took close ups, but this may have something to do with the camera that I used. However, I did turn the lens onto 'macro' but this only made the pictures a little more focused, not by a lot at all. I also thought I lacked accuracy as I'd never really taken photos seriously before, and I was new to these newly learnt camera shots. After taking photos in lesson, then practising at home, I began to feel more comfortable and understandable of the camera shots. I feel I do need to carry on practising as I feel my camera handling isn't as good as it should be because I think it lacks high skill. I feel I need to learn what is a brilliant shot as a comparison to a good one, so I thought maybe studying filming work in movies would be a good idea for me. After looking closer at shots in films I did notice that tilted extreme close-ups and close ups built up lots of suspense, as you can only assume what is happening by the expression on the characters face, leaving you to only imagine what was happening around them. I hope to use this shot in my thriller!


When editing, I must admit that I really did not get along with the software at all! After it failing to work over a 4 lesson period, I lost trust, and gave up. However, after watching someone use theirs that actually did work on their computer, I feel that I would be able to edit, but with guidance along the way, as I've never used editing software before. I gave idea's on what I felt some of the task should look like, although we all had the same rough idea when we were filming the task anyway. I feel I really do need to learn how the software works so I can gain skill in editing for the future.

Thriller ideas and thoughts on location.

My groups initial idea of a setting was a forest located at one of my group members house. It is dismal and dreary and the trees are overpowering, however, our tutor advised us not to use a forest as it will be too difficult to film in the darkness. Here is a picture of the forest during the day. Even in the ambient lighting of daytime, it looks eerie and ominous.

 Our orignal idea was that a group of friends were out walking the dog, but got out too late. They are walking around the forest when you see little bursts of light shining through the leaves and branches of the trees. The footage would be filmed handheld with elements of normal filming too. We thought that using handheld footage would be better because it makes the opening seem more realistic and believeable. Next, after the group of friends have recovered from the weird light display, they see one huge light shining onto the group with the person holding/shining the light unidentifyed to create suspense. The light would progressivly become closer and you just see the feet of the unknown person, a scream and a dog whine/howl, the camera is then dropped on the floor and you see someone being dragged away.

We origionally loved this idea, but we soon realised it was too much like a horror and we have now had to re-think. I had an idea that we could possibly set this is a different place, but still use the idea of being followed by someone you never ifnd out who it is, and the use of the non-ambient lighting really hides the identity and creates suspense doing this. So maybe one person is alone at night, walking to a friends home, and you see a light shining behind them, you don't see anyone there, just a shadow and the light shining. Have low angles of the feet running from both people and long shots to show the fear in the face and to create more suspense as you don't know what will happen to the victim. This is just a rough idea but I hope to develop round it and create something like this.

Best Thriller Films I've seen!

Unknown
A man awakens from a coma, only to discover that someone has taken on his identity and that no one, (not even his wife), believes him. With the help of a young woman, he sets out to prove who he is.
  I really enjoyed this film as it really knew how to build suspense, in one scene the main character (Liam Neeson) is lying on a hospital bed, and a man who has been 'stalking' him has finally found him and has started injecting this poison I think it is into his blood. And you see the man (Liam) reaching for the scissors, but you only see the man's hand getting slowly closer to them to the the tube off of him. There is very daunting music playing at this point and the camera angles switch from the man's hand and the footsteps of the stalker who noticed what the man was trying to do. I found this technique very thrilling and it really built up suspense really well.


This film is also set in Germany where there is lots of snow and ice to the feeling of the film is quite dark and dreary and most scenes are shot at night.
                                                                                                     Trailer

The Butterfly effect

Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher), who suffered severe traumas as a boy (Logan Lerman) and a teenager (John Patrick Amedori), blacks out frequently, often at moments of high stress. While searching for an answer to heal his emotional wounds, he finds that when he reads from his adolescent journals, he travels back in time, and is able to essentially "redo" parts of his past, and thereby causing the blackouts he experienced as a child. There are consequences of his choices, however, that he then propagates back to the present; his alternate futures vary from frat boy to prisoner to amputee. As he continues to do this, he realizes that even though his intentions are good, the actions he takes have unintended consequences.

I found parts if this film very distressing but in a way quite realistic, it brings out real crimes that people really take part in and shows you everything about them. For example in one scene, one of Evan's friends when he was younger, kidnapped his dog, but it in a potato sack, and left it to burn on a bonfire whilst you can here the sound of the dog whimpering whilst the camera is focused on the boys arguing and Evan crying. I remember this so vividly because this scene made me really distressed. Another scene is where his lovers dad made them participate in pornographic sex scenes when they were only seven years old. I thought that this was disgusting, however, they did this scene well and made me feel this disgust by just showing the man and his expressions whilst he is holding the camera, that shot is what made that scene shocking and realistic.

How did tinker tailor use new technologies for marketing?

·       Empire posted videos of interviews with Gary Oldman because specific audiences watch from empire. Empire targets audiences that know about film and are interested in them.

·     Interviewed Gary Oldman on football focus 10^th September. This would attract a male audience as the film has mainly a male cast.

·       Set up Facebook pages where pictures, trailers, competitions were posted. The posters were posted on Facebook where you had to identify codes that were purposely created with in the posters to win a free poster. This would target a younger audience as most teenagers have Facebook nowadays.

·       Apple sent pod casts of interviews with the actors. This would have a wide range of audiences and people who normally download podcasts would then download this.

·       Created a website where they made you involve yourself with the film, where you had to input a code. This again would target a younger audience as it makes more interesting for them to involve themselves in guessing the codes etc.

·       Vue held an interaction based interview on Twitter with Gary Oldman where people could post questions and he would answer. Twitter also allowed people to re-post many things so it was widely spread. Vue is a mainstream cinema and so even though this film is mort of an art-house film this would attract all different audiences that wouldn’t necessarily watch this without it being advertised through Vue.

·       Tinker Tailor made several different trailers which were focused on the actors and the number coding more than the action within. This was used within YouTube and anyone watching clips on that (more younger audience) would see the trailer and therefore maybe become interested in seeing the movie in the cinema. 

This shows that the target audiences were mainly male, who were interested in thriller films, who had seen some films by the director before which would create an expectation.

Winter's Bone

 

Winter's Bone (2010)

  100 min  -  Drama | Mystery | Thriller   -  17 September 2010 (UK)

7.3

Your rating:

    -/10  

Ratings: 7.3/10 from 34,684 users   Metascore: 90/100 
Reviews: 213 user | 300 critic | 38 from Metacritic.com

An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact.

Director:

Debra Granik

Writers:

Debra Granik (screenplay), Anne Rosellini (screenplay), and 1 more credit »

Stars:

Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes and Garret Dillahunt

Positive Review

21 June 2010 | by bobbobwhite (san ramon ca) – 

This film tells the sad story of inbred, poverty-stricken, Missouri Ozark hillbillies trying to scratch out a living on poor soil and even worse personal resources, so it was no wonder meth production was embraced as a life-changing profit center that had the illegal potential to change their lives for the better. Their poor lives before meth had a certain dignity in the hard struggle for survival in an uncaring world that had passed them by or never allowed them to catch up, either or both, but cheap and dangerous drug production leading to fast but risky money took these unfortunates down a road that surely few would have chosen if they had a chance beforehand to see any of the personal and social harm it created in a society already at great risk of decent survival. What great harm it did was shown and acted brilliantly, as it pushed these already at-risk people lower down the chain of life than before and surely even lower than the wild animals they had to kill for food.

A young girl of 17, seeming older than her years, beaten up and beaten down, wary of those around her but needing their help, and with 2 young siblings and a helpless mother to care for, she learned that her drug-making, drugged-out father disappeared and missed a court date for a drug arrest, and the most important task of her life then became finding her father before they lost their meager home to bondsmen, as that sorry home place was all they had in the world but it was home and she intended with all her heart and soul to do whatever it took to keep it and her family together. The acting throughout was appropriately serious to deadly, with hardly even a smile to be seen, and left us thankful as seldom before for whatever our own lives give us compared to those in the story.

Such a grim and foreboding task the daughter had, with imminent harm threatening around every corner she turned and behind every door on which she knocked, even those of relatives. Determination can get you far, but only so far unless you get a few breaks, and that long quest for a decent break was what kept viewer's eyes glued to the screen until it all played out in the end as could be expected in that dire situation.

Bleak, stark, harsh, mean, cruel...all those tough adjectives were present in full force throughout her search, but present also was her eternal fire of human spirit and family duty that would never quit. When actual survival is at stake, this story showed well that some of us truly can find the right stuff to survive when no better choices are possible.

Negative Review.

A plodding bore, 10 February 2011

A girl is searching for her presumably dead father in order to prevent her house from being seized by a bondsman. The father turned out to be murdered in a community effort to prevent him from talking to the police about the neighborhood's little drug operation. The claustrophobic atmosphere in the film is accompanied by dry local dialog which won't exactly make you spin in your seat. By the time the film is over, you have gained nothing in terms of entertainment or a better understanding of what the hell it is that makes these people tick. The film just kind of drags on for 100 minutes and then ends. It's not a poorly made film by any means, it just begs the question why anyone would bother to create it in the first place.