My Thriller Montage

Here is a montage for my thriller, it involves various pictures which my group believe we well be using when filming our thriller.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Codes and Conventions of a Thriller

There are 7 codes and conventions of a thriller, these include;

Lighting;
Low level lighting
Shadows /Limited view of the character
Often at night time/dark/eerie
Dim colours - use of red

Setting;
Isolated/deserted/exotic - deserted ranch, old warehouse
Confined locations - lift, phone booth, cellar, train - Generatic feature of a thriller is entrapment, meaning claustrophobic spaces are a key

Editing;
Quck cuts/ fast past - enhances anxiety and confusion
Jump cuts/helps with the erratic tension in the film
Match cuts - links 2 ideas with an edit

Cinematography;
Camera angles low/high - plays with and highlights the roles of authority/power within the film
Point of view shot - demonstrates what the character sees/feels
Establishing shot - setting the scene of where the action will take place
Close ups - anxiety/tension
Frantic Camera movement - tense environment

Non Diegetic;
High pitched music
Fast pace music
Ambience music

Diegetic;
Silence - builds tension
Heavy breathing
Whispering
Characters in Thrillers;
Criminals, stalkers, assassins, losers, innocent victims, characters with dark pasts, psychotic individuals, terrorrists, private eyes, drifters. psycho friends, people in twisted relationships
Good or Bad?

Analysis of Past Students work

Today we watched some past students work to get an idead of how to film our 2 minute thriller and what the final production will turn out like. Also we had to decide on what we would mark them out of ten for their;

• Idea
• Cinematography
• Sound/Music
• Performance

Example; Out of the 4 oast thrillers we watched the one shown below was my favourite, this was because it had the most action in it. Also it made us ask lots of questions and portrayed music within thrillers really well, it finally ended with a cliffhanger.



This is what i graded it;
Idea; 9/10
Cinematography; 8/10
Sound/Music; 9/10
Performance; 9/10
Grade; A

Sound Within Film

There are two types of sound which is used within film, these are, diegetic and non-diegetic sounds.

Diegetic sound is noise which can be recognised within the film world, for example dialogue between characters of the sounds of footsteps when a character is walking.

Diegtic sounds however are split into two types, there is on screen and off screen sound. They are both rather self explanatory. On screen is when it is part of the film world and we can see what is the source of the sound, for example a character which we can see who is talking. Off screen is when we can hear a sound and so can the cahracters in the film, but we cannot see what is making it an example of this could be the noise of traffic when someone is walking down the road, but we cannot see it.

Non-diegetic sound is when a sound is not part of the film world, for example music which has been edited into the scene, or a narration of the film. A good example of this is in 'No country for old men' at the beginnning when the man is talking about his life.

Film Opening analysis; History of Violence

Film Opening Analysis; Memento

The beginning of this film is different to others, this is because it is shown backwards. At the beginning, we see the main character killing another man. By showing it backwards like this it makes the person want to watch on and see why the man has been killed. This makes the audience are trying to solve a great Enigma, which the film is basically made from.
From the beginning a slow deep music is played which causes what is happening on screen to be dramatised. The main character in the film is seen to be carrying a camera and taking pictures of the man he has killed, this makes us ask more questions and continue to wonder.

Film opening analysis; Children of Men;

During our last lesson we watched 3 film openings, these films were, Children of men, Memento and History of Violence.
Children of Men;
At the start of the film it shows the opening credits while having the voice of a news reporter announcing breaking news in the background. The news reader is saying about how that the youngest person living had died, this person was 18 years of age. From  hearing this news it makes the audience ask questions such as, why has no one in the world had a baby for 18 years? and what will happen if no one else has a baby? These questions are known as Enigmas. Just before the end of the opening 5 minutes of the film there is an explosion, this makes you want to watch on.

No Country For Old Men

No country for old men is about a man name Llewelyn Moss, after coming across the remains of several drug runners who have been killed after a bad deal he finds a stash of money. Instead of reporting to the police he takes the money and flees his home town as he fears someone will follow him. He is correct as, a psychopathic killer, Anton Chigurh, is on his trail as he dispassionately murders nearly everybody which he comes across in pursuit to find Llewelyn and the money. After a chace over Texas it is unclear what happens to Anton, although Llewelyn dies rapidly at the end of the film
Within the first 5 minutes of No Country For Old Men alot happens, we meet the first main character of the film and 2 people have already been killed. Also we already want to watch on as we want to find out why he is killing people and what has happened in his past. The opening 5 minutes of the film creates a suspense atmosphere as death as also already been spoke about. From this time in the film the murderer already seems mysterious, mental, strong, sinister, cold, eery, and emotionless. The  villain also gives nothing away as he doesn't speak and we don't know anything about him.