Continuity-editing group task

This is task was set to our group and focuses on camera angles and techniques. This task will take us next few weeks to complete. Our group will have to have to make a 60 second clip, that has to include the all the wanted requirements on the sheet (above), such as camera shots. This task will give us a understanding of all the camera angles and techniques that will help us in the making of our thriller opening sequence.

Task rules:

• You must not break the 180 degree rule
• You must include a shot reverse shot
• You must include a variety of appropriate camera angles
• You must edit so that the continuity is apparent and clear
• You must include more than one location
• You must include some interaction between characters
• You must include some non-diegetic sounds

The 180 degree rule:

In film making the 180-degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. An imaginary line called the axis connects the characters and by keeping the camera on one side of this axis for every shot in the scene, the first character will always be framed right of the second character, who is then always framed on the left. If the camera crossed the axis it would disorient the audience who are watching.

Shot reverse shot:

Shot reverse shot is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character, and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.   

Non-diagetic sounds:

Non-diagetic sound is sound such as music or a narrator’s voices that come from outside the space of the narrative. Its sound that the audience do not expect to here in a location.

Mark scheme

Video




Audio





Research and Planning

Evaluation



By looking at the mark scheme it will give our group a understanding of what needs to be completed and how much work needs doing to be able to achieve the top bands. I think looking at the mark scheme is a important aspect of our research, as it will help us to develop our work further. Overall this will help my group as we know what is expected of us.

British Thrillers - History of Alfred Hitchcock

1920-1930's

A man called Alfred Hitchcock made his first thriller (the third silent film in 1926) this film was called 'Lodger'. It was one of the first thrillers to be made and is about a landlady who suspects her new lodger is a madman killing women in London.

His next thriller in 1929 was a film called 'Black mail' this was notable for being his and Britain's first sound film. From this point Alfred Hitchcock was known for producing thrillers.

There were also many other notable british directors who produced thriller films such as Walter Forde, Victor Saville,  George A. Cooper and the young Michael  Powell up to the years 1940.

1940's

Alfred Hitchcock went on to direct more suspense thrillers, in this year he produced two films in which one was oscar winning. These films were 'Foreign Correspondent' and 'Rebecca'. Rebecca being the oscar winning film. In 1941 he went on to release a film called 'Suspicion' and then released a film called 'saboteur' in 1942 and 'Shadow of a doubt' in 1943 which was one of Hitchcocks own personal favourite.

1950's
In the 1950's was when Hitchcock started adding technicolour to his thrillers, as the time changes you can see the development. Strangers on a train, made in 1951 is about a psychotic socialite who confronts a tennis star on how two complete strangers can get away with a murder, a theory that he plans to follow through.

 

1960's

By 1960's

Modern Day Thrillers
Most thrillers now borrow themes and elements from those in the past, but to avoid repetition they often use ideas and aspects from other genres such as horror where they add things in such as sadistic violence/gore etc which is why some people mistake thrillers for horrors. This is when we get sub genres and hybrids.

From this research done by a member of my group, I have learnt more of British thrillers and Alfred Hitchcock and his history throughout film making. I have also learnt that this had an the impact the British film industry had on the thriller genre as well as Alfred Hitchcock, and his work.

Music in Thrillers (group members work)

Thriller is a genre of literature, film, video gaming and television that uses suspense, tension, and excitement as the main elements. The best examples of thrillers are the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Sub-genres include crime thrillers, mystery thrillers, paranoid thrillers, psychological thrillers, and horror thrillers.

I am now analysing 4 different titles sequences' music throughout them and comparing them to one another. With this I am seeing if there is a trend in the type of audio used in Thrillers or if there is a variety. My aim is to find out as much about the sound in thrillers by analysing these following four movie title sequences: Inception, Shutter Island, Seven & Limitless; and from this hoping to gain knowledge in what is typical music of a thriller which my group and I can therefore go on to use when creating our own for our title sequence.

Inception:
loud dramatic symphonies
building up
repetition
loud dramatic build up fades out to loud waves
ambient sound of waves
sound of children in distance
ambient calm tide coming in
eery sound developing
calm eery beat with calm tide
loud shriek/scream of a child in the middle of peace
sudden noise

 

Shutter Island:
long orchestra sounds
sharp sounds
deep loud sudden sounds
loud to quiet
repetition
build up
deep horrific trumpets and symbols
small sharp blips
replica siren sound



Seven:
lightning and thunder like sounds
static sounds
repetition
computer generated sounds
robotic
sci-fi sounds-space
sudden sharp sounds
radio tuning
strange sci-fi/space fake eery music
constant beat
music layering
fast beat
non-digetic narrative or speech
quiet end



Limitless:
silence
loud bangs
sudden sound
quiet ticking clock in background building up
banging getting slightly faster
quiet speech in background begins
louder bang and narrative starts
mellow melancholy quiet noise
faster banging and mechanical drills
digital sounds
non digetic up-beat music
quiet low sounds
parallel foley sounds of police cars
parallel sound and gun shots

(I couldn't find the opening scene or sequence on youtube or the internet so I instead watched it using my DVD that I have because I've already seen and have the film)

When looking at all four of these opening sequences collectively we can see there are a lot of commonly used aspects of music in the thriller genre. For example I can happily say that repetitive deep melancholy downbeat music is used a lot. As well as the use of it being quiet or silent. Furthermore there is a high use of ambient, foley, parallel and non-digetic sounds. This brings me on to the narration or  voice over of the main protagonist which we only hear in one of the four examples; however from personal experience I know that this is in fact used commonly within thrillers. This loud, deep, mellow sounds are repeated through the thrillers as seen in the four examples, along with the build up of the sound level rising. This is to reflect the tension in how it is rising and coming to a climax, therefore raising audience suspicion, tension, anxiety and mystery.

From this research of my group members work, I have learnt that the different types and tempos of music have been used to create different effects and moods to the film. This research has also helped our group decide on what music to include in our opening title sequence.

Thriller sub-genres (group members work)

When thinking about doing a thriller opening we have to consider what type of thriller we are going to us as over the years they have become more developed and more types and variations have been created.

Conspiracy Thriller - The conspiracy thriller is a sub-genre of thriller fiction. The protagonists of conspiracy thrillers are often journalists or amateur investigators who find themselves pulling on a small thread which unravels a vast conspiracy that ultimately goes "all the way to the top. 'Edge Of Darkness'

Political Thriller - In a political thriller, there's usually a problem where the whole government is at stake and the protagonist is hired by the government to stop the decline, an example of a political thriller: 'The Interpreter'

Crime Thriller - Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies. 'The Bourne Ultimatum' Action Thriller Includes normal conventions of the thriller genre but focuses on action and usually includes explosions/violence etc, an example of an action thriller: 'The Dark Knight Rises'

Mystery Thriller - Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective,private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The plot often centers on the deductive ability, prowess, confidence, or diligence of the detective as they attempt to unravel the crime or situation by piecing together clues and circumstances, seeking evidence, interrogating witnesses, and tracking down a criminal.

Psychological Thriller - A distinguishing characteristic of a psychological thriller is a marked emphasis on the mental states of its characters: their perceptions, thoughts, distortions, and general struggle to grasp reality. Psychological thrillers are suspenseful by exploiting uncertainty over characters' motives, honesty, and how they see the world. 'Silence Of The Lambs'

From this research done by a group member I can identify some of the main sub-genres within the genre of Thriller. This adds to my research and knowledge on thrillers. I have learnt the codes and conventions of these particular sub-genres and what is typical of them, as well as some examples of them.

Questionaire summary

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/16jhLZsNIGKDPn-d8wotbGSSxFaCTFccNs8RcYlomqQU/viewanalytics

From the summary of our target audience questionaire I have learnt that our target audience consists of:
Male, 16-18 year olds, who are white,British, students, who watch thrillers that excite them and create suspense and involve action. They expect to see the following in a title sequence: The title, music, actors names, name of the production, makers of the film names such as directors, animation and clips related to the film. The top colours related to thrillers are: Red, Black, white and blue.

Editing / camera shots

Crosscutting or parallel editing
Although typically a narrative device, inter-cutting can set up juxtaposition between parallel story lines, exaggerating the impact or meaning of each by highlighting a point of difference relating to representation.

Inter-cutting
When inter-cutting is used to draw two story lines together, this can be structured to create tension and therefore heighten the audiences identification with a particular character.

Reverse shot
A reverse shot is one character being shown to talk back to another unseen character.
-Shows the characters emotions and facial expressions
-May show conflict between the two characters, as they are separated.

Cutaway shot
A cutaway shot is when the scene cuts to another different scene. This is usually followed by it then cutting back to the original scene.

Cut in shot
Similar to a cutaway shot, a cut in shot focuses on some part of the scene in detail before cutting.

Eye line match
A eye line match is when the shot cuts to view what character would be seeing.
-P.O.V