Thriller Genre Moodboard

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Audience Proflie

Our target audience are 16-19 year old boys, they're hedonistic and enjoy spending money and enjoying the company of girls. They're interested in looking good and tend to wear Lynx or Adidas Deodorant.

They invest in brand names such as Henleys and Gio-Goi as to make themselves more attractive to females, these are expensive brands and they get the money from their part-time work at the local restaurant, possibly McDonalds.

They don't tend to buy magazines, but if given the opportunity will pick up the last issue of Nuts or FHM to check out the eye candy.

Music taste is varied as they tend to like the high energy chart music played in their favourite club, but they tend to secretly listen to rock music, possibly bands such as linkin park.

They like spending lots of time out with the lads at the local club, however as soon as they turn the legal age the magic is lost and they begin to spend more and more time at home.

When not at college or out with mates they tend to be at home, playing call of duty.

They don't like to be seen doing well at college and studying, and they tend to drop out after the first couple of months, they then take to a more hefty part time job and begin earning money so they can go out and buy drinks all evening, probably only for them, but also for their female counterparts.

They want to be rich and well known with plenty of beautiful women at their disposal, however they are incapable of being motivated and working towards their goal.

Genre Research Summary

• Titles appear slowly at regular intervals during the opening sequence.
• Bold, black, italic font used for names and status, in this case the title of the film uses this method combined with sloppy handwriting.
• 'Slevin' written in red to signify blood - relates to other action/thriller films.

• The mise en scene includes props such as guns, as well as smartly dressed characters.
• Set in an urban, american city, modern day.

• Blood is also used to demonstrate the film's genre
• Most of the lighting is quite dark, with large use of chiaroscuro, as is common in thriller films.

• Most of the characters in the title sequence are smartly dressed e.g. businessmen, gangsters etc.
• The main character who appears in 2 scenes is unseen by only showing his body, not his face
• this shows use of proairetic code

• Appropriate costumes are provided for certain characters e.g. this man is old, fat, has glasses, and is sat at a big desk, indicating that in the surroundings and the theme of the film, plus basic stereotyping, he is a bookie

• Fast-paced editing is used to show narrative codes

• Tight close-ups create an enigma for the viewer

• There is no music playing, but sound effects of a silenced gun, and glass shattering

• Synchronous sound is used throughout the scene

• The genre is established through violence and mystery, which are portrayed by the technical features used in the scene.

• The music playing is a mellow piano tune, relating to traditional gangster films in the thriller genre
• Radio commentaries can also be heard over the music of a horse race

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Research into Action/Thriller Genre

The title sequences in Lucky Number Slevin and Collateral use many different filming aspects that relate them to other films in its genre of action/thriller. The very first thing viewers see in Collateral is a master shot of a busy airport. Credits of actors are shown at different intervals, and are positioned on the screen in relatively empty spaces. The director uses shallow focus to focus on two smartly dressed people, who are kept on the third in each frame, and are shown by parallel editing as they approach each other before a collision. The depth of field is considered in proportion to the camera itself and to each other, as One is walking towards the camera, as the other walks across the width in order to keep the 180 degree angle, and in fact collide at a 90 degree angle. The collision contains several close ups and shot/reverse shots, as they attempt to resolve themselves, and one man, Tom Cruise, walks away with the other man’s briefcase, shown as an insert for the viewer to focus on. This inclines some importance for the film, thought currently it is seen as a mistake. This connotes suspicion and mystery, common features of traditional thriller films, and appears as an enigma code.

Lucky number slevin uses a different approach of a title sequence, as credits are listed in separate cuts to those of scenes that happen during the title sequence. Non-diegetic piano music can be heard amongst radio commentary of what sounds like a horse race, and file paper is used as the surface for the typed names of actors, each highlighted by chiaroscuro lighting, from what appears to be a candle. This is another common feature in this genre, and in a narrative perspective, it makes the audience feel semantic. Technical aspects that appear include fast-paced, continuity editing, in which people are assassinated by an unknown figure, despite the viewers seeing the action from a point of view shot of the character. The actual title of the film, with ‘Lucky Number’ in typed font, and ‘Slevin’ as a quick scribble (relating to a bet on a horse), and surrounded by faint numbers in the form of sums of money, is not revealed until after two scenes of action have already occurred, indicating fast-paced action again, this time in terms of the film itself.

The following scene in the opening sequence for collateral is an introduction to another main character, Jamie Foxx, who is a taxi driver. The mise en scene shows this, by use of a traditional American taxi inside a taxi shelter. Foxx’s clothes are not smart, just casual, showing him as an ‘average’ man who would not appear to the viewer as worth making a film about. However a frequent viewer of action/thriller films may see it as a common aspect, meaning events can surround a normal person that are out of the ordinary. Foxx’s approach towards his job is shown by close-ups and mid-close-ups, as well as POV shots to let the audience see what he sees. As he sets out to begin his shift, tracking shots follow the taxi around the city, and aerial shots and establishing shots combine to provide mixed feelings for the viewer, including minor tension and suspense, plus to show the scale of the city in comparison to Foxx, which is linked to a discussion between Cruise and Foxx later in the film.

"OUCH!" Assessment

"OUCH" was the decided title for our production, as it is relevant to the plot of the film, which is set in a medical room. When we were given the opportunity to search for an appropriate area to film, we found the college medical room, which seemed like an appropriate area to do our filming, as there were few health and safety risks and it allowed us to film without being disturbed. We based the idea of what our film would involve on the choice of location, that is a hospital situation. For this, we could demonstrate different aspects of filming, in a scenario that has been used in many blockbuster films previously.
We came up with a plan of the room in order to decide where the camera would go for different angles and shots. The film is portrayed directly to the audience, to the best of our ability, and each shot then tells the next part of the story, therefore the entire plot is not revealed straight away, enabling the viewer to be entertained and interested in our decided plot.
We used

OUCH!

The final product has been successfully uploaded onto youtube. I feel i did the best i could with the time i was given, however if i had more time and equipment, i do believe that i could have created a much more professional piece of filming.
For example, a better choice of location would have enabled me to include extra shots and situations, making a more realistic film for the audience to enjoy and be amazed by. Plus, a better variety of equipment, such as a crane and a dolly, would have improved the quality of some of the camera movements, like arc shots and tracking shots, overall making a better film for the audience.

Risk Assessment

Risk:- Members of group could trip over tripod.
Control:- Have somebody to look after the tripod in the group.


Risk:- Opening doors - Too fast/hard, could smash the glass in the door.
Control:- Open and close with care.


Risk:- Drugs and medical equipment are dangerous.
Control:- Take care when moving around, and don't touch things that you don't need too.


Risk:- Bed could collapse.
Control:- Do not jump on, or put heavy objects on the bed.


Risk:- Mirror's could shatter.
Control:- Do not touch the mirrors, unless needed/un-needed in the shot.


Risk:- Junk on the floor.
Control:- Keep the floorspace clear and ensure maximum space for movement.


Risk:- Someone could fall down toilet/get stuck.
Control:- Put the seat down if in use, ignore if not in the shot.


Risk:- Cables from camera and other technology could become a hazard - water, fire etc.
Control:- Place the cables in a sensible place, or cover them up with some tape etc. to prevent tripping.

Dialogue

(FADE IN)

Morgan: *On bed in pain* *Looks down at self*

Clint: *Enter room* *Looks at Morgan*

Clint: Oh my god! What have I done?!

Morgan: *cough* You!

Clint: I’m so sorry, please forgive me!

Morgan: No! *Looks away* - close up

Clint: I didn’t mean…

Morgan: *interrupts* GET OUT! 

(FADE OUT)

Storyboard

Continuity Editing

Continuity Editing involves many different aspects of filming, including 180 degree rule and match on action.
The 180 degree rule is a very important part of filming a scene, as it makes the characters/objects in the scene appear like real-life, in relation to the positions they are in and where they are facing. It makes the scene so real that the audience forgets that they are watching a film. It uses a left/right angle aspect for the character/object to look at the camera or away from it, in a certain direction, all the time keeping on one side of a theoretical line, directly through the middle of the set. For example, in a two-shot where the camera is 90 degrees away from each character, the 180 degree line will be directly through the centre of each character's bodies, spanning the length of the scene. It allows the scene to flow better, as if the camera entered the other side of the 180 degree angle at any point during filming, the scene would not flow, and would look different. It also means that the character can only look on one side of the camera, but if there are two cuts with exactly the same positions, then the character can remain in the position they are in for both shots.
Match On Action is a useful aspect of filming, that uses invisible cuts to make the scene link from one shot to another. When the match on action is of good quality, the audience barely notices the change from one shot to the next. For example, in a scene involving a character entering a room through a door, multiple angles can be used to show different points of view, and the combining of multiple shots to make realistic effect means that the character must be in exactly the same position in each shot, and if it is a motion action, then the first shot will show the first part of the motion then the next shot will show the end of it.