History of the Thriller Genre

Early Thrillers
1920's + 1930's

• In 1926 Alfred Hitchcock (a British director, who directed many famous thriller films) released his first thriller 'The Lodger', a silent thriller that followed a Jack The Ripper plot.
• The thriller movies released in this time period, could be said to be the most key thriller films produced.
• They used techniques that are widely recognised as the codes and conventions of the thriller genre.
• Through the repetition of the codes and conventions, it is now clear to any audience if a film fits into the thriller genre.

Thrillers in the 

1940's

In the 1940's Hitchcock continued to:

• Release suspense-thrillers:
• Foreign Correspondent (1940)
• Rebecca (1940)
• Saboteur (1942)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Thrillers Films

1950's

In the 1950's Alfred Hitchcock made a massive change to the thriller genre. He added technicolor to his thrillers, they were no longer in black and white. He also added a touch of glamour to his films, by casting 'icey blondes' to play the leading ladies.

Hitchcock films in the 50's:

• Strangers on a Train (1951) 
• Dial M For Murder (1954) 
• Rear Window (1954)  
• To Catch a Thief (1955)
• Vertigo (1958)

Iconic Sounds

Research #1

CONVENTIONS OF A THRILLER

• creates suspense and excitement for the audience
• enigmatic
• violence is central
• hero and antagonist share characteristics
• possibly focuses on the injustices of society

ART HOUSE ...

is a film genre which encompasses films where the content and style – often artistic or experimental – adhere with as little compromise as possible to the filmmakers’ personal artistic vision. The narrative is often in the social realism style with a focus on the characters’ contemplation of their existence or immediate concerns.

Audience Expectations

PRIMARY RESEARCH

I asked 20 people to complete this questionnaire, the results were all fairly similar. 

• The audiences expectations of what is conventional in a thriller are very similar to secondary research and the correct conventions.
• Some themes can be misinterpreted with horror, such as the supernatural and jump scares.

I also asked the question alongside whether they enjoyed watching thrillers, and 65% answers yes, which could relate to the accurate answers to what is expected in a thriller.

Thriller film research source

SECONDARY RESEARCH
From this blog post, it is shown that the highest expectations from a thriller film are blood, police and action, which are conventions relating most to crime thrillers such as 'Silence of the Lambs' and 'Memento'. This supports the results of one of the other charts from the source which shows that from the participants, crime thrillers are most watched with 35%, and action thrillers at 30%. The sub genres of action and crime thrillers overlap each other in terms of conventions, and would supposedly create the most suspense and perhaps enigma in narrative.

"A thing that the audience may expect is most likely to be alot of drama and investigation.The reason for this is because within a thriller genre, there is usually a good person as well as a bad person. The bad person usually does something wrong and it causes investigation by the good person. Another example of something that the audience may expect is a complex narrative. . .This is something that is expected within a thriller genre because it creates enigmas for the audience and makes them ask questions."

Conventions of the Thriller genre

9 Frame Structure Analysis

Thriller Iconography

AESTHETICS
• SHADOWS
• COLOUR SCHEME
• DARK MOODY ATMOSPHERE
Films like Shutter Island, No Country for Old Men, and Donnie Darko have a dark and gloomy atmosphere which suits the narrative and also the audience.

CAMERA ANGLES
• EXTREME CLOSEUPS
• OVERHEAD SHOTS
• VARIETY OF SHOTS
• MIDSHOTS
• FULL BODY SHOTS
Films such as The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moon, and Life of Pi include a variety of angles, some creating the dramatic feel of the film.

EDITING
• STILLS/SHARP CUTS
• DIEGETIC & NON-DIEGETIC SOUND
Films, including, Enemy of the State, Pulp Fiction, and Usual Suspects, use certain editing techniques that make it look professional and also keeping consistent, and do not under or over edit.

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Certain devices found in Thriller films are such like the following:

Knives - knives are a typical symbol associated with a thriller as they have connotations of blood, death, pain and brutality. A typical representation of this would be in the famous knife scene from Hitchcock's film 'Psycho'. Knives are often used to show that somebody is going to get killed and thus it acts a common device to keep the audience engaged.

Shadows - Silhouettes and shadows are what give a thriller the enigma and mystery for the audience. Shadows are a common piece of iconography associated with the thriller genre because they build up fear in the audience, by instigating that the protagonist is being watch by a human being or some kind of animal/monster. The protagonist is often oblivious to this but can often sense that something isn't right, which leads them on their journey. They often induce thoughts of fear and darkness for the audience as well as giving them clues and they ask questions out of suspense. A character with a silhouette is most likely to be the antagonist, which usually isn't revealed until the end of the film.

Confined Spaces - The use of confined spaces in a thriller also makes the audience feels as though they are too trapped. Being in a confined space often leads the protagonist to start breathing heavily and panting to inform how they are trapped and cannot escape, or it often leads to the start of their struggle as they try to break free.

Woods - Woods are locations often used for thrillers. This is because they create a sense of being lost as the characters find themselves trying to figure out how to escape. Woods are often isolated too, which creates a sense of vulnerability and it seems inevitable that the characters will ever find any help. There may be one house in the woods which often turns out to be the antagonist.

Running Water - Running water is often a symbol of death  as it suggests the draining of life or it is often associated with blood  dripping and suggests that the characters are in danger.

Street Lamps - Street lights at night are often used in thrillers to keep the emphasis and focus on the protagonist and the fact that there is almost complete darkness surrounding them, apart from the spotlight from the lamp. This further accentuates the fact that the protagonist is alone in the dark and creates fear for the audience as they do not know what might be underlying in the darkness and therefore a tense atmosphere is created.

Technologies Used

iMovie - Used to piece together rough cuts of the opening so we knew which footage to use.

Garage Band - To edit our audio on such as the voicemails (adding effects to make it sound like a voicemail as well as the beeps and order).

Final Cut Pro - This was the software on which we edited the footage and pieced everything together (lighting/colouring, cuts, credits).

Evaluation of Rough Cuts

BBFC Rating & Demographic

The BBFC rating for our film (opening) will be a 15, as the film will contain strong language, imitable behaviour such as suicide, and threat and violence. It has a narrative of kidnapping and being held in captivity, which could be sensitive to some younger viewers.

The primary demographic will be middle class white males from ages 25-50, as that is the relate age, race and class to the protagonist of the film. The wide age gap is because of the influence film has on the younger audiences nowadays. Influential directors such as Stanley Kubrick claimed their demographic in the pinnacle of their success, like in the 70's. This audience would now be older, hence the wider age gap.

The primary demographic will be white males as that is the gender and race of the protagonist, and the film will deal with issues relative to his life, and so perhaps ,male viewers can relate more to him.

The demographic can be better defined by the ACORN system where they would occupy the B and C1 social grades (middle and lower middle class). The demographic needs to have a sufficient amount of disposable income to view a film that isn't necessarily a box office hit, but more a film that requires problem solving and isn't attractive to the mainstream audience.The mentality of our demographic can be described as that of a 'reformer' (those who are social aware, intellectual and seek out authenticity) and 'explorer' (people who are driven by a need for challenge and discovery).

Regarding Maslow's 'Hierarchy of Needs' the film will cater the viewers need for belonging and love as well as self-actualisation. The protagonist will go on a journey of self-realisation in the film, realising he is neglecting those around him, and realise that he needs to change; which could provoke a similar feeling in the audience.

Using Blumler and Katz's 'Uses and Gratifications' theory, it can be suggested that the audience will use this film for entertainment and relationships; the latter referring to its arthouse sub-genre which cites it as a niche film, therefore creating an inclusive audience that is likely to critique and discuss the film amongst each other. Entertainment can be derived from our film because it's nar

Russell Second Draft

Film Screening Feedback

On Tuesday 22nd February we screened our film opening for the first time to our seven classmates and teacher and using the questionnaire below received the following feedback:

Overall, our film opening received very positive and encouraging responses.
The majority of the audience responded emotionally to the opening with fear, confusion and intrigue.


The main criticism we received is as follows:

• The second half of the opening was too quiet/ slow
• The film opening needs to be cut down to 2:15 maximum 
• The diegetic sound needs to be increased/ revised
• Titles need to be adapted (placement and size)
• Links between sound and visuals need to be developed

This feedback is essential to the film opening's development and we have scheduled a final editing session before our deadline of 28/2/17 where we will take everyones opinions into consideration and hopefully produce a film opening to be proud of.

Russell First Draft

Voicemail Casting

CAST

VOICEMAIL GREETING: JOE DELLA-PORTA

DOCTORS RECEPTIONIST: GEMMA EVENDEN
DAUGHTER: GRACE EVENDEN
BOSS: MICHAEL EVENDEN
EX-WIFE: TRUDY BARBER
NEIGHBOUR: CALUMN KING

VOICEMAIL SCRIPT ALTERATIONS:

When recording the 'Boss' voicemail our group and the actor discussed the legitimacy of the script and decided that the actor, who had experience as an employer, would ad-lib with references to the main points in the script (e.g. the boss was sorry making this decision). The final voicemail recording was more effective than the scripted version.

Once we had shot the film opening and begun editing we realised that we needed to adapt the voicemail audio so to fit the 30 second time period dedicated to the tracking establishing shot. Since we were yet to cast the 'Girlfriend' we deemed it better to abandon this role as it didn't have as much significance in establishing Russell's character/ life as the others did.

Title

Font

We have decided to use the font 'Times New Roman' for our opening credits because it fits the dictionary layout we are mimicking. This style is original, especially when animated onto alternating monochromatic backgrounds/ fonts, therefore attributing to our films unconvential plot and niche audience.
The significance of the dictionary is established as the film explores the definition of life and its meaning/ value through the kidnapping/ interrogation and possible murder of Russell Simmons (a man who is taking his life for granted/ ruining his 'one chance').

Side note: It could be interpreted that there is not a 'dictionary' definition for 'what it is to be alive'.

UPDATE:
Due to the length of our film opening (the first draft was almost 3 minutes) we decided against using title screens and instead incorporated the credits into the shots to save time.

Film Opening Pitches

PITCH #1

Quick summary of film opening:
The film opens with a tracking shot through a house, getting closer to the diegetic sound of a radio which is in the basement. The radio station is being changed repeatedly, so there is a mixture of static and juxtaposing music. The framing is symmetrical as the camera continues to track towards the basement, following a path lined with clutter (books, furniture etc). As the camera descends into the basement, the lighting changes from artificial bright white light to dark red/pink neon lighting. The title screen. Montage of extreme/close ups of items in the basement, diegetic sound continues. Credit screen's appear briefly. One of the close up reveals a calendar/piece of paper with 'phase one' written on it. The radio finally stays on a station, 1920's flapper music music plays. From behind a wall/staircase the protagonist appears and starts dancing. The dance is jerky and out of time with the music.

This mind-map exhibits the initial ideas and concepts we want to incorporate into our film opening. The narrative is yet to be fully established , but aspects such as the title and credit sequence and the genre are more definite. That being said, something we learnt after attending the BFI lectures was that narrative doesn't necessarily have to play a huge part in a film opening, as its more important in some cases to establish character arcs and introduce the tone and feel of the film.  Notably, media texts that have influenced our pitch are cited and these play an important part in the transformation of these original ideas to the final product, as these texts can provoke inspiration.

PITCH #2

Limits

• Time (2 minutes)                                     + Only use shots you really need
• Deadline 28th February                           + Set shorter deadlines
• Budget                                                     + Use what you have/at home
• Technology                                              + Use what you have access to
• Casting/ability                                         + Use people you know
• Legality                                                   + Don't shoot anywhere dangerous or illegal
• Workload                                                 + Plan times and prioritise workload
• Location                                                  + Make use of local areas
• Copyright                                                + Use royaltly free assets
• Weather/time of year                               + Choose/plan setting of film

Difficulties When Editing

Editing Schedule

We edited the rough cut of the film opening at school during lessons using iMovie, as well as creating the voicemail audio on garage band, but we knew that we wanted to use some more specialised equipment which was made available us outside of school. Consequently, we met on Monday 20th February from midday till 6 and in that time edited the lighting, audio and added the credit animation- completing the opening.
Here is some behind the scenes footage of that day:


Below are the difficulties during editing that we faced:

Evaluation Q7

LOOKING BACK AT THE PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?

Evaluation Q6

Evaluation Q5

HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?

Evaluation Q4

WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT

Evaluation Q3

Storyboard Alterations

Due to set rearrangement, the sequence of shots 26-30 had to be adapted quite significantly.

Firstly, shot 26 is frames a rocking horse in the left third with the protagonist in the back ground, out of focus. The rocking horse was not available for use on the day of our shoot so instead we used a decorative lamp which portrays a woman holding up a dove. The dove is illuminated by the light, and this symbol of freedom contrasts with the protagonists entrapment, so in many ways this adaption was for the better.

The most recognisable alteration occurs in the sequence of shots 19-26. Due to the rearrangement of furniture and a continuity error we had to adapt the protagonist's movements from standing up to being on the floor on all fours: instead of him walking after he takes the drip out he now falls to the floor immediately afterwards. This meant he was in a different position for the following shots which had been filmed beforehand. Therefore we had to cut some shots and create some on the day. This delayed our filming but I think we dealt with the situation well and kept the continuity.

RUSSEL Final Draft

Evaluation Q2

HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?

Evaluation Q1

Shooting Day

We shot the film opening on Saturday the 28th of January from 10am to 2:30pm.

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED/ RESOLUTION:

• Rearrangement of the set→ we altered the storyboard, specifically the movement of the protagonist in the clearing, and rearranged the room as best we could.
• Customer interference → we shot the majority of the footage in the morning when the shop was most quiet. As noon approached more customers began to arrive and we shot takes in between their visits to the basement. In some cases we asked them to refrain from entering the basement during whilst we were shooting a scene and they all understood and responded encouragingly. 

Final Makeup

RUSSELL

The Thriller Genre

Iconic Thriller Directors

1. Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, Essex, England. He was the son of Emma Jane (1863 - 1942) and East End greengrocer William Hitchcock (1862 - 1914). His parents were both half English and half Irish ancestry. He had two older siblings, William Hitchcock (born 1890) and Eileen Hitchcock (born 1892). Raised as a strict Catholic and attending Saint Ignatius College, a school run by Jesuits, Hitch had very much of a regular upbringing.

Trademark

Inspired the adjective "Hitchcockian" for suspense thrillers

In order to create suspense in his films, he would alternate between different shots to extend cinematic time (e.g. the climax of Saboteur (1942), the cropduster sequence in North by Northwest (1959), the shower scene in Psycho (1960), etc.) His driving sequences were also shot in this particular way. They would typically alternate between the character's point of view while driving and a close-up shot of those inside the car from opposite direction. The technique kept the viewer 'inside' the car and made any danger encountered more richly felt.

       2. David Lynch


Born in precisely the kind of small-town American setting so familiar from his films, David Lynch spent his childhood bring shunted from one state to another as his research scientist father kept getting relocated. He attended various art schools, married Peggy Lynch and then fathered future director Jennifer Lynch shortly after he turned 21. The experience, plus attending art school in a particularly violent and run-down area of Philadelphia, inspired Eraserhead (1977), a film that he began in the early 1970s (after a couple of shorts) and which he would work on obsessively for five years.

Trademark

• Has a taste for low/middle frequency noise, dark and rotting environments, distorted characters, a polarised world (angles vs demons, Madonnas vs whores), and debilitating damage to the skull or brain.
• Use of slow-motion during key scenes of violence
• Red curtains, strobe lights, and extreme surrealism
• Close up shots of eyes
• Quirky, nasal voice
• Films are often sexually charged and graphically violent
• Many of his films examine the dark side of American suburbia.
• Never explains the meaning of his movies
• Very heavy use of black and dark lighting in order to augment colourful objects in scenes.

       3. Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Sadie Gertrude (Perveler) and Jacob Leonard Kubrick, a physician. His family were Jewish immigrants (from Austria, Romania, and Russia). Stanley was considered intelligent, despite poor grades at school. Hoping to find something to interest his son, Jack introduced Stanley to chess, with the desired result. Kubrick took to the game passionately, and quickly became a skilled player. Chess would become an important device for Kubrick in later years, often as a tool for dealing with recalcitrant actors, but also as an artistic motif in his films.

Trademark

• His films often tell about the dark side of human nature, especially dehumanisation.
• Symmetric image composition. Often features shots down the length of tall, parallel walls, e.g. the head in Full Metal Jacket (1987), the maze and hotel corridors in The Shining (1980) and the computer room in 2001: A space Odyssey (1968). 
• Extreme close-ups of intensely emotional faces. 
• All of Kubrick's films feature a pivotal scene that takes place in a bathroom.

Production Company

NAME: MOAT PRODUCTIONS

LOGO:
















ANIMATION:

Health & Safety Concerns

Costume, Props and Make-up

COSTUME

Regarding costumes, both characters will wear dark unbranded casual clothing to avoid the audience being distracted from the action. The protagonist's clothes may be dusty/ dirty due to lying on the floor and the shopkeeper will wear noticeably feminine clothes to contrast her stereo-typically 'masculine' role as the kidnapper.

PROPS

Other than the drip, bought from eBay, we will use objects from the antique warehouse, such as the mannequin. One of the advantages of shooting at this location was the access to a variety of props.

MAKE-UP

To achieve the protagonist's 'drugged' state we have taken inspiration from this article which gives tips on how to look ill. We experimented using pale foundation, sun cream, moisturiser, colour correcting foundation and to make fake sweat we mixed glycerine and water.

We came to the conclusion that a mixture of the colour correcting foundation and 'fake sweat' produced the best results- shown below, the left being without makeup, and the right being with:

Headshot Main - Isse Ouchi

ROLE: SHOPKEEPER
NAME: ISSE OUCHI
HEIGHT: 5"1
AGE: 59
ETHNICITY: ASIAN (JAPANESE )

Location Recce / Test Footage

EQUIPMENT USED

Camera: Canon 700D

Canon Legria HF G30

Audio: RØDE VideoMic

Editing software: iMovie

CANON 700D:

ADVANTAGES

• Its bulkier size made it easy to handle
• Vivid and clear colour

DISADVANTAGES 

• Limited zoom
• Auto-focus was delayed and hard to control

CANON LEGRIA HF G30:

ADVANTAGES

• Sharp and quick auto-focus
• Extended zoom
• Can be connected to WIFI
• Long life battery

DISADVANTGES

• The footage had a dull tone in terms of colouring

Shooting Schedule

Mic Audio Test

We sampled three microphones in preparation for our shoot. In conclusion, the YOGA microphone was most effective because it cancelled out the majority of the background noise and efficiently elevated the sound of the voice.

Talent Sourcing

ACTOR REQUIREMENTS:

PROTAGONIST: RUSSELL SIMMONS:

• MALE
• WHITE BRITISH
• MIDDLE-AGED 
• AVERAGE HEIGHT AND WEIGHT (he is to be 'normal')
• PHYSICALLY ABLE TO CRAWL, STAND FROM LYING DOWN AND ACT AFRAID AND INTOXICATED

SHOPKEEPER:

• FEMALE
• MIDDLE AGED- ELDERLY
• PREFERABLY SMALL IN HEIGHT AND WEIGHT BUT THIS IS NOT MANDATORY
• RACE IS NOT SPECIFIED, BUT MUST BE ENGLISH SPEAKING
• ACTING ABILITY IS NOT REQUIRED AS THE SHOPKEEPER'S ROLE IS TO ACT 'NORMAL'

VOICE ACTORS:

• TEENAGE GIRL
• ADULT FEMALE x3
• ADULT MALE X3
• ALL MUST SPEAK ENGLISH
• NO VOICE ACTING ABILITY/EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

ACTOR HEAD SHOTS:

ROLE: RUSSELL SIMMONS
NAME: ANDREW HART
HEIGHT: 5"4
AGE: 57
ETHNICITY: WHITE (BRITISH)

Location Recce

We have permission from the shop owner of Hastings Antique Warehouse to film inside and outside the shop on our shooting day: 28th of January 2017. This location inspired the film opening narrative and is essentially the heart of the piece. It is really effective in creating the eerie/ lonely atmosphere we desire and has hundreds of props readily available.

54 High St.
Hastings
East Sussex
TN34 3EN

Shooting Script

Voicemail Script

You have reached the mailbox of “Russell Simmons”, who is currently unable to answer your call. Please leave a message after the tone. (You have 23 new messages)

DOCTORS RECEPTIONIST: 

Hello Mr. Simmons this is Oakhouse Surgery calling to remind you that you’re yet to collect your prescription from reception. Dr. Blake is concerned about your absence as it’s not recommended to go for so long without your prescription as the consequences can be serious. Please contact us if you are in anyway unable to collect your prescription. Thank you.

DAUGHTER:

 Hey dad, it’s me. Mum said that you agreed to pick me up from swimming after school tomorrow. It usually finishes around 5; I’ll be waiting outside as usual. Please don’t forget again like you did last time, see you.

BOSS: 

Russell, Craig here. I really don’t want to make this phone call, but you hardly turn up to work and I can’t ever reach you. I’m having to let you go. I know you’ve been struggling and I’ve done all I can to support you but I’m sorry. Call me back as soon as you get this and we’ll talk about the redundancy… and what needs to be done next. Best wishes.

DAUGHTER:

Where are you? Its me- Sophie!? I’ve been standing by the school gates for like an hour and it’s raining- I’m soaked! Have you forgotten again? You always do this! Mum’s right- I should never rely on you. Thanks a lot.

EX WIFE: 

Russell, it’s me. I’ve just picked up Sophie from swimming which funnily enough you were supposed to do. You’re her father, start acting like one. Another thing- Dave said he saw you by the house again last week. You can’t start doing this again. It’s not your house anymore. I don’t want to get the police involved but if it gets as bad as last time you leave me no other choice.

GIRLFRIEND: 

Where are you? This is like the sixteenth time calling in a week and you haven't bothered to pick up once. Was it me? Look, I didn’t mean what I said about moving in together, it was a joke! It’s obviously too soon… but please, call me back, I’m worried.

NEIGHBOUR:

 Hey Russell, its Tim from Number 23A. Just letting you know that some other residents and I have noticed that your mailbox is overflowing a bit. I haven’t seen you around, otherwise I would have spoken to you face to face. It’s not an urgent problem, but if you could tidy up a bit it would be a great help. Thanks.

Storyboard Draft

Storyboards