14) Inital planning ideas for final production

This is a few ideas of sounds, camera angles and movement I came up with from other succesful thriller openings for the inital planning of our own thriller.

Natasha

10) The Coen Brothers

The Coen Brothers

The Coen Brothers;

We have studied four of the Coen Brothers thriller openings to help understand how they have used similar techniques and aspects of creating distinct thrillers of their genre.

We have focused on the editing, Camera shots/angles and sound they use to create an anxious atmosphere to the audience leading to the build-up of shock, tension and suspense.

The Hudsucker Proxy

 

Mise en scene:

The characters was wearing a suit which makes him look very sinister and suspicious, this creates a mysterious atmosphere for the audience as it signifies intelligence and makes us weary of what he could be capable of, which creates tension and suspense.

The lighting was mostly coming off from the big clock which the face was lit making it very dull and focusing significance on the clock which creates mystery.

Sound

There is not any dialogue in the first part creating a mysterious atmosphere for the audience and with the classical soundtrack it adds to a build up of tension.

The voiceover at the start is with a western accent this with the establishing shots creates a very sinister anxious atmosphere which helps to set the mystery of the scene. The western accent could represent the trouble that he has got himself into. “Out of rope, out of time”, this leaves the audience questioning the meanings it could be suggesting;  it could end in death or even suicide. The character could be torn between the good and bad in themselves.. This is effective because it leaves the audience on a cliff-hanger wanted to watch more, making it effective to use in the opening.

Camera shots/ angles

• 
  Establishing shot of the city - awareness of the surroundings of the character, sets the scene engaging the audience in the suspense and mystery. Also shows the relationship between the setting and the character.
• High angled shot of buildings, to set the scene in a weary atmosphere.
• Zoom into the big clock on the side of the building- “Hudsucker industries”
• Close- up of the character looking out the window and then climbing out of the window – makes the audience feel on edge and tense of what is going to happen.

• Zoomed into the clock hands striking twelve- A New Year, or even a new life, relating the voice over “out of time” again creating a tense and levels of uncertainty to the audience.
• Panning of the city, in a dark and snowy setting could signify danger.

Barton Fink

Mise en scene

The clothing in Barton Fink is similar to the main characters clothing in Hudsucker proxy where they are both wearing suits which again makes them look sinister. However in this there is more than one character shown in the introduction. The women are wearing dresses; femme fatal – suggesting danger, and conflict in the thriller.

The lighting was mostly from the stage where the main character is stood watching his creation. The lighting was high key, with very little shadowing, making the audience tense because they are not too sure when the twists will come into it, but are expecting it from the setting and sound.

The actor who played Barton Fink was John Turturro. Putting glasses on the character could signifies that he is a very intelligent man. When they are finished watching his play they go inside.

 The femme fatal also joined the table with the married men, however, the red lipstick she was wearing made her look dangerous and seductive which instantly suggests to the audience that she is dangerous adding to the tension of the plot.

The props used was a rope, which had been followed down to the stage which made the audience feel a bit suspicious and tense on what’s going to happen, this was also created through the dialogue because we could hear it but couldn’t see the people speaking which shown significance on the rope, and took away the importance of what was being said.

Sound

In Barton Fink there is much more dialogue than The Hudsucker Proxy. “I feel I’m on the brink of success”. Seeming like a he’s much more pleased with his work than the character in The Hudsucker proxy. The soundtrack used created the same effect as it did with the voiceover, setting up the narrative and creating a sinister and mysterious atmosphere.

soundtrack was jazz music which also helped create a sinister atmosphere.

Jazz styled music relates to gangs like the mafia and suggests danger which makes the audience feel fearful of the narrative, and anxious of what is going to happen .

Camera shots/ movements

• Close up on some old fashioned wall paper, slowly zooming in, creating mystery of significance of the wallpaper.
• Point of view shot of the man walking into the eating area- suspicious character, villainous, troubled. Audience feeling anxious.
• Mid shot-Still image of Barton Fink- Making the character look cynical.
• Close up of man with something suspicious in his hand- Might have something dangerous in his hand, audience start feeling curious and tense of what’s going to happen.
• Being introduced to the other characters by close ups- through reaction shots on thecharacters faces. Helps keep the audience in the loop trying to unravel which character is significant and the protagonist and antagonist, could suggest a twist because of their uncertainty.

Editing

Quick cuts between the characters faces- Identifying relationships between the characters. Builds suspense, audience think something bad is going to happens with the involvement of the characters.

The Big Lebowski

Mise en scene

The first character we see is wearing pj’s making the audience feel uncertain of what is going on creating a mysterious atmosphere.

In this the lighting is natural outside. However, mostly its low key lighting creating a gloomy and weary atmosphere, which adds to the build-up of tension and shock.

The character Big Lebowski, known as “the dude” was played by an actor called Jeff Bridges. His character seems troublesome due to the fact he doesn’t care about anyone or himself, which creates anxiety for the audience as he could be potentially dangerous as he has a careless persona.

The tumbleweed is a good prop to have at the start because it shows that they are out in the middle of no where making it easier to inflict some crime. It is set in Los Angeles where there is lots of deserted land therefore making the audience weary of what could happen as anything can happen, building tension.

Sound
·         Voiceover is western which is slow and suspicious. Give the idea of what kind of character he is through the words; “he’s a man for his time and place” suggesting that he’s no amateur of what is going to happen making the audience feel the suspense of the plot. Also suggests he’s rebellious, the audience are aware there is going to be violence involved.

·         Soundtrack- Old country and western, suggesting gangs and conflict. A tie in with the desserts and vast open areas- connotes freedom.

 Camera shot and movements

• 
  Establishing shot- Going from dark to light. This implies that there may be trouble or conflict and that there is a good side and a bad side, creating tension for what is going to happen and the significance of this lighting.
• Crabbing- Following tumbleweed. From an abandoned area to where people live. Story started from the abandoned area. Starts of all quiet and calm and has a quick cut to a action violence scene which is unexpected and  makes the audience jump and shows shock, keeping them on edge and builds up suspense.
• Long shots of land, Characters, surroundings, not many people out there, shows that it is abandoned which makes the memorable quote ‘theres a time and a place’ from the voiceover effective as there’s nobody there which creates anxiety.
• High angled shot of men in the bathroom, they are superior, more power. Shows significance in the characters; protagonist, antagonist and the looser character it catches the audience off guard, going from laid back to all of a sudden conflict.

Editing

Quick cuts- conflict, fast paced, makes audience fearful of the unravelling mystery.

Fading shots and dissolving shots into panning creating a weary atmosphere.

No country for old men

Mise en scene

The main character is in a dark costume, black top and black trousers, making him look a bit grubby and instantly makes the audience see he is the villain.

This becomes clearer once we see the officer in his police outfit. Showing power and authority in contrast with the villain creating tension of the police and shows that the villain is capable of being dangerous.

The lighting used seems natural due to being out in the middle of nowhere on abandoned land. This shows the different shadows from the mountains giving it the effect that it’s alone and an abandoned place.

The actor who plays the mysterious man is called Javier Bardem. The character seems very dark and lonely, the audience don’t entirely get to see his face in the introduction which makes them feel vulnerable and curious in what is next going to happen.

The props used were mostly a part of what the police officer normally has. Like a police car, handcuffs, a desk and a phone etc. These props seem like everyday things, which causes more tension because it seems so realistic and calm. Knowing that something bad is going to happen next when the police officer arrests the strange man. The setting was like The Big Lebowski where there is nothing but vast land and desert which has been abandoned. Makes the audience feel unsettled that they know that no one else can see what’s happening but them.

Sounds

·         There is a little dialogue when the police man has caught the man and whilst on the phone reports it. However, when it is reported something gruesome happens. The man may prefer silence, his own company creating suspense and tension.

·         Voice over- Western cowboy. Suggesting conflict, groups/ gangs. “im going to hell in about 15 minutes”. He might be the man committing conflict, guilty conscience so he wants to tell his story until he’s sentenced to his death. Audience pity on him and also feel guilty that they are the ones he has come out to.

Camera shots and angles

·         Establishing shot of mountains, abandoned area, still shots of the horizons. Set the scene- freedom, setting gets darker setting the scene for something bad to happen, which creates a sinister and anxious atmosphere.

·         Long shot of them driving in the police car into the horizon. Makes audience feel tense whilst following, which builds on the suspense.

·         Two shot of police man putting the culprit into the car. He’s the Villain, audience know he’ll probably hurt or kill the police officer makes the audience feel tension.

·         Mid shot- guy on the phone reporting him whilst we can see the man coming closer, raising the audiences feeling of tension wanting to help him and creates the atmosphere for the to feel guilty, causing more suspense

·         2 shot/ high shot looking down on the police man struggling whilst the villain is strangling him with his own cord. Quick paced conflict, shown through the quick cuts, creating the audience to feel scared of what else is going to happen and adding to the mystery because they can’t see his face.

Editing

Quick cuts when the violence is going on- causes audience to panic, quickens the story, building more tension suspense and shock throughout keeping the audience engaged and thrilled in whats going to happen.

Watching the openings of the Coen Brothers movies are good to see the distinct conventions used which are succesful in all of their movies by using similar aspects in most of thethriller openings to make them successful in setting the scene for the entire thriller, he also uses the same types of characters to create conflict and se the narrative for violence.

All of the Coen Brothers openings are successful in creating tension, shock and suspense through creating sinister atmospheres and causing anxiety to his audience, I particularly think the voiceovers are effective as they help to set the scene whilst showing the setting through a variety of establishing shots and panning, we can use these aspects in our final production which will be effective in creating shock tension and suspense.

 Natasha & Dannielle

13) Preparation of thriller aspects for our production

Natasha

12) Thriller movies in preparation for our final production

From our preliminary not being a successful thriller clip, i've watched some more thriller movies, to see succesful ways different directors use different techniques in building shock and suspense and building up tension, to get some ideas for our own thriller opening.
Seven by David Fincher is a physcological thriller which is about two detectives investigating into a serial killer, from this basic overview we can see the classic thriller characters and plot - crime scene, detectives, protagonist and antagonists.
During the opening David Fincher has used a dark setting with low key lighting which creates a silhouette effect on the characters which instantly signifies mystery for the audience which is significant on the whole narrative because the detectives are trying to unvail the mystery of the serial killer. There are alot of jumpy parts from unexpected phonecalls and when the 'murdered' person grabs the detectives coat, and i found this is effective in keeping the audience engaged with the thriller which is important in a physcological thriller as they need to be aware of whats happening to understand the narrative and for the build up of tension and suspense to be effective.
There is quick cuts of different brutally beaten body parts of a dead body and slight panning however the audience dont get to see the full body which is effective in creating the build up of tension and adds on the build up of shock.
The dark lighting also is very effective with the use of the torches as it is very sinister and mysterious as we can only see what is lit up from the torch lights.
Increase in intense opera music witch cuts into  zooms of objects and cuts back to a zoom in to the face, and the use of the birds eye view shots of the room to set the scene.
There is also alot of non-deigetc tormenting voices in the background to add on the emphasis of the state of mind and also on the audiences anxiety.
The setting is also very dull with rain, which is pathetic fallacy setting the scene for something bad to happen and creating and intense atmoshphere.

Natasha

7) Inglorious Basterds

I watched the opening half an hour of Inglorious Basterds to see aspects that director Tarantino uses to create suspense and tension, and the similarities between his work and Hitchcocks.

Straight away we can see that Tarantino is using typical thriller characters such as the antagonist, protagonist, and the victim which are important in the conventions of a successful thriller as these characters together instantly portray elements of mystery and create a tense atmosphere as they differ from one another so much.

Tarantinos thriller conventions are similar to Hitchocks with the use of
Lighting and shadows, especially on the characters faces, however, although Tarantino has used this he doesnt have a dark shadowy setting as Inglorious Basterds is set in a sunny coutryside, which is effective with emphasisng the shadowed faces, suggesting the characters in the light are the protagonists /victim and the characters in the darker shadows are the antagonist/villain, and Tarantino has also used low key lighting to create half shadowed faces to make the audience unsure of the character. The use of the bright setting is also effective in showing the contrast of the different worlds and how trapped the characters are in their countryside house due to the Nazi's invading which is effective for this narrative in creating tension and suspense.

Sound and the gradual build up of the sountrack to signify danger.
Camera angles, as Tarantino has used classical thriller camera shots; establishing shot of landover the shoulder shots and point of view shots which all reaveal mystery to the audience and the over the shoulder shot also focus' on the characters reactions, which is useful for the audience in the build up of tension and anxiety, panning shots, low angle shots to show superiority in characters, and close-ups.

watching inglorious basterds was useful in preparation of gathering more ideas for our final production as it is very different from other thrillers where the weather is usually glum to set the scene (pathetic fallacy) as inglorious basterds used the opposite and had it bright which was effective in creating the contrast between what was happening inside and the freedom outside, and it shows good use of shadowing on the faces which will be effective to use in our thriller opening to distinctively show the antagonist and protagonist.

Natasha

11) Preliminary task and evaluation

                                                           storyboard of preliminary

(here we wanted to add the video of our originial clip, however after we created the separate subclips on final cut express we couldnt get the original back.)

evaluation of original

After filming our clip we found that there were many problems that we could improve on in creating a successful thriller.
The panning shot we used at the beginning wasn’t effective because it didn’t allow a build up of tension and suspense, because we instantly see the crime, and build up of tension and suspense is a key convention of Hitchcock’s thrillers. It also wasn’t completely effective in paying homage to Hitchcock because there is no element of mystery and gives the narrative away instantly.
The high angle shot looking down on the victim wasn’t effective because it revealed too much of the crime, for example; in Psycho, Hitchcock uses a variety of close ups and extreme close-ups when Marion is murdered in the shower..

..This helped build suspense to emphasize the shock on the audience, which is neccesary to create a successful thriller

. The mirror shot is effective in paying homage to Hitchcock, showing double identity, however it doesn’t work as effectively as we wanted because it turned out to be a mid shot, when we wanted a close up of Dannii’s face in the mirror however we couldn’t do this because we didn’t have the right equiptment to make it as accurate as we wanted.

We then did a zoom to Dannii's hands to show her washing off the blood progressing to another zoom of the plug hole. However, this part didn't go very well because we zoomed the camera too close to the plug, which made the picture blurry. Having the close up of the plug hole relates to Hitchcock's idea of when he did that in the shower scene in Psycho suggesting that the crime has been washed away which is the effect we wanted for our thirller to support the double identity theme.

In the last part, Shannan walks into the toilets completely unaware that there is a dead body slumped in one of the toilet cubicles, which ensures that it will create tension and suspense for the audience.

To create more of a tense atmosphere for this part, we decided that we would add some music, starting from the begining of the sequence gradually getting louder as the mystery is closer to being revealed which will emphasise the shock, from the tense atmosphere.

If we could film how we wanted to with the dialogue shannan would have had a conversation with Dannii, with the music will getting louder and louder, until Shannan leaves the toilets, and the door closes. At this point the music would reach its climax and suddenly stop which would leave the audience feeling tense.

At the same time this wouldve been happening, the camera would zoom to the door as it shuts, which would end the clip at the climax of the music with the closing of the door.

The use of the soundtrack would help create anxiety for the rest of the thriller movie also keeping the tense atmosphere and carry on the build up of tension and suspense after the mystery had been revealed.

To try and improve our clip we will use Final Cut Express to edit it adding transitions and a soundtrack to try and make it more effective in paying homage to Hitchcock.

evaluation of edit

                                                             Storyboard of the edit:

in the start of our edit we did a mid-shot of Dannielle looking in the mirror showing two sides to the character, however this was not as effective as we hoped because of the poor lighting as we wanted low key lighting to create shadows on the face, we couldn’t do this because we didn’t have the correct equiptment.  The effect we wanted was a dark shadow over one side of the face to show they are torn between two personalities.  This would of built the tension between the characters and the audience, creating suspense.

From this scene we went straight to a panning shot showing the victim led on the floor next to the toilet which was unsuccessful in building up tension as it gave away the crime too early and therefore there was no impact on the audience to feel shock or anxiety which would have been an effective aspect on the thriller.

The extreme close up of the blood washing down the plug hole from the hands was inspired from Hitchocks pyhsco...
we thought this would be effective as it was succesful in creating shock for the audience and for them to feel anxious and tense of the murder.

In Pyhsco the high angled shot zooming in to the plug progressively turning into Marions eye helped create the tension and suspense to the audience as it created a very anxious atmosphere of the mystery of who just murdered her.  To improve from our original video we added a transition so that the cuts would be more smooth such as Hitchcocks innovative dissolve into the eye. We then cut to the high angled shot of Megan dead near the toilet, however we feel this released the mystery of the crime too quickly and to improve this we should have shown different shots of the victims body such as a hand or a foot to create mystery and build up tension and suspense for her being found later on in the thriller.

The use of the diegetic sound of the water running in the sink was effective in creating a sinister atmosphere, and helped to set the scene for when Shannan comes into the toilet building on the tension and suspense of the audience of the body being discovered.

For our editing we added transitions after each cut for the thriller to flow more smoothly as our cuts weren’t quick to create suspense and so we tried adding different transitions on in order to create a fast pace for the audience to feel tense.  Using final cut express was also uselful in preparation for our final production of being able to succesfully edit.

We also couldn’t use dialogue in our preliminary because of the time restrictions and therefore there wasn’t really any added mystery to be revealed so there was no build up for the audience and no cliffhangers keeping the audience engaged, this therefore wasnt very succesful as thrillers require attentiveness to understand what is happening throughout.

To try and add more tension and suspense to our preliminary we added a soundtrack and changed the volumes round to get it high and low which is an effective convention of thrillers, however because of our filming it didn’t have any significant effect.

From filming and editing our preliminary we now have a better understanding of what is required in order to create a succesful thriller opening for our final production.

Natasha