I believe our final cut could have been improved if I had performed the psychiatrist scene better, I feel the concept was good however we could have carried it out to a better standard. This would create the effect that 'Mikey' is emotionally unstable. Another thing I feel we could have done better was the scene of the phone and door. We show the phone by itself on the stairs as if it has been staged. I feel for greater effect we should have put it into a everyday scenario where it is on its holder or amongst other things.
However, I feel showing Mikey's feelings and thoughts in the aftermath of the 'murder' was done well as he appears very paranoid and unstable.
This is Mikey's fifth meeting with his psychiatrist and he is still trying to overcome his hatred for John after years of being ridiculed. He is asked to explain his problems and feelings towards John, which then become motives for a murder.
script
Mikey: It's been constant for five years straight, the bullying, hounding the taunts and the relentless beatings. It's all escalated from there. I want him to see the pain and misery i've had to deal with for years
/// Mikey tries to get up from the bed, heading towards the door, the psychiatrist covers the door not letting him leave ///
/// Mikey tries to walk out but is stopped by the psychiatrist ///
Psychiatrist: Sit down, you're not leaving yet.
Mikey: I need to get out of this place he's taken my freedom.... my independence away from me, i can't go out without feeling people are judging me. I need to know he's gone from my life I can't live like this anymore.
After receiving feedback about our rough cut film, we found that we need to improve the scene involving Mikey being bullied by John and make sure we focus in on Mikey's immediate feelings and his growing hatred towards John. We were told to decide how we were best going to portray these feelings but still leaving unanswered questions to engage the audience.
One way we would advertise our film would be during advert breaks show a trailer. Since how many people watch television daily, it will be easy to attract the attention of the audience. We can specifically advertise the trailer in between breaks of another thriller or suitable sub genre's such as action/ horror as this is the kind of audience we want to watch our film. Furthermore we could advertise our film as adverts on the internet. There are more and more film advertisements on the side of websites now like Youtube. This would be a very direct way of advertising as it would immediately catch the user's eye. Lastly, we can also advertise the film in a local newspaper. You frequently see local cinema's advertise their films in local newspaper's and this will allow people who live nearby and read the paper to come and watch it.
Our film would be released in a small or independent cinema as it would be made on a low-budget and not backed by big companies. Therefore it would be more suited to an arts cinema like the Picture-house in Cambridge. This is because it was made independently, and we won't have the budget for it to be shown in a multiplex cinema.
The fierst thing to do is to short out which clips we are going to use of our opening sequence. Then we will drag the correct clips on to the timeline so that we can edit them. The second is to put our thriller theme tune on to the timeline and to work out where the sound track should be playing in the background and where the sound track be not be played ie when there is speech. Then we need to put all the titles and credits then and make sure that everything is complete.
The first thing to do is to watch all our clips we recorded from our filming day to see which will be the best clip to use. We will then select the best ones to put in the timeline, We will now add in the theme tune to help us decide how long it should go on for and when to fade it in and out. The final phase will be to make the moving from to scene to scene succint and run smoothly so it keeps the fluency and doesn't become confusing,
Old Boy is a Korean film and was directed by Chan-Wook Park. The film centres around a man called Oh Dae Su played by actor Choi Min-Sik. He plays a korean business man who is bailed out by a close friend Joo Hwan on a drunken night out on the day of his daughter's birthday. However, he goes missing as he has been captured and confined to a cell for 15 years. He then embarks on an emotional and thrilling journey to find his captor. The opening sequence is in keeping with the thriller conventions as it is very ambiguous and leaves many unanswered questions for the audience. Such as why was he kidnapped in the first place. It leaves the audience feeling the urge to watch on as it poses more questions that answers in the opening. it is quite confusing as it quite difficult to understand. However, its got a good ability of engaging the audience and making them watch on.
Our target audience are teenagers and adults. From looking at our thriller opening sequence, the audience would be expecting to see a gripping storyline coming through which makes them want to watch more of the film. Also, they would want to see plenty of action in the opening sequence in order to help with the aspect of making it more appealing to the audience. Specifically our film will be classified as a 12 as there is moderate amount of violence and there is no physical violence involved and no prolonged psychological approach or intentions that could disturb young people.
How does the opening sequence of this film use thriller conventions ?
voyeurism - It appears that the people being filmed are vulnerable as they don't understand why they are being filmed. This shows that the people/person filming the street have the power of them as they are tracking them without them knowing.
Normal/everyday street is the scene for an extraordinary situation.
What Questions does it pose ?
why are they being filmed ?
who is filming them ?
what is the reason behind the filming ?
are these people being filmed really who they appear to be ?
How does it make the audience feel ?
Confused as the beginning is just a street being filmed with no sign of life. It also leaves us thinking who are these people being filmed.
We decided to use an eye for our poster as it is at the centre of our story as it gives the impression someone is watching over you. This is the exact same thing Mikey feels when he is on the bed and is the result of his growing paranoia that someone is chasing him. The clock is used to elude to the fact that Mikey believes there's only a matter of time before he gets caught.
The style of the credits are similar to our ideas where the name is faded in and out one at a time. It is also a good example as it doesn't reveal the title until the middle of the credits this is something that we want to do as well.
Se7en
The moving/shaking of the credits is in keeping with the thriller genre is the style of credits we want to use.
This piece by Alfred Hitchcock talks up the dying influence of horror films as audiences now are more interested in screened performances and interacting with the characters, almost personally. A feature-length film gives you time to engage with a character and makes you feel there emotions and dilemma's they face. Hitchcock says this is where thriller's come in, there ability to work on screen to engage the audience to take them from scene to scene in thrilling, high-energy sequences. He notes that people these days want a thrill that stimulates you but can sit comfortably at home knowing everything is safe. Hitchcock says there is no room for "horror" films anymore as they cross the line to being 'vicious and dangerous' that can disturb the audience and create unnatural excitement. He concludes by saying the thriller genre will live on because audiences will always thrive on authentic excitement whereas a horror has to try and re-create this excitement and hype through fake/false action.
This essay by Alfred Hitchcock shows what the thriller conventions are in real thrillers by explaining them through examsples in the essay. For example he tells the tension when a British plane has to fly into a zeppelin it means that a thriller has to grasp the meaning of the film and left them on a the edge of their seats and thaty he says makes a good thriller in a cinema. Also it gives ideas and tips on certin ways to make a really good thriler because he gives his own story of when he went to a sideshows about really good thrills and where a oillar was about to fall on the spectators but it stop in the air, that give them a thrill. The thriller films have to leave the audience in suspense throughout the film beacuse of all the dangrer involved in the film.
I think that this essay helps to give yoy in idea of how a thriller film is ment to make the audience feel in the cinema while they watch the thriller. Weather it would be tension confused or making you jump. Thriller films want to make the saudience feel that they are in the film because that way they can see and possible see the life that is relfected in the thriller film. Alfred Hitchcock said that is why we all go to the pictures or cinema. Thriller secenes are made to be confusing and to make the audiences blood to pound round in their bodys because of the thrill that they get while watching the film.
This a practice shot of a door, which will be used when 'Mikey' realizes he must leave the house before someone catches him.
This is a practice, close-up shot of a clock. This will be used when second flashback occurs and you see the clock literally go back in time.
This is a test shot of a corridor which will be used when Mikey is downstairs in John's house and walking into the kitchen.
These are an angle shots of some stairs, Mikey will be walking down the stairs after he has murdered John and realizes he must dispose of everything before someone catches him.
This is a practice shot of a wardrobe, which will act as the place John is stored after his death. A close up of the wardrobe will be done when Mikey is in the bedroom.
The camera shots we are going to use in our thriller project:
SHOT 1: Mid shot of bed and a man who is shivering and shaking.
SHOT 2: Mid shot first, going into a close up of his eye.
SHOT 3: Close up of a clock going back in time
SHOT 4: Long shot of location, going into an over the shoulder shot from Mikey's point of view.
SHOT 5: Close Up/Mid Shot showing the bedroom and Mikey as he realises he must get rid of the gun.
SHOT 6: Close up of feet running down the stairs.
SHOT 7: Mid shot as Mikey runs through the hallway towards the kitchen.
SHOT 8 and 9: Over the shoulder shots as Mikey is trying to wipe off the blood off his hands and clothes.
SHOT 10: Close up of the door from inside the house, where you see a silhouette of a man at the door.
SHOT 11: Pans to close up of the phone ringing.
Antagonist (Mikey) has a weakness ie. (unstable, traumatized, always lives in regret)
Protagonist (john) knows antagonists secret, uses that to ridicule him, and sent him over the edge. Which eventually concludes in his murder.
- A guy sitting on end of his bed looking at a gun, shivering/shaking heads in his hands... lifts up his head and blinks. (hoodie, jeans) casual.
FLASHBACK occurred in own house (based in victims house, bedroom)
- this same guy with blood on his left hand and a gun in right hand, he's breathing heavily (still filled with adrenaline) looks down to shirt to see blood everywhere. (open collared shirt and black trousers, black jacket next to him) implying the murder was just like business. (upstairs, where murder takes place -bedroom a mess as if he's had an outburst of rage, antagonist and camera glances at wardrobe as if someone is there)
FLASHBACK occurred in victims house (based in cambridge) (victim in this scene)
(close up of clock. going back in time very fast)
goes back through antagonists mind, of a guy surrounded by a group laughing and joking.
(back in victims bedroom) Runs down stairs to kitchen, antagonist realizes he must dispose of the gun, he washes hands violently, trying to get the blood off. Uses cloth to remove fingerprints from gun...a ring of the doorbell and the ring of the phone, (a voice calls the name John. Turns out to be a friend of victim, but the trauma has led him to believe someone (police) has found him out) interrupts him and, panics (you can hear his thoughts running through his head and heartbeat) runs out of back door.
Final Idea
RACE AGAINST TIME
After feedback from the rest of the class, we found that to improve it, we needed to cut down the amount of action that was in our sequence. This included leaving questions unanswered and not revealing too much of the story line.
Antagonist (Mikey) has a weakness ie. (unstable, traumatized, always lives in regret)
Protagonist (john) knows antagonists secret, uses that to ridicule him, and sent him over the edge. Which eventually concludes in his murder.
A guy sitting on end of his bed looking at a gun, shivering/shaking heads in his hands... lifts up his head and blinks. (hoodie, jeans) casual.
FLASHBACK: close up of eye turns to black screen with three months earlier
goes back to mikey and psychiatrist to talk about his feelings towards John
(back in victims house) Mikey realises he must dispose of a gun, camera pans to a 'suspicious' looking wardrobe. (FROM HERE YOU DON'T SEE WHO IT IS)
He then runs downstairs frantically, clutching the gun. Mid shot of man running through hallway to kitchen. (hood up, can't see who it is) In the kitchen, over the shoulder shot. Vigourously trying to wipe blood off hands/gun. From inside the house you hear a ring of doorbell/knock on door and hear a voice calling out for John. Pans to a close up of the phone as it rings, pans to mikey as he is running out of kitchen then fades to black.
this is our companies logo we are going to use for our thriller project. We used an eagle as our logo as it indicates power and domination over all other birds. So, we wanted to insinuate that our company should be a dominant component in the film industry.
This company mainly features in action films such as James Bond, also it leads you to think the film to be more dramatic. A lion represents power and it is commonly referred to as the 'king of the jungle'. The lions roar shows dominance as it is used in the wild to scare off other wildlife. It is used by the company to show their power over other companies, where they dominate in the action genre.
The opening sequence in inception shows the conventions of the thriller film is that it asks the questions that gets answered in the rest of the film. Like many Christopher Nolan's most recent films, it goes back in time to help us get a better idea of what is happening. The sub genres of Inceptions is that it has got elements of action throughout the scene and also a bit of mystery in the film because it is very confusing and it is unclear what is going on. Also it makes the audience wonder what will happen next..
The certificate of inception is a 12 because it has a element of violence and action throughout the film also it has bad language such as swearing and other bad language. A 12 rated film is only used in videos because no under 12 years of age can buy or watch a 12 rated movie unless accompanied by an adult who feel it is appropriate film for them to watch.
The target audience is aimed at teenagers and young adults due to the fact that the film has been given the classification of a 12. Also, if it was aimed at people that were under the age of 12, they may not understand the storyline and what is going on during the film. Inception was a big success by the fact it made loads of money because loads of people went to see i. This meant that it was a very thriller film and a good plot.
Christopher Nolan was born on the 30th July 1970 in London and has directed many other successful films such as Insomnia 2002, The Prestige in 2006 and the rebooting of the world renowned Batman series. More recently Inception last year, he is also the founder or ‘Syncopy Films’ a production company. His main area of work has been around the thriller genre and all have the recurring theme that the characters in films usually gain a physical or psychological handicap over the course of the film in ‘The Prestige', Angier gets a crippled leg while Borden loses two fingers; in 'The Dark Knight', Salvatore Maroni gets a crippled leg; in 'Insomnia', Dormer gets insomnia; Whilst in ‘Memento’ Leonard gains a memory handicap, the event of which is shown in flashback during the film.
The film’s first meaningful action scene, is watching Leonard shooting a man, who we find out’s called Teddy real name Officer Gemmell. It then proceeds to go back in time through a series of flashbacks where we discover, Leonard’s handicap of short term memory loss and ultimately come to find out, this is the reason he is so relentless in trying to find the killer of his wife. He creates an alias called Sammy Jenkis, who he believes he is trying to help cure his own memory loss. But this is just a distraction, as Leonard cannot fully accept it is himself who has the issues, giving his life a purpose. His conditions means the only way to remember people or significant things in his life is by taking pictures and tattooing ‘facts’ onto his body. This is why even though Teddy does eventually talk to Lenny, explaining that he is in fact here to protect him, his inability to make new memories after the ‘incident’ means he takes Teddy to be his ‘John G’ and ends up killing him.
The opening sequence is very powerful, and makes you think. It firstly introduces the Polaroid pictures, that turn out to be vital for Leonard to comprehend and understand what is going on and most importantly who to trust. The pictures themselves give subtle suggestions of what will/has happened, this keeps audience fixed to the screen wondering who this ‘bloody’ character is. But like his memories they fade, this is similar to the psychological impediment Leonard faces. It then shows close ups of running blood and a pair of glasses, leaving you more questions than answers. Panning out you see a guy getting shot, this is when the film goes back in time and follows Leonards quest to find ‘his’ John G.
This is just a snippet from the chase scene, but I believe it is a key scene to illustrate, Leonard’s mental impediment whilst including a stereotypical action scene. Arguably, with the consistent use of guns and the number of murders, you can say action is one of the most prominent sub genres in the film. It first uses a tracking shot from behind to follow Leonard running, it then pans round to show the action from his perspective, showing his expression when he realises he is being chased, and isn’t the ‘chaser’. A caravan park isn’t your stereotypical location for a high- energy chase/shooting scene. But it shows that it could happen anywhere. The editing is slick and runs succinctly; this has to be the case to portray the speed of the chase.
Another key scene is at the beginning of the Lenny’s hunt, but at the end of the film. It sticks to the thriller conventions of the protagonist in peril, as he (Teddy) becomes the victim of Lenny’s messed up mind. Teddy tries to reason with Leonard, explaining that he is here to help and gives him an address to continue his chase for his wife’s killer (yet again). But, Lenny’s journeys led him to believe Teddy is the ‘enemy’ as such this is shown as he writes ‘don’t believe his lies’ on the back of the photograph. The story does give you false impressions that Teddy is the culprit, but we find out it’s all in Leonards mind, it’s in fact he is making up all these stories in his head. His inability to make new memories leads to killing the wrong guy in Jimmy.
Ultimately, I feel this film is very believable, and leaves messages with the audience to think about. The idea of Leonard’s condition being so real and true-to life intensifies the film, keeping the audience on edge. I like the fact Christopher Nolan keeps it original by telling the story in reverse order so the audience can capture the way Leonard see’s things but is able to keep too the key thriller conventions.
This thriller opening sequence sticks to the conventions because there is a crime at the centre of the action. Also it is quite complex leaving clues and unanswered questions that makes the audience want to watch more. You can see that it would centre around murder because of the way that the criminal is crossing off his victims and the blood suggests death has occurred. The title of the opening sequence the yearbook shows the criminal is in a unstable state of mind, which reflects his hunger for blood. The genre of this opening sequence is a thriller however it does not comply with all the stereotypical conventions an example of a sub-genre is crime/horror.
The props that are used in the thriller opening sequence is 'The Yearbook'. This is the central feature of the sequence as this is the source of his killing spree and his evil scheming, by crossing off each victim's picture as he kills them. There is also the address book, that is used to decide who his next victim will be and where he will find them.
The non- diegetic sound of the laughing child at the beginning indicates that childhood innocence has been deprived by a heartless criminal. This sound can also represent that the criminal is enjoying killing people and laughing at the victims as if he does not care about these people's lives. The tick tock sound near the end symbolizes that the children's time is nearing an end, and that it is only a matter of time before they meet their fate. The music throughout, is very intense and reflects the tension and the anxiety that the victims feel, compared to the emotionless feelings of the killer.
The camera work repeatedly zooms in on the yearbook focusing on their next victims this increases the
intense feel an left the audience wondering who is going to be the next victim will be. Also it focuses on the first victim bleeding and in pain to show the severity of the actions.
The quick cuts between the yearbook and his latest victim shows the killers intent to do the killings quickly, so not to draw attention to himself.
Christopher Nolan was born on 30 July 1970 in London and he a director of thriller films. He is most famous for directing Memento (2000), remaking of insomnia (2002), the prestige (2006), Inception (2010) and the batman film franchise. He has won many awards such as golden globes etc. for his films. He mainly directs thriller films. Also have director thriller films such as the prestige, Memento and Inception which have quite difficult to understand which a little more exciting.
Memento is a thriller that is about a guy called Lenard (main Character) who has got a condition of short term memory loss which he can only remember things for 15 minutes, after an accident involving his wife being killed and he got hit over the head be an attacker. So the film traces his memories backwards and the film itself is filmed backwards to show how Lenard cannot remember who everyone. So he takes photos to remind who each person is and writes down everything that he needs to know. However Lenard has already taken revenge on someone called John G but has forgotten so he kills a person called teddy but who is really another John G so that the begin of the film he kills him but actually he kills him at the end the film is going backwards.
The opening sequence of Memento introduces the thriller genre well because it answers all the conventions of a thriller opening. One way it does that is that it leaves questions for the audience to find to make them to watch the rest of the film. The story does short of evolve around a crime that has already been committed before and how the main character hunts for revenge for the attackers who killed his wife. The opening sequence shows the main character holding photo of a memory that every time it shakes the picture fades this symbolises that the short term memory loss of the main character point of view we are being put into the film in his position. Also the conventions of the thriller film are that the antagonist weakness is shown of his memory loss. Also there is a common theme of identity of the main Lenard who he really is and there is a question that is raised in the film be other characters of weather he is who says he is in the film.
One key scene in Memento that clearly shows the thriller conventions is at the beginning at when the film plays backwards to emphasize his condition also it looks ambiguous because you do not know what is going on when it seems at the beginning of the film when he kills Teddy to when it plays him not shooting him and Teddy comes in the throughout the film. Also some of the characters such as Natalie and other characters seem to be persuasive manage to het Lenard to help them. Also it is ambiguous because there is no clue in what the scene or what the film is about but it leaves that unit later so that you have to watch the film before you can understand it.
Another key scene in the film is at the end of the film when Teddy tells Lenard to go to this address where a John G is so that Lenard can take revenge again on his wife’s death. It sticks to the thriller conventions because it makes protagonist seem in peril because he is being beaten up by Lenard. Also the narrative of the story gets resolved at the end when Teddy explains to Lenard that he has already got revenge by killing the man because he has taken a photo of him after he had killed the man. However Lenard ignores Teddy and decides he is going to be the John G he is going to kill so the film sticks to the conventions of a thriller with this scene because although the story is resolved it ends on Lenard going to possibly going to Kill Teddy which seems a bit confusing because Teddy was killed at the beginning of the film when actually it was at the end because the film showing the events before the killing at the beginning of the film.
Personally I really liked and enjoyed Memento because it was very confusing lots of misleads and the film was going backwards. This shows that this thriller is very good because it is confusing entertaining. Also it sticks to the conventions of the thriller film very well. I liked how the film was going backwards even though it was a bit confusing at times especially at the beginning. I enjoyed the story of the film and it was very well filmed.
The narrative centre's around murders and crime, the main character is the antagonist who is introduced at the beginning. He is shown moving through different situations, sometimes seen as the dominant character and others when he is in danger. In the previous scene, the car chase shows the rivalry between the protagonist and antagonist who are both shown in peril at some point. The ordinary situation of when driving normally but quickly becomes a car chase. This shows how quickly the antagonist can become in danger.
The non-diegetic sound in the sequence builds suspense and expectancy. It makes the sequence seem more dramatic and intensifies the action, leaving the audience wanting to watch on. The camerawork shows many close ups of guns and bullets being fired shows there will be suggestions of death and destruction. The antagonist commonly wears a suit, when he is at work to show his business-like approach. However he does like to mix business with pleasure of seducing girls, usually associated with the enemy. But he has the ability to work his way out of a bad situation at any point.
