A Note About Film Posters

Film posters are incredibly important for the audience to decide whether or not they will go to see the film.  They must appeal to the target audience and communicate enough about the film that will create interest.  For example, an explosion for an action film!

Many people will decide to see a film based on the poster, because it will communicate the genre, appropriate audience and main idea.

Preliminary Task - Filming

Friday 21st September

On Friday, we filmed our preliminary task.  We worked in a group of five (Simon, Georgia, Alice, Leila and I).  And had to film the following sequence:

After bouncing around a few different ideas, we decided to make it a mysterious sequence with two girls (played by Georgia and Leila) with a gun. The audience did not know what the gun was for, but would probably infer that Leila needed Georgia to kill someone, the gun symbolizing violence and murder.  We borrowed the gun from the theatre department.  It was not that realistic, but the man who lent it to us said that taking it out into public is illegal.

Of course, we began by bubbling and white-balancing the camera. This took a relatively short amount of time.  We used a blank piece of paper for the white balance and then created our name tag for the task on it.  After filming our name tag for a couple of seconds, we moved on to the actual task.

We divided the roles for filming.  Simon was the cameraman, Alice worked as the continuity, Georgia acted as "B", Leila acted as "A" and I was the director.  Matt was helping us through the task.  We worked in the editing suite.  This meant that our space was more limited, the gun being the only prop of interest.

We began by filming the entire sequence in wide shot, the idea being that we will be editing it later and so we can pick out the takes that we wanted. We adhered to the 180 rule at all times! Following the storyboard, we shot the over the shoulder shots for both Georgia and Leila.  We finished up with the close-ups and were then free to do any experimental/interest shots.  We didn't have much time because we had taken a lot of re-takes.  This  was mainly due to the fact that the actors kept missing their marks, and because Simon (in our group) kept making us laugh when he said  "rolling".  This wasted a lot of time, but luckily we were able to power through.

The additional angles that we shot were the gun being slammed into Georgia's chest, which turned out to look quite interesting, a close-up of the gun in Leila's hand, an extreme close-up of Leila's face, and Georgia's hair flipping as she turned around.  We wanted to do some shots of their feet, but ran out of time.

I really enjoyed being the director because I felt that my opinions were being taken seriously.  I liked being in charge and deciding what to do next.  I learnt that it was important to divide up the roles. It was helpful to have a specific task to focus on, so everything was done well and not pieced together.
My least favourite thing about filming was the stress of getting in done all in time.  I didn't mind the repetition of the filming, though many of my group members were getting exasperated.

I learnt that patience AND ability to work under time-pressure are extremely important when making a film.  They may seem like two contradictory ideas, but having the patience to repeat something until it is right and being able to do so in good time are very useful skills to have when making a film.

Next time, we should spend less time on our idea, but more time on developing it and filming.  All in all, I really enjoyed filming the sequence.

AS Thriller Analysis : "Delusion"

“Delusion” is characterized as a thriller by the music/sounds, the lighting, and the general way that it is filmed.

The main character (played by Adam Grant) is a man dressed in black trousers and a white button-down shirt.  Compared to the rest of the characters, he is smartly dressed.  He seems nervous, looking around as he walks down to the toilets, he feels as though everybody is watching him.  From his point of view, everybody is watching him with a cold, unfriendly stare.  He does not fit into the setting. 

The other characters are all dressed in club-style clothes.  The wide stares that they give suggest hostility/tension, as you can see the whites of their eyes very clearly.  The main character also shows the whites of his eyes a few times, showing his fear and paranoia.

The scenes are set up to alter between the main characters point of view and the general scene. The colours are dark blues and purples in the hallway, contrasted with harsh fluorescent lighting in the bathroom.

The camera work is an important factor in the thriller.  The way that the camera is placed at the end of the hall to make it look longer is mysterious, while the slower motion and slightly shaky scenes from the POV of the character adds to his uncomfortable feeling.  The sharp twist of the camera when the door in the bathroom is shutting gives a short sense of panic.  When the mirror is used for the reflection, when the main character stops to stare down another man, it keeps the viewer confused for a second, and then moves on to the next scene.

The repetitive, bass-heavy music that gives the feeling that something more is about to happen (in the song, and in the story). The music and sounds that are used in the video create a tense environment, enforced by the louder footsteps and movements, made by the main character.  He feels self-conscious and nervous, so whenever he moves or a door opens, it sounds louder. 

Although the viewer may not understand the story of the video the first time watching it, it makes no difference to the way it interests, alerts and leaves the viewer with a sense of confusion.  The video leaves off with a cliffhanger, the character walking up the stairs and out of the building.

I liked how the sounds and music were used to evoke anticipation and nervous feelings.  The mise-en-scene was visually appealing and well planned.  However, I did not know that the main character was meant to be on drugs until I read the annotations. I thought that he was just a man who got stuck in a shady part of town, which was why he was nervous. It was still interesting when I thought that was the story, but if the artists intention was for him to be on drugs that there should have been a scene of him taking the drugs. 

“Delusion” uses suspense, anticipation, and, leaves off with an unexpectedly uneventful conclusion.  The elements used to evoke these feelings are the lighting, mise-en-scene, music/sounds and camera work. 

"Walk on the Wild Side" Opening Sequence

This opening sequence really inspired me to try different washes or even black and white for our thriller.  The metaphor of the cat stalking about before the film is really beautiful!  It is almost like a more subdued and less comical version of the Pink Panther.

The music is a nice addition as well, I would like to research into music similar to it to put in my own thriller.  It creates suspense and tension, and is also aurally appealing.

Analysis of "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" Opening Sequence

 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" is characterised as a thriller through the use of the four technical areas in the animated opening credits to the film.

The mise-en-scene of the animation speaks to the classic motifs of the thriller genre.  Big events (parties) to cause tension, espionage, acrobatics off buildings during the night, etc.

The shaking movement of the opening credits achieved through editing gives the impression that something is not right, creating suspense and curiosity.  The scenes of prisons, remote locations, cityscape, and weaponry are staples of the thriller genre.

The animation is very well adapted to the thriller.   Combining all the important motifs and themes, it embodies and foreshadows what the rest of the film will be about.  Though this opening sequence would not have required a camera, the software used to create the animation frames it nicely, moving seamlessly on through editing.

The non-diegetic music is synchronised with the animation, making it interesting to watch and more absorbing.

Visual Signifiers in Thrillers : Lilya 4 Ever

It is obvious that "Lilya 4-Ever" is a thriller film, even when watching it without sound, due to the visual signifiers, colours used, editing, and general mise-en-scene.

The trailer is obviously advertising a thriller.  This is evident through the use of flashbacks, connoting a troubled past and possibly a psychological thriller, as well as the text that first appears on the screen, "Lilya 4-Ever is a live wire stripped of insulation," showing that it is an exciting thriller!

Some specific parts of the mise-en-scene that show it is a thriller is the grey, dark setting which seems to be quite isolated, with the girl who is continually seen to be running away from something.  The smashing of the iconography suggests a question of religion, a contraversial subject that can be brought in by a thriller to create tension.  The scenes of isolation of the girl contrasted with those of many people, mainly happy ones, create a juxtaposition of herself or her personality, hinting at a psychological thriller.  The scenes of the man chasing her or bothering her suggest a crime thriller. 

Editing creates meaning through flashbacks and cross-cutting.  The rapidly moving images alternating with the girl's solemn face connote danger or things going out of control, essential to a thriller.   The non-diegetic music begins slowly, but then quickens pace in a snap when she hurls the painting to the ground.  The chaos of these contrasting, face-paced scenes creates tension and suspense as well.

The mainly grey, monochromatic style of the setting suggests a troubled world, or more specifically, that the girl is troubled in her life.  The grey concrete jungle indicates a tense or striving setting as well.  The fact that the main character appears to be a girl also hints that it will be a psychological thriller, more emotional and not an action thriller, since the majority of thrillers with a female lead are.  Emotions/mental concerns attract a predominantly female audience, while action and violence will most likely attract a male audience, meaning that it would make sense for the main character to be a female, so that the female audience can relate to her even more.

Signifiers in Thrillers : El Secreto de Sus Ojos

Though it is in Spanish, it is evident to even a non-Spanish speaker that this film is a crime/political thriller through the mise-en-scene, camera, editing and sound.

The imagery connoting a political thriller includes the office setting, surrounded by large bookshelves and men in power suits, in the grande building.  The dramatic crime scenes of a woman being attacked and the men investigating into this further the notion of a thriller, specifically a crime thriller.

Heated debates and discussions in offices hint that it is a political thriller, while the dramatic non-diegetic music throughout heightens the tension of the viewer.

The camera is always set up as omnipotent, not being involved as handheld or elaborate tracking, reinforcing the more serious/traditional political or crime thriller.

Due to the fact that it is a thriller, the editing is different than how it would be in the real film, however it is easy to predict the film will be a thriller because of the fast-paced editing, which creates suspense and tension.