Evaluation of Preliminary Task

When starting the task we were given the chance to be creative and experimental, with a scene involving a conversation. Individially we created storyboards, my first storyboard included two people talking with different sounds, lighting, camera movements and transitions. Seeing as it was a preliminary piece and not coursework, it could be simple and accurate. My group collectively together, chose a simple idea of a student and headteacher scenario. Therefore meaning that my idea was put to the back burner in favour of what was to result in a very effective first piece of video footage. We decided on a location and any props we may need, and how it would fit in to the story board we created with a variety of different shots such as; long shots and medium shots, a large space was needed. So we selected a classroom. We went through different ideas for the length of the piece aswell, deciding to make sure every shot ran at the right time with the minimum lenth of timing being 2 seconds and maximum being 20 seconds, there was no unnecessary timing and everything needed such as a person entering a room, sitting down and beginning a conversation was all included in the filming which in its entireity came to 30 seconds. We decided to use the transition of zoom in and zoome out to enable the audience a closer look of the actors faces, throughout the scene. We made sure that as this was not be a lenghty and entirely detailed and defined piece, like the coursework will be, we used different transitions and camera shots, to test how it worked when physically using a video camera and it was a challenge we were all ready to take on. When on location, we quickly learnt to use the tripod and the camera, using the tripod for when steady shots were needed. Which for the preliminary task was needed most of the time. We used a multiple of different camera movements like; match on action, shot/reverse shot and still shots. There was difficulty at first when trying to figure out how shot/ reverse shot would be used manually and how to enable a smooth zoom in and zoom out without adding the effective of shakey ‘Blair-Witch Project’ style filming. We managed to film all these movements over the space of a lesson, which for first time directors I think is an achievement. We spend the rest of our time in the editing suite using the Apple computers, after half an hour of guidance on how to cope with using the advanced material we then were able to edit our simple video, and managed to resolve the unforeseeable ending problem of smooth transitions and camera shots but with the Apple Media area there were ways and means of creating the result we desired. We used transitions to make sure that the end video ran smoothly, and edited out any unwanted scenes then to finish off the piece we used an ending of ‘fade to black’ using a feature with the Apple computer to end our video. We were very speedy in our entire film process, and i think when making the thriller there will need to be more planning, more details and dialogue to be added and more editing meaning that it may not be as speedy as the preliminary piece. From the preliminary piece I will use simular shots, such as; Match on Action and shot reverse shot as they were simple to shoot but looked effective when done properly on screen. With our new found knowledge of the Editing suite also there will more of a chance within making a thriller scene, to use special effects, lighting and sound effects meaning out creative minds can run wild.

The Thriller: Generic Conventions

The Generic Conventions include:-

The thriller relying on an intricate plot in order to create fear and apprehension in the viewer.

The hero(ine) in the thriller is seen in situations of threat/peril before the peril before the film's narrator is resolved.

The female characters in a thriller are often objectified through a series of gazes

The thriller narrator contains a build up of suspense.

The thriller is often located within an ordinary situation where extraordinary things happen.

The killer ensnares the victim in a set of intricate moves

The thriller narrative is usually centred on a crime(usually a murder)

The hero(ine) of a thriller is fallible ( can relate to a normal person)

The audience are often positioned as voyeurs

The themes often include themes of identity( mistaken identity/loss)

There is often a theme of mirroring involved in a thriller.

Labyrinths and mazes are often motifs; they may be actual or psychological.

Women always suffer in media

The role of women in society has changed over the years. Women now have the same rights and roles as Men do. Somehow in Thrillers women are always interpreted as weak and useless. Within Media whether it be print or TV advertisements women seem to also be depicted as childish, helpless and simply objects of sexuality for men. With many films displaying the lead role of the women as very beautiful but also very naive and helpless and always the victim...Have you ever seen an unnattractive women victim in a thriller?

Things have not changed,

Pyscho (1960)




Notice how the woman is shown on the Poster for the film as very feminine but looks weak as to the other images around her, as she is wearing nothing but underwear. She is in Yellow which shows a lighter softer side, whereas the men are in Red and Black showing they are stronger and more powerful. Very Sexist.





The Return (2006)








Look how vulnerable and weak the victim is as the man grips her arm, this displays a perfect example of how Women in thrillers are rarely, if ever seen standing up to the males.

One day i would like to see a woman standing up for herself in a thriller....
maybe one day we'll see this

All you ever needed and wanted to know about THRILLERS

Thrillers are types of films known to promote uncertainy, unexpected and nerve-wrecking tension. There are many other genres linked to Thriller, such as Suspense and horror as they have simular characteristics and features making it harder to decifer whether a film is a Thriller or Suspense or a horror as they are very alike.

The problems you normally face when examining the Thriller genre come in the form of hybrids. A film would not generally be aknowledged as just simply a Thriller, for example; the film 'Alien' is called a Sci-Fi Thriller and 'Safety Last' is called a Comedy Thriller. Just to make things really simple....

If you simply cannot decide if the film you are watching is a thriller, take the thriller test to see if it is...
Are you on the edge-of-your-seat?
Are there cliffhangers as the film builds towards its climax?
Is the main character placed in a menacing situation or mystery?
Is a life at risk?
Is there conflict between characters or life forms?

If so...I'm afraid YOUR WATCHING A THRILLER!

The characters that are usually thrown into thrillers usually include Convicts, Stalkers, assassins, down-on-their-luck losers, innocent victims (often on the run), prison inmates, menaced women, characters with dark pasts, psychotic individuals, terrorists, cops and escaped cons, fugitives, private eyes, drifters, duplicitious individuals, people involved in twisted relationships, world-weary men and women, psycho-fiends, and more. So basically the most unfortunate types of people you find in the world.

Some frequent themes of a thrillers would be Conflict, Death and Danger all the ingredients to get your heart rate up.

If you want to feel all these emotions and more AFI (American Film Institute) have given a top 3 of most thrilling films being;
3. The Exorcist
2. Jaws
and if you dare..
1. PYSCHO
*watch at your own risk*

Alfred Hitchcock (who directed PHYSCO) has been crowned the master of Suspense. With any list of chiller/ thrillers featuring his films, with his orginal ideas and creations he helped mould and shape the modern day films we see today. As most modern takes on thrillers feature ideas originally used by Hitchcock. The first film he made was a silent thriller, 'The Lodger' released in 1926 making his first release completely different to the style of thriller we see today.

Hitchcock usually placed an innocent victim, being an average everyday person, in a terrorizing situation in a case of a wrong person or mistaken identity. Also he places a 'red herring' throughout his films also which intrigues the viewer and helps guide the plot in the right direction helping his films keep a clear, clever and thrilling storyline.
The usual conventions of Hitchcock films is his films were wildly uneven, although he produced the shocking and engrossing thriller 'Physco', and the suspenseful and strangely terrifying 'The Birds' and 'frenzy' which was given an 18 rating for its vicious and strangulation scene... They certainly all differed.

Thrillers such as; Gaslight, Laura, The Spiral Staricase, The Lady from Shanghai and Sorry, wrong number all have the aspect in common that the victims chosen are all female, but not just female but with descriptions along the lines of beautiful, innocent and invalid. Making the victim woman seem powerless and weak.