Research - What have I learnt from all of my research?

By researching different ways in which thrillers and presented and the different opinions and options there are when it comes to making a thriller I have been able to understand what makes a good thriller and the kind of things I will need to include in my thriller in order to make it the best it can be. I have learnt these things through gaining an understanding of codes and conventions, camera, sound, editing and mise-en-scene and then applying that in order to analyse not only real thriller films in order to understand how these things are used on a greater scale but also through analysing other students work I was able to understand how it is possible for students to apply these elements to the openings of their films and the different ways in which my group can do this too. 


Along with all of the good things I have learnt I have equally learnt how to avoid doing things which loose you marks when producing your final opening; for example the steadiness of the camera, the quality of sound, the use of mise-en-scene and the pace and style of editing. Because I have been able to learn both positive and negative points of openings I can make sure that the rest of my group also understands what we should be doing and then later apply this to our opening. 


Overall my research on a whole has allowed me to understand the importance of the different aspects of film and from gaining peoples opinions I now know what people expect from this genre of a film and through analysing others have started to gain knowledge on how to address these areas. Now my group needs to go and start brainstorming different ideas starting with genre and decide what type of film we are going to choose - hybrid or sub-genre - and then decide on the story line and then move on to taking into consideration everything that we have learnt through past students work and real thrillers and bring all of our knowledge together in order to try and come up with the best opening we can possibly produce.   

Research - Analysing past students work.

We were asked to evaluate past students work in order to gain an understand of what we should and should not be including in our openings. We also learnt how the work was judged and how certain aspects of camera, editing and sound gave the opening different levels and meant that overall the group achieved a good grade or not. By evaluating past students work you also gain an understanding of how something such as camera can effect the overall outcome of your opening; for example if the camera is shaky during a tilt when the camera should be still and simply scanning up and down.

We watched six different openings to get a different idea of what level we would give them. To do so we were given the mark scheme telling us the levels and what would need to be achieved in order to gain the highest level. At first the majority of the past openings that we watched seemed good and the errors went unnoticed. One we watched it once we were made to re-watch it but this time we were told to focus on a certain area of the filming; camera, editing, sounds and mise-en-scene. After about the third time of watching it the opinion which was made on the first viewing was usually changed quite drastically after noticing the mistakes that were made. Many of the openings consisted of many of the things which were needed however it was obvious that certain things like the smoothness of the camera or the pace of the editing was letting them down.  

Root cause was an example we watched that achieved a high grade unlike many of the other openings we saw and this was down to the use to skills they implied in their work and the evidence there was to suggest that the group had thought for a very long time how to position the camera, add a story line to the opening already and the ways in which they chose to edit there footage to a high level. This particular opening was a film noir and was set in the 1920's with the gangster genre evidently influencing their work

. They ensured that the music and mise-en-scene represented this time period and it was clear to see in their piece that it was well thought out. 

The common fault amongst many of the openings was the attempts of trying to look like a real thriller and however this is good to stick to the code and conventions some groups were trying to achieve things which weren't possible for an as-level piece of work and they shouldn't of tried anything to hard but still of come up with an original idea.  All of the ideas were good however some of them has flaws due to the lack of experience that they had and the way they tried to do things.

From analysing the work of past students it has helped me to understand the limitations which needs to be set on ideas so that my group can make the best opening with originality that it can rather than trying to be to complex and not being able to get good marks because the ideas were to hard to follow through. I have also learnt from the good things that certain groups did as well as the bad and have learnt how to perhaps co-operate different types of ideas into our brainstorms and hopefully come up with something better by working with the guide that past students have set from their work.

Research - Openings of thrillers: 3 Se7en.

Se7en:

Camera -

CU's and ECU's are the camera shots which are chosen be used by the director in the opening sequence of this film. The two different camera shots allow the audience to pay attention to detail and focus on what is being shown to you on screen and the different images in order to start connecting them together and gain an understand of the film.

Editing -

The speed of the images and transitions increases throughout the opening. The sound also increases along with it emphasizing the speed and the pace it is picking up. The images are all shown to dissolve and cut between each other and the different types of transitions allow the audience to piece the images together and start to gain an understand of the film. 

Sound -

Non-diegetic sound increases in pitch and volume throughout the sequence and it works parallel to both the camera work and the editing. The music increases in time with the editing and allows the audience to make connections.  

Mise-en-scene-  The opening sequence of the film focuses on the use of props and the ways in which they are used to portray the danger of the forthcoming events. The light font on a dark background allows the writing of the names to stand out whilst still presenting to the audience the darkness in the persona's life by keeping the scene dark.  The images which are shown to the audience denote that this thriller is perhaps a horror thriller and the director has taken a hybrid approach to the film by adding a sense of horror meaning that the film can have a much deeper meaning as there is more to change and this way the mise-en-sense is important in portraying this to the audience.

Research - Openings of thrillers: 2 Psycho.

Psycho: 

Camera- The camera is not used in the opening of this film. The film opens with simple graphics moving across the screen this gives the audience an unnerving feeling as the plot of the film is not revealed through the opening of the film.

Editing-  In the opening of Psycho, the film begins with a black screen, then it turns grey. It is then split by animated parallel  lines which enter from the right hand side of the screen. The colours and words which appear on screen afterwards are always split down the middle using the different colours apart from the directors name which is used in contrast and left on the screen for several seconds. The splitting of the colours in the opening title sequence connotes the idea of a split personality linking in with what is usually thought of to be a 'psycho'. This simple effect used by Hitchcock enforces the idea of the film without having to show any images or scenes of the film to start off with but simple introducing the cast. 

Sound-   The Music which is used in the opening of the film is parallel and allows the images on screen to move at a much faster pace and follow the music. The music has an harsh tone with connotes danger and panic. The music is able to do these things by the pace and the instruments which are used to create a certain tone to the music. The music fits the opening and fits in with the conventions of a thriller. 

Mis-en-scene - All that is shown are the graphics which have the connotations of split personalities. 

Research - Openings of thrillers: 1 Sin City.

Sin City: 
Camera - The scene first opens showing a shot of a female character. We are first shown this character using an extreme long shot which establishes the location and setting of the scene. Throughout the scene the camera using a combinations of mid-shots and close-ups provides to the audience connotations of feelings and relationships due to the closeness between the female character and a newly introduced male character who is shot in a long shot when entering the scene denoting his importance in the scene by allowing the audience to see all of him. When the two are talking the director uses close up, mid-shots and duel shots to represent the emotion and recognize the characters facial expressions which allows us to gain further understanding of the characters relationship and emotions towards each other. 

Editing - The director uses a mixture of red, white and black throughout the opening extract. The setting is all black and white which contrasts to the female protagonists' brightly coloured red dress which connotes a sense of importance. The director has used a bright light within the scene to draw attention to the male and the female standing on the balcony. The light is also used to highlight the city surrounding them.


Sound - The music in this scene is parallel to the happenings in the scene. It is slow and  calm and matches the atmosphere the director is creating through the use of camera, editing and lighting. There is also diagetic sound which adds a sense of realism to the scene with the noise from the lighter for example when it is lit.


Mise-en-scene - The director is trying to establish the importance of these two characters in this particular scene by not using many props, The cigarette both characters are smoking shows the type of people they are however the smoking in this scene is almost used to make the characters appear cool This might be in line with the time period in which this film is meant to be sent.