This is my final version of my thriller opening Furor:
Monday 25 March 2013
Sunday 24 March 2013
Evaluation Question 7
'Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?'
Evaluation Question 6
'What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?'
At the beginning of the media course, I knew absolutely nothing about filming, editing, or even Mac computers. Over the course of the past few months, I have acquired the skills needed to produce my own piece which I am proud of.
The strengths of the camera equipment used were that they allowed us to do everything we needed to get our footage filmed. This also enabled me to learn how to use new equipment and put it into practise straight away. In order to produce steady shots as well as hand held shots, I used a tripod for the majority of my shots. For example, when filming the panning scene, my teacher and the Media technician advised me of a trick with a rubber band that allows the tripod to move more freely but still smoothly. This resulted in a great panning shot, that beforehand I was having difficulties filming. Weaknesses of the camera equipment were trivial, but prolonged the editing process. On one of the cameras used, the footage had to be converted before t could be imported into Final Cut which was a waste of time but had to be done else the footage was wasted.
The filming process was a great experience. I have never done anything like it before, other then my preliminary which in comparison, I now realise was shockingly bad. The first problems to arise was with Nikita not being able to stay in character and keep a straight face which resulted to many takes having to be filmed of the same shot which turned out to be very time consuming. In the end, we took the shot for a lot longer then needed so if she laughed or moved when she was not supposed to, we could cut the shot to the length we needed. Other problems included some of the initial footage being of poor quality, resulting in us having to go back to the set and recreate it so that we could re do some of the shots. Although, as we already knew how to use the equipment this did not take as long the second time round.
The editing software I used was Final Cut Express. For starters, I realised just how long it takes to edit together the footage. Considering it was only two minutes long, it made me realise how long the procedure must be for an entire film. I learnt so many things on Final Cut, from how to import my footage and cut it down to the required length, to putting it together on the timeline in sequence whilst slicing my titles in between shots. I then added in my soundtrack onto the audio timeline to see if it fitted with the footage which it did. Then I was in the media pod by myself and I wanted to know how to turn the footage black and white so I started searching the internet for tutorials and taught myself how to do it. It involved going though the effects to 'desaturate' and dragging this over the clip I wanted to turn black and white. After this I had to learn how to enhance the colours of the lipstick and the dress. This is something I did not even realise was possible on the software so I was really happy when I realised it was achievable. This was a long and frustrating process using 'Colour Correction' and 'Chromer Key'. It involved highlighting the section I wanted to enhance which was difficult because if I went to enhance the red lipstick, it would pick up all the other red fragments in the scene, so I had to find the right settings and keep going over it till it was perfect.
This picture shows me using Final Cut Express to finalise parts of my footage. Here, I was faking a Pan to give the shot some movement. You can also see my soundtrack and footage on the timeline, and the 'bin' that has all of my footage in it.
Finally came the extension of the soundtrack. I went onto Garageband to create a sharp and suspenseful piece for the introduction titles before the original piece started playing a few seconds into the film. I had used Garageband before in the lower school for music but had no recollection of how to use it so it was essentially starting again from scratch. Considering the piece of music I was using had been made by my friend especially for my film, and recorded in the music studio, I did not use Garageband that much. But when I did use it, it allowed be to create a separate piece of music taken from the existing piece. Finally, the non diegetic sound at the end was recorded in school with a metal hanger swinging from a door, so it literally emphasised the sound the hanger in the footage would make.
This picture shows me on Adobe soundbooth converting the music I made on Garageband, ready to import into Final Cut Express.
Even the little things like screen grabbing on a Mac are things I could not do before but now find really helpful for taking pictures to include in blog work. Lastly, by having a blog, it has opened my eyes into the capabilities of YouTube, as before this evaluation work, I did not know how to make voice overs or add annotations to YouTube clips.
This picture shows me working with the camera and the tripod, setting up for the next shot. I had never filmed with a tripod before so it was very different, but the finishing results were great, it's so much easier then handheld.
This picture shows me holding a light above the camera for the scene about to be shot, and the board we used to make sure we could organise our shots chronologically, and also so we could keep track of how many times we had re done each take.
At the beginning of the media course, I knew absolutely nothing about filming, editing, or even Mac computers. Over the course of the past few months, I have acquired the skills needed to produce my own piece which I am proud of.
The strengths of the camera equipment used were that they allowed us to do everything we needed to get our footage filmed. This also enabled me to learn how to use new equipment and put it into practise straight away. In order to produce steady shots as well as hand held shots, I used a tripod for the majority of my shots. For example, when filming the panning scene, my teacher and the Media technician advised me of a trick with a rubber band that allows the tripod to move more freely but still smoothly. This resulted in a great panning shot, that beforehand I was having difficulties filming. Weaknesses of the camera equipment were trivial, but prolonged the editing process. On one of the cameras used, the footage had to be converted before t could be imported into Final Cut which was a waste of time but had to be done else the footage was wasted.
The filming process was a great experience. I have never done anything like it before, other then my preliminary which in comparison, I now realise was shockingly bad. The first problems to arise was with Nikita not being able to stay in character and keep a straight face which resulted to many takes having to be filmed of the same shot which turned out to be very time consuming. In the end, we took the shot for a lot longer then needed so if she laughed or moved when she was not supposed to, we could cut the shot to the length we needed. Other problems included some of the initial footage being of poor quality, resulting in us having to go back to the set and recreate it so that we could re do some of the shots. Although, as we already knew how to use the equipment this did not take as long the second time round.
The editing software I used was Final Cut Express. For starters, I realised just how long it takes to edit together the footage. Considering it was only two minutes long, it made me realise how long the procedure must be for an entire film. I learnt so many things on Final Cut, from how to import my footage and cut it down to the required length, to putting it together on the timeline in sequence whilst slicing my titles in between shots. I then added in my soundtrack onto the audio timeline to see if it fitted with the footage which it did. Then I was in the media pod by myself and I wanted to know how to turn the footage black and white so I started searching the internet for tutorials and taught myself how to do it. It involved going though the effects to 'desaturate' and dragging this over the clip I wanted to turn black and white. After this I had to learn how to enhance the colours of the lipstick and the dress. This is something I did not even realise was possible on the software so I was really happy when I realised it was achievable. This was a long and frustrating process using 'Colour Correction' and 'Chromer Key'. It involved highlighting the section I wanted to enhance which was difficult because if I went to enhance the red lipstick, it would pick up all the other red fragments in the scene, so I had to find the right settings and keep going over it till it was perfect.
This picture shows me using Final Cut Express to finalise parts of my footage. Here, I was faking a Pan to give the shot some movement. You can also see my soundtrack and footage on the timeline, and the 'bin' that has all of my footage in it.
Finally came the extension of the soundtrack. I went onto Garageband to create a sharp and suspenseful piece for the introduction titles before the original piece started playing a few seconds into the film. I had used Garageband before in the lower school for music but had no recollection of how to use it so it was essentially starting again from scratch. Considering the piece of music I was using had been made by my friend especially for my film, and recorded in the music studio, I did not use Garageband that much. But when I did use it, it allowed be to create a separate piece of music taken from the existing piece. Finally, the non diegetic sound at the end was recorded in school with a metal hanger swinging from a door, so it literally emphasised the sound the hanger in the footage would make.
This picture shows me on Adobe soundbooth converting the music I made on Garageband, ready to import into Final Cut Express.
Even the little things like screen grabbing on a Mac are things I could not do before but now find really helpful for taking pictures to include in blog work. Lastly, by having a blog, it has opened my eyes into the capabilities of YouTube, as before this evaluation work, I did not know how to make voice overs or add annotations to YouTube clips.
This picture shows me holding a light above the camera for the scene about to be shot, and the board we used to make sure we could organise our shots chronologically, and also so we could keep track of how many times we had re done each take.
Evaluation Question 5
'How did you attract/address your audience?'
Door scene has been removed
Door scene has been removed
Here is a recording I made of myself responding to the feedback I received:
Saturday 23 March 2013
Evaluation Question 3
'What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?'
Door scene has been removed
Door scene has been removed
Thursday 21 March 2013
Evaluation Question 2
'How does your media product represent particular social groups?'
The first character that has similarities with my main character is Betty Grable in the film I Wake Up Screaming. Her character Jill Lynn is the woman whom Frankie (Victor Mature), a man suspected of murder, hides out with and eventually falls for. This coincides with my main character, an attractive woman who receives lots of male attention, but who uses this to her advantage to ultimately take what she wants from them. Appearance wise, they both wear red lipstick which is a common aspect of costume for women portraying a seductive role in films. A noticeable difference between the two characters could be hair colour. Most Femme Fatale actresses have blonde hair which fits into this stereotypical female role. However, our character has dark brown hair. Although, both Grable and the character in my film have curly hair, which is also a common feature amongst Femme Fatale characters.
Another Femme Fatale character that shows signs of similarities to my main female character is Ann Savage who plays Vera in Detour. Similarities include dark hair which is not very usual with Femme Fatale characters, and also smoking cigarettes. This is also a key iconic feature in Film Noir films, which gives an indication of the period in which the film is set. Furthermore, both women manipulate men to get what they want; our character manipulates then kills the millionaire who won the lottery and Vera blackmails Al in Detour when he presents himself as Haskell, the bookie who tried to get too friendly with her when he gives her a ride. This shows that women do not always have to be the powerless victims in thrillers, which is why having a Femme Fatale was interesting to portray.
Finally, there are some similarities with Glenn Close who played Alex Forrest. Various references were made to Glenn Close in my thriller opening, including a scene from Fatal Attraction and the poster on the wall which my character was then seen copying. They are both wearing white dresses which ironically contradicts their characters as both of them are seen to go to extreme lengths and carry out acts of craziness.
Here is a quote from 'Film Noir City' which gives an introduction into Femme Fatale as a character and how they fit into the Film Noir genre.
The first character that has similarities with my main character is Betty Grable in the film I Wake Up Screaming. Her character Jill Lynn is the woman whom Frankie (Victor Mature), a man suspected of murder, hides out with and eventually falls for. This coincides with my main character, an attractive woman who receives lots of male attention, but who uses this to her advantage to ultimately take what she wants from them. Appearance wise, they both wear red lipstick which is a common aspect of costume for women portraying a seductive role in films. A noticeable difference between the two characters could be hair colour. Most Femme Fatale actresses have blonde hair which fits into this stereotypical female role. However, our character has dark brown hair. Although, both Grable and the character in my film have curly hair, which is also a common feature amongst Femme Fatale characters.
Another Femme Fatale character that shows signs of similarities to my main female character is Ann Savage who plays Vera in Detour. Similarities include dark hair which is not very usual with Femme Fatale characters, and also smoking cigarettes. This is also a key iconic feature in Film Noir films, which gives an indication of the period in which the film is set. Furthermore, both women manipulate men to get what they want; our character manipulates then kills the millionaire who won the lottery and Vera blackmails Al in Detour when he presents himself as Haskell, the bookie who tried to get too friendly with her when he gives her a ride. This shows that women do not always have to be the powerless victims in thrillers, which is why having a Femme Fatale was interesting to portray.
Finally, there are some similarities with Glenn Close who played Alex Forrest. Various references were made to Glenn Close in my thriller opening, including a scene from Fatal Attraction and the poster on the wall which my character was then seen copying. They are both wearing white dresses which ironically contradicts their characters as both of them are seen to go to extreme lengths and carry out acts of craziness.
Here is a quote from 'Film Noir City' which gives an introduction into Femme Fatale as a character and how they fit into the Film Noir genre.
''The soft smell of infatuating perfume, blond tresses contrasted with unlit bars, and faint traces of liquor and tobacco; or fresh perms and the smell of a home cooked meal?
Without a doubt, the women in film noir play a central and recurring theme in the genre. Perhaps as a statement of the obsessions that move a man: money, liquor and women. The femme fatale (“ or the deadly woman”) is an ancient and popular character in western (and indeed world) texts. Generally, the femme fatale is shown to be a woman who exploits the weaknesses of men to her own advantage. Perhaps the interpretation that the construction of the femme fatale is ultimately a product of a patriarchal and largely inequitable society is itself an outdated interpretation. The femme fatale has become a movement of fashion and interest in modern society, and is a symbol of class.''
Evaluation Question 1
'In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?'
I have included 12 frames from my final edit of 'Furor' to support my explanations of how and why the thriller opening uses, develops or challenges conventions from existing media. I carefully chose frames that showed an array of aspects from the opening, including; titles, mise - en - scene, lighting and characters.
Frame one - How characters are introduced:
Excluding the titles, Nikita standing with her eyes closed is the first shot to appear in my thriller opening. Not only does this establish the main character, but it creates a sense of ambiguity as it is uncertain as to why she has her eyes closed, or even who she is. This is a close up shot so only her head is seen which stops the audience from knowing much else about her surroundings. In later shots she is seen opening her eyes and then applying red lipstick. This shows her getting ready, as she puts her lipstick on neatly, before unexpectedly smearing it up her face. This immediately raises questions as to why she would purposely smear her lipstick. The colour of the lipstick is also important, as the colour red has connotations of danger, passion, seduction and death. This links further into themes of seduction and provocativeness, and it could be suggested she is a woman who uses this to get what she wants. The panning shot used then reveals a great deal more about the woman as she is seen imitating a poster of Glenn Close holding a knife in Fatal Attraction. The shots creates the effect that there is something different, and almost peculiar about this woman as she is standing in her room with lipstick up her face, holding a large knife. The main character was purposely a woman, to undercut the conventions in thrillers that the protagonist is always a strong man, and that the victim is usually a vulnerable woman. Here, our main character is a woman and her victims are in fact men, giving the narrative a role reversal that plays with the representation of women in media products.
Frame two - The title of the film/Title font and style:
The second frame, reveals the title of the thriller; 'Furor'. We chose to call it Furor which means fury, rage or madness. This is because people asked did not know the meaning of the word in the context I am using it and this misinterpretation reflects the personality of the main character who's actions will defy narrative expectations of her. The font and style of my film titles were heavily influenced by those of the film 'Se7en'. This idea of having them hover on the screen before disappearing really appealed to me, as again it reflected the unstable character I am portraying. However, the titles of 'Se7en' sometimes appear on a black background, but then also appear over the footage. I chose to insert all of my titles over a black background to create a sense of consistency. Below I have inserted a screen grab from the title sequence of'Se7en' for comparison.
Frame three/Four/Six - Genre and how the opening suggests it:
My thriller opening shows the genre used, being Film Noir, in many different ways. Firstly, the soundtrack used was inspired by jazz instrumentals that I researched on YouTube. I then went to the music department in school and sat in on their rehearsals and asked if they could recreate a piece of music I found. One of my friends listened to the jazz piece and wrote his own interpretation of it, before recruiting two boys; one who plays the saxophone and one who plays the drums, to play the song for us. My friend then played the piano parts and we recorded it in the school's recording studio.
This allowed us to have a soundtrack that perfectly fitted our Film Noir genre, and even better, it was made specifically for my media work. In addition to the soundtrack, the first shot notably reveals that our opening is in black and white. This is a generic convention of Film Noir and also allowed us to creatively add in special effects. Finally, the mise-en-scene played a huge part in establishing the genre. There was particular iconography of Film Noir movies such as trench coats, alcohol and cigarettes, but then I also used many forms of homage in reference to existing Femme Fatale/Film Noir media products. There were three posters used; 1. Glenn Close - Fatal Attraction, 2,.Lana Turner - The Postman Always Rings Twice 3.Barbara Stanwyck Double Indemnity, and also the shot of Fatal Attraction paused at 12:12.
Frame five - Special effects/Camera work and editing:
This frame explicitly shows the emphasis on colour that I focused on. Right from the word go, my group and I decided that our opening would be in black and white to reflect the Film Noir genre, and that the significant colours would be emphasised. The purpose of enhancing the red lipstick and the purple dress, aimed to reveal more about the woman's character and the powerful colours she wears. The significance of the white dress was to completely contradict the character we created. This undermined conventions as the colour white is usually associated with purity and innocence, two things that our character is not. The camera work was relatively simple, everything was filmed in colour with a light used to create effect in certain shots. The editing process was very long but the finished result was what I had pictured. The footage had to be 'desaturated' in Final Cut and then effects such as 'Colour Correction' were used to highlight particular colours and also brighten or darken shots.
Frame seven - Location/Costumes and props:
This panning shot establishes the setting of the thriller opening, as it becomes clear that the woman is in her bedroom. We used a friend's bedroom as we required a double bed and a windowsill where we could place our intended props. Furthermore, our friend did not have anything extravagant in her room such as a plasma tv, which worked really well as our character was intended to be poor, which feeds into the narrative of her manipulating people and rein-acting what she see's in thrillers to kill people and take their money. For props, empty photo frames were used to raise questions and begin to draw attention to the character's unusual mental state, also we included an upside down clock stopped at 12:12 to mirror the time on the Fatal Attraction clip that was included. Moreover, there was a large kitchen knife used to 'copy' the poster of Glenn Close on the wall(Frame 6), again to evoke the image that the woman is crazy. Finally, there was a shot of a whiskey bottle and glass, and a cigarette(Frame 10). This was part of the iconography that we researched for the genre. There were only two costumes used in the opening of Furor, one was the white dress worn and the other was the purple dress in the wardrobe. It was decided to have just one dress in the wardrobe for two reasons; one being it emphasised the economic situation the woman was in as she has minimal clothing, and two because it drew more attention to the dress that was then gone at the end of the opening, which shows she took it to change into before finding and killing the man. The editing also included fitting in the soundtrack which we had made specifically for our film opening.
Frame nine - Story and how the opening sets it up:
The equilibrium of my film is shown through the shot of the newspaper, which is primarily used to set up the narrative.The story is that a poor but manipulative woman see's a millionaire in the newspaper who has just won millions on the lottery. As she has so little and he has more then he needs, she sets out to kill him and steal his money. Hints of this can be seen when she circles his face in the newspaper which in effect makes him look like her target, as well as the dress missing at the end which is supposedly showing she has got up and gone to find this man.The scenes of her cautiously applying her red lipstick before smearing it up her face, in addition to the upside down clock, empty photo frames, words and rope on the door and her imitation of the knife pose all hint that something is going to happen and that she is potentially crazy, and this is where questions are raised by the audience. The references to various other Femme Fatale, Film Noir films are supposed to imply that she carries out acts of violence that she see's in these films, on people that she is targeting. This use of micro elements to build up suspense through camera work, mise - en - scene, lighting and costumes all contribute to revealing the narrative.
I have included 12 frames from my final edit of 'Furor' to support my explanations of how and why the thriller opening uses, develops or challenges conventions from existing media. I carefully chose frames that showed an array of aspects from the opening, including; titles, mise - en - scene, lighting and characters.
Frame one - How characters are introduced:
Excluding the titles, Nikita standing with her eyes closed is the first shot to appear in my thriller opening. Not only does this establish the main character, but it creates a sense of ambiguity as it is uncertain as to why she has her eyes closed, or even who she is. This is a close up shot so only her head is seen which stops the audience from knowing much else about her surroundings. In later shots she is seen opening her eyes and then applying red lipstick. This shows her getting ready, as she puts her lipstick on neatly, before unexpectedly smearing it up her face. This immediately raises questions as to why she would purposely smear her lipstick. The colour of the lipstick is also important, as the colour red has connotations of danger, passion, seduction and death. This links further into themes of seduction and provocativeness, and it could be suggested she is a woman who uses this to get what she wants. The panning shot used then reveals a great deal more about the woman as she is seen imitating a poster of Glenn Close holding a knife in Fatal Attraction. The shots creates the effect that there is something different, and almost peculiar about this woman as she is standing in her room with lipstick up her face, holding a large knife. The main character was purposely a woman, to undercut the conventions in thrillers that the protagonist is always a strong man, and that the victim is usually a vulnerable woman. Here, our main character is a woman and her victims are in fact men, giving the narrative a role reversal that plays with the representation of women in media products.
Frame two - The title of the film/Title font and style:
The second frame, reveals the title of the thriller; 'Furor'. We chose to call it Furor which means fury, rage or madness. This is because people asked did not know the meaning of the word in the context I am using it and this misinterpretation reflects the personality of the main character who's actions will defy narrative expectations of her. The font and style of my film titles were heavily influenced by those of the film 'Se7en'. This idea of having them hover on the screen before disappearing really appealed to me, as again it reflected the unstable character I am portraying. However, the titles of 'Se7en' sometimes appear on a black background, but then also appear over the footage. I chose to insert all of my titles over a black background to create a sense of consistency. Below I have inserted a screen grab from the title sequence of'Se7en' for comparison.
Frame three/Four/Six - Genre and how the opening suggests it:
My thriller opening shows the genre used, being Film Noir, in many different ways. Firstly, the soundtrack used was inspired by jazz instrumentals that I researched on YouTube. I then went to the music department in school and sat in on their rehearsals and asked if they could recreate a piece of music I found. One of my friends listened to the jazz piece and wrote his own interpretation of it, before recruiting two boys; one who plays the saxophone and one who plays the drums, to play the song for us. My friend then played the piano parts and we recorded it in the school's recording studio.
This allowed us to have a soundtrack that perfectly fitted our Film Noir genre, and even better, it was made specifically for my media work. In addition to the soundtrack, the first shot notably reveals that our opening is in black and white. This is a generic convention of Film Noir and also allowed us to creatively add in special effects. Finally, the mise-en-scene played a huge part in establishing the genre. There was particular iconography of Film Noir movies such as trench coats, alcohol and cigarettes, but then I also used many forms of homage in reference to existing Femme Fatale/Film Noir media products. There were three posters used; 1. Glenn Close - Fatal Attraction, 2,.Lana Turner - The Postman Always Rings Twice 3.Barbara Stanwyck Double Indemnity, and also the shot of Fatal Attraction paused at 12:12.
Frame five - Special effects/Camera work and editing:
This frame explicitly shows the emphasis on colour that I focused on. Right from the word go, my group and I decided that our opening would be in black and white to reflect the Film Noir genre, and that the significant colours would be emphasised. The purpose of enhancing the red lipstick and the purple dress, aimed to reveal more about the woman's character and the powerful colours she wears. The significance of the white dress was to completely contradict the character we created. This undermined conventions as the colour white is usually associated with purity and innocence, two things that our character is not. The camera work was relatively simple, everything was filmed in colour with a light used to create effect in certain shots. The editing process was very long but the finished result was what I had pictured. The footage had to be 'desaturated' in Final Cut and then effects such as 'Colour Correction' were used to highlight particular colours and also brighten or darken shots.
Frame seven - Location/Costumes and props:
This panning shot establishes the setting of the thriller opening, as it becomes clear that the woman is in her bedroom. We used a friend's bedroom as we required a double bed and a windowsill where we could place our intended props. Furthermore, our friend did not have anything extravagant in her room such as a plasma tv, which worked really well as our character was intended to be poor, which feeds into the narrative of her manipulating people and rein-acting what she see's in thrillers to kill people and take their money. For props, empty photo frames were used to raise questions and begin to draw attention to the character's unusual mental state, also we included an upside down clock stopped at 12:12 to mirror the time on the Fatal Attraction clip that was included. Moreover, there was a large kitchen knife used to 'copy' the poster of Glenn Close on the wall(Frame 6), again to evoke the image that the woman is crazy. Finally, there was a shot of a whiskey bottle and glass, and a cigarette(Frame 10). This was part of the iconography that we researched for the genre. There were only two costumes used in the opening of Furor, one was the white dress worn and the other was the purple dress in the wardrobe. It was decided to have just one dress in the wardrobe for two reasons; one being it emphasised the economic situation the woman was in as she has minimal clothing, and two because it drew more attention to the dress that was then gone at the end of the opening, which shows she took it to change into before finding and killing the man. The editing also included fitting in the soundtrack which we had made specifically for our film opening.
Frame nine - Story and how the opening sets it up:
The equilibrium of my film is shown through the shot of the newspaper, which is primarily used to set up the narrative.The story is that a poor but manipulative woman see's a millionaire in the newspaper who has just won millions on the lottery. As she has so little and he has more then he needs, she sets out to kill him and steal his money. Hints of this can be seen when she circles his face in the newspaper which in effect makes him look like her target, as well as the dress missing at the end which is supposedly showing she has got up and gone to find this man.The scenes of her cautiously applying her red lipstick before smearing it up her face, in addition to the upside down clock, empty photo frames, words and rope on the door and her imitation of the knife pose all hint that something is going to happen and that she is potentially crazy, and this is where questions are raised by the audience. The references to various other Femme Fatale, Film Noir films are supposed to imply that she carries out acts of violence that she see's in these films, on people that she is targeting. This use of micro elements to build up suspense through camera work, mise - en - scene, lighting and costumes all contribute to revealing the narrative.
Monday 4 March 2013
Black and white effect
We decided that we would make our thriller opening black and white, to fit in with our chosen sub genre; Film Noir. Additionally, we put a lot of thought into our colours and what they stood for, and then we played on this and changed conventions. Thus, we thought it would look effective if we made these colours stand out against the rest o the footage which would be black and white.
As I am doing a lot of my editing out of lesson time, I found myself with no teacher in the room when I wanted to start planning around with effects, so I decided to teach myself! After having a play around with the effect and seeing what they do, I resorted my footage back to it's default settings and then started looking into tutorials of Final Cut on the web, to see if I could figure out how to alter the colour myself...and I did!
This screen grab shows me going onto effects and then onto image control. I then scrolled down to 'desaturate' and had to drag and drop this effect onto each of the shots that I wanted to turn black and white, which in this case, was every shot other then the titles. On the timeline the shots still appear in colour, but as you can see, when you play it, they appear in black and white. I am happy that I discovered how to do this, as it opened up new doors and I got to see some of the many effects that Final Cut is capable of.
Rough edit complete!
Friday March 1st was the deadline for our rough edit. This meant I had to finish the retakes of shots that did not go so well the first time and then collect a draft of our soundtrack which we recorded at the start of the week. Some of the shots that had to be re done consisted of the pan of the room (where I used the rubber band trick to make it smooth and steady), the shot of the door, and finally shots of the various posters that were used as homage of iconic femme fatale films.
I then uploaded everything back onto the computer and imported it into Final Cut, so I could incorporate it in my draft. I found the draft editing process insightful as it made me fully understand how long it takes to edit roughly 2 minutes of footage!
However, I had some difficulties with my titles as one of them kept appearing minute on the video but regular size when not on Final Cut. Therefore I had to go back on to Live Type, which is the program I used to create my title sequence, and make it larger. I then decided to increase the size of all my titles, as well as change the time span they appeared on screen for.
After about 45 minutes of frustrating titles, I then imported the new ones into Final Cut and replaced the old ones in my sequence.
Finally, I inserted the soundtrack we made and the Foley sound of the hanger swinging to give myself a rough idea of what the opening looked like with the soundtrack included.
I now have to focus all my attention on learning how to make the footage black and white, with the key colours enhanced. I look forward to completing my final edit.
I then uploaded everything back onto the computer and imported it into Final Cut, so I could incorporate it in my draft. I found the draft editing process insightful as it made me fully understand how long it takes to edit roughly 2 minutes of footage!
However, I had some difficulties with my titles as one of them kept appearing minute on the video but regular size when not on Final Cut. Therefore I had to go back on to Live Type, which is the program I used to create my title sequence, and make it larger. I then decided to increase the size of all my titles, as well as change the time span they appeared on screen for.
After about 45 minutes of frustrating titles, I then imported the new ones into Final Cut and replaced the old ones in my sequence.
Finally, I inserted the soundtrack we made and the Foley sound of the hanger swinging to give myself a rough idea of what the opening looked like with the soundtrack included.
I now have to focus all my attention on learning how to make the footage black and white, with the key colours enhanced. I look forward to completing my final edit.
Friday 1 March 2013
Friday 15 February 2013
Evaluating the titles
Having finished our title sequence I would like to reflect back on the process and point out improvements and what went well.
Improvements:
1. We made the titles all in one sequence which made it difficult at first to separate them in Final Cut because they appeared individually between the shots. However, I got shown how to select them in their own frames and pace them in the relevant places that i coordinated with the arrangement of them on our storyboard.
2. They look quite simplistic which can be seen as good and bad. Good, because it looks professional and we wanted it simple and effective which we feel we have achieved. We did not want to over do it and exaggerate everything just to show off skill, because then it may have turned out tacky. However this can be seen as bad because we haven't showed what we can do when it comes to making titles and in a sense they can look restricted compared to what we could have done.
What went well:
1. It was a new process that I had not done before and i thoroughly enjoyed making them. I picked up a new skill whilst having fun putting together my footage.
2. We made a few drafts and were forever changing elements of the sequence before we made one which we all thought was the one. We went from changing the background colour, to the font, to the effects and even the colour of the text itself. Initially we had a different effect for each title and then realized we needed to keep it the same if we wanted to have continuity which would ultimately look more effective.
Here is our completed title sequence:
Improvements:
1. We made the titles all in one sequence which made it difficult at first to separate them in Final Cut because they appeared individually between the shots. However, I got shown how to select them in their own frames and pace them in the relevant places that i coordinated with the arrangement of them on our storyboard.
2. They look quite simplistic which can be seen as good and bad. Good, because it looks professional and we wanted it simple and effective which we feel we have achieved. We did not want to over do it and exaggerate everything just to show off skill, because then it may have turned out tacky. However this can be seen as bad because we haven't showed what we can do when it comes to making titles and in a sense they can look restricted compared to what we could have done.
What went well:
1. It was a new process that I had not done before and i thoroughly enjoyed making them. I picked up a new skill whilst having fun putting together my footage.
2. We made a few drafts and were forever changing elements of the sequence before we made one which we all thought was the one. We went from changing the background colour, to the font, to the effects and even the colour of the text itself. Initially we had a different effect for each title and then realized we needed to keep it the same if we wanted to have continuity which would ultimately look more effective.
Here is our completed title sequence:
Creating the titles
The making of our titles was put together through Live Type and After Effects. We begun to work on Live Type by picking the colour of the titles and then sifting through various effects to add to them. We then started positioning them in different places on the page. We used our real first names but then made up the last names amongst other names to add to the titles.
This screengrab shows the text used for one of the titles; 'Furor', and the effect we have chosen to use throughout our title sequence which is 'Lurch'. We used this for all of them as it created a sense of continuity and looked more professional. It was interesting going through all the effects to find one that we thought matched the theme of our thriller opening. This particular title related to our audience because it came, hovered, and then disappeared which can be seen as eerie. As the titles are the first shot the audience will see, we wanted them to have an impact. it looks quite effective when they come and go in between shots of the woman in her room.
This screengrab shows one of our opening titles which is the Production company. It was placed in the center of the screen as it was the first title to appear so we wanted it to be big. The others are considerably smaller.
These two screengrabs show two of our titles 'Costume' and 'Casting'. I have included two here to show the variation in positioning of our titles. These sreengrabs were taken from Live Type before we exported the final title sequence.
We chose to have our titles appear in front of a black background. Not only did this create simplicity, but it emphasized the white text which was ironically used.This echo's the white dress the woman was seen wearing which contradicts her personality, as it becomes apparent that she is not innocent and pure like the connotations of white suggest.
Most of the inspiration for our title sequence came after watching various title sequences of films such as Psycho and Se7en which is the one we favoured.
I took some screengrabs showing particular parts of the opening sequence that we took into account, liked, and then altered.
This screengrab shows the effect of the text and the font used. We used a similar one as the hovering on the screen suited our theme; it was unstable just like the woman's mindset. However, the titles for Se7en were not all over black backgrounds, unlike ours which we thought showed consistency.
The reason for this screengrab is that it shows where we got the idea of the black background from, which Kyle Cooper initially created for David Fincher's Se7ev (1995). This then influenced a whole host of designers and still remains common for titles that use text over a black background. This also shows their use of two titles on one shot which we decided not to do so that the focus was on individual titles.
Here is the opening title sequence for Se7en:
This screengrab shows the text used for one of the titles; 'Furor', and the effect we have chosen to use throughout our title sequence which is 'Lurch'. We used this for all of them as it created a sense of continuity and looked more professional. It was interesting going through all the effects to find one that we thought matched the theme of our thriller opening. This particular title related to our audience because it came, hovered, and then disappeared which can be seen as eerie. As the titles are the first shot the audience will see, we wanted them to have an impact. it looks quite effective when they come and go in between shots of the woman in her room.
This screengrab shows one of our opening titles which is the Production company. It was placed in the center of the screen as it was the first title to appear so we wanted it to be big. The others are considerably smaller.
This timeline of our opening sequences shows each individual title and the duration it is on the screen for. We chose to have one title per frame to allow the titles to hover by themselves before it led into the shot.
These two screengrabs show two of our titles 'Costume' and 'Casting'. I have included two here to show the variation in positioning of our titles. These sreengrabs were taken from Live Type before we exported the final title sequence.
We chose to have our titles appear in front of a black background. Not only did this create simplicity, but it emphasized the white text which was ironically used.This echo's the white dress the woman was seen wearing which contradicts her personality, as it becomes apparent that she is not innocent and pure like the connotations of white suggest.
Most of the inspiration for our title sequence came after watching various title sequences of films such as Psycho and Se7en which is the one we favoured.
I took some screengrabs showing particular parts of the opening sequence that we took into account, liked, and then altered.
The reason for this screengrab is that it shows where we got the idea of the black background from, which Kyle Cooper initially created for David Fincher's Se7ev (1995). This then influenced a whole host of designers and still remains common for titles that use text over a black background. This also shows their use of two titles on one shot which we decided not to do so that the focus was on individual titles.
Here is the opening title sequence for Se7en:
Friday 8 February 2013
Organising the footage
Once taking our footage off the camera, we sifted through it to separate the shots we needed from the shots we didn't. The ones we needed, we extracted and put into a folder named 'Opening 2'. We then opened them one by one to see what scene it said on the whiteboard and then used this to label the clip. We did this for every scene. The screenshot below shows the folder we made which now contains all the relevant footage we need to start editing.
Next, we put all the clips we didn't need into a folder called 'Mistakes'. This folder contains takes of scenes that went wrong and also extra shots we took in case we need to fill spaces or because other shots are too short, they are basically spares and backups of the shots we are using. The screenshot below shows the folder we made which now contains all the unneeded footage.
The last folder we made was called 'Opening copy' and basically contained our title sequence and the pictures taken on set of us filming. This can be seen in the screenshot below.
By sorting all of the footage, pictures, and titles out as soon as we uploaded them onto the computer, it allowed us to have all of our resources organized and ready to import into Final Cut to start editing.
Next, we put all the clips we didn't need into a folder called 'Mistakes'. This folder contains takes of scenes that went wrong and also extra shots we took in case we need to fill spaces or because other shots are too short, they are basically spares and backups of the shots we are using. The screenshot below shows the folder we made which now contains all the unneeded footage.
The last folder we made was called 'Opening copy' and basically contained our title sequence and the pictures taken on set of us filming. This can be seen in the screenshot below.
By sorting all of the footage, pictures, and titles out as soon as we uploaded them onto the computer, it allowed us to have all of our resources organized and ready to import into Final Cut to start editing.
Filming our thriller opening
After weeks of preparation including, looking at thriller sub genres, thriller conventions, thriller openings and title sequences, my group and I finally filmed our thriller opening. We collected the relevant equipment from the media pod and then met at a friends house to film in her bedroom.
Setting:
We needed a particular setting with a windowsill, bed, and wardrobe and her room fitted this criteria. We also opted for somewhere local in the event that shots needed to be re done we didn't have to go far and also, we could easily change her room back to how we needed it, where as if we were outside the picture may have changed and would not be exactly how it looked in the initial shots.
Props:
Some of the props included;
- A white dress to signify innocence and purity
- A purple dress to signify power
- A trenchcoat, cigarette and whiskey which are iconic film noir props
- Homage from Silence Of The Lambs being the motivational words on the back of the door
- Homage from famous femme fatale films being the posters on the wall from Fatal Attraction, The postman Only Rings Twice and Double Indemnity.
- Red lipstick and nail polish were used to create a sense of the woman being provocative, flirtatious but also dangerous.
-Empty photo frames and an upside down clock to raise questions
Filming:
After perfecting the setting an setting up the props, we began filming our first shots. We already knew this would be a challenge, as Nikita who was acting, is not easily able to get into character and keep a straight face, this is something we established when making our preliminary video. However Nikita soon got to grips with what she had to do and filming was underway. The first couple of shots worked well although admittedly were not shot in the first couple of takes, but it was okay because the practice helped us to improve. One shot that took particularly longer then the others to film was shot 3 where Nikita was applying the lipstick. This was due to a variety of reasons, from the lighting being off, to Nikita smiling or laughing and consequently having to wipe off the lipstick ready to reapply it in the next take, I think it was take 8 that we eventually got the footage we needed! Myself and Andrew took it in turns to film the shots and used a variety of angles from extreme close up to panning, to eye level and even point of view shots. Once we got into the swing of things everything started falling into place and we managed to do a few of the shots in just one take. I really enjoyed experiencing what it was like to film the opening especially as it was something we had put together over the weeks, it was great to see it come to life. We all had fun on set and behind the scenes which made it an easier working environment. The tripod was a lifesaver, we were able to film exactly what we wanted to see in the shot without the filming being shaky, which was greatly appreciated.
Lighting:
We closed the curtains in the room and switched off the light to create a dark and eerie atmosphere to mirror the mindset of the woman. We used a led light that we got from the media pod to shine on the shots when being filmed. for example, when Nikita was applying the lipstick, the light was on her face emphasizing what she was doing, additionally when the purple dress was shot in the wardrobe the light was on it to show the significance of the colour but also to brighten up the shot without having the whole room lit.
Pictures:
Throughout the shooting period, we all took the opportunity to take some pictures of Nikita in costume, but also of the set once it was laid out how we needed it to be, and also of each other filming and using the equipment.
This is a picture showing a trench coat and a rope. The trench coat in particular is a iconic prop in film noir so we made sure this was visible in some of our shots. The powerful words are a homage of those used in Silence Of The Lambs. They are seen on the tree as the woman is training in the woods. Our words reflect aspects of the main character. She uses sex to get what she wants and therefore is a powerful who inflicts pain on her selected targets. The words fatal and attraction were another homage of the film Fatal Attraction. below is a screenshot of the words on the tree that i took from the opening of Silence Of The Lambs to show where the idea originated from.
This is a poster of Glenn Close who starred in Fatal Attraction. This was another homage of the film, used for two reasons. The first, was that it was 1 of 3 posters of femme fatale's on the wall of this woman's room as their characters are similar to the woman we were trying to portray. Secondly, this poster was significant in the scene because there is a panning shot showing the main character copying this shot which looks creepy and creates an eerie atmosphere.
This is another poster of an iconic femme fatale. Lana Turner starred in The Postman Only Rings Twice. once again this poster was included in a panning shot before we see the woman mimicking the pose Glenn Close acted. The fact that this is black and white is also important because we ave decided that our thriller opening is going to be black and white, and it shows that this was common in the genre film we have chosen.
This was a simple shot showing the clock at 12:12pm. The point of this shot was to show the exact time which supposedly reflects the precision of the woman and emphasizes her particular lifestyle. also, it was purposely upside down to raise questions and ignite suspicion, because why would you have an upside down clock?
This picture of the empty photo frames is again to raise questions. Not only is it peculiar to have empty photo frames, but it suggests the fact that maybe this woman is alone, and in fact has no loved ones to put inside the photo frames. Or she could simply have purposely kept them empty, which again is an abnormal thing to do. This does however provide us with an insight into the characters life.
This was a newspaper we made so that the title actually had significance in the shot. The title being 'Local millionaire wins millions on Saturday's lottery'. This shows the intention of the woman as she circles the mans face. We purposely chose to have a millionaire win the lottery because its someone who has more then enough money, and who has won even more! This is believably the reason she has targeted him, because she is in a poorer position and he has won money he doesn't even need.
We chose to have a purple dress to signify mystery and power. This is the dress the woman grabs before leaving to track down this millionaire lottery winner to get what she wants from him. The dress was purposely hanging by itself to show the lack of clothes she has as well as to highlight the importance of this one dress. The dress is short and revealing which supports the idea that she uses sex to get what she wants, and is essentially a provocative character.
This is a picture of myself positioning the camera ready to start recording the next shot. Nikita was the only actress in our film opening, and myself and Andrew took it in turns to film. I really enjoyed filming as I had never done anything like this before (other then our preliminary) but this was much more serious. I also became familiar with how to use the equipment properly which will help me in future media lessons. The girl in the background is my friend Alisha who allowed us to use her room to film, she was also taking pictures on her phone of the set and us using the equipment.
Here, we were just abut to start filming the opening shot. We used the board to help us keep track of what shot we were on and also how many takes we had done. This also helped us when it came to uploading the footage onto the computer as it was easy to rename the files because we could easily see what shot the footage was of because of the board.
Myself and Nikita were watching back a shot we had just filmed to check it was okay, before moving onto the next scene.
Nikita is sitting here in costume between shots. She was ironically wearing a white dress as it contradicted the woman's character. White symbolizes purity and innocence which are two things our character is not. We purposely did this amongst other things because we wanted to undercut expectations and stereotypes.
This picture shows Nikita practicing the scene where she is copying the pose Glenn Close did in the poster. This is quite a creepy shot and raises questions of why she is copying the poster exactly. Also the panning shot itself which we used to film this shot helped create an eerie atmosphere because the light is on her at the end of the shot and we don't expect to see her there, as it originally looks like a pan of the room.
Here is Andrew preparing to film one of the upcoming shots. Andrew, like me, enjoyed using the equipment to film our opening. We took it in turns to shoot which gave us both the opportunity to work with the equipment and experience filming, but also to sit back and watch the other one to see how they went about filming.
Setting:
We needed a particular setting with a windowsill, bed, and wardrobe and her room fitted this criteria. We also opted for somewhere local in the event that shots needed to be re done we didn't have to go far and also, we could easily change her room back to how we needed it, where as if we were outside the picture may have changed and would not be exactly how it looked in the initial shots.
Props:
Some of the props included;
- A white dress to signify innocence and purity
- A purple dress to signify power
- A trenchcoat, cigarette and whiskey which are iconic film noir props
- Homage from Silence Of The Lambs being the motivational words on the back of the door
- Homage from famous femme fatale films being the posters on the wall from Fatal Attraction, The postman Only Rings Twice and Double Indemnity.
- Red lipstick and nail polish were used to create a sense of the woman being provocative, flirtatious but also dangerous.
-Empty photo frames and an upside down clock to raise questions
Filming:
After perfecting the setting an setting up the props, we began filming our first shots. We already knew this would be a challenge, as Nikita who was acting, is not easily able to get into character and keep a straight face, this is something we established when making our preliminary video. However Nikita soon got to grips with what she had to do and filming was underway. The first couple of shots worked well although admittedly were not shot in the first couple of takes, but it was okay because the practice helped us to improve. One shot that took particularly longer then the others to film was shot 3 where Nikita was applying the lipstick. This was due to a variety of reasons, from the lighting being off, to Nikita smiling or laughing and consequently having to wipe off the lipstick ready to reapply it in the next take, I think it was take 8 that we eventually got the footage we needed! Myself and Andrew took it in turns to film the shots and used a variety of angles from extreme close up to panning, to eye level and even point of view shots. Once we got into the swing of things everything started falling into place and we managed to do a few of the shots in just one take. I really enjoyed experiencing what it was like to film the opening especially as it was something we had put together over the weeks, it was great to see it come to life. We all had fun on set and behind the scenes which made it an easier working environment. The tripod was a lifesaver, we were able to film exactly what we wanted to see in the shot without the filming being shaky, which was greatly appreciated.
Lighting:
We closed the curtains in the room and switched off the light to create a dark and eerie atmosphere to mirror the mindset of the woman. We used a led light that we got from the media pod to shine on the shots when being filmed. for example, when Nikita was applying the lipstick, the light was on her face emphasizing what she was doing, additionally when the purple dress was shot in the wardrobe the light was on it to show the significance of the colour but also to brighten up the shot without having the whole room lit.
Pictures:
Throughout the shooting period, we all took the opportunity to take some pictures of Nikita in costume, but also of the set once it was laid out how we needed it to be, and also of each other filming and using the equipment.
This is a picture showing a trench coat and a rope. The trench coat in particular is a iconic prop in film noir so we made sure this was visible in some of our shots. The powerful words are a homage of those used in Silence Of The Lambs. They are seen on the tree as the woman is training in the woods. Our words reflect aspects of the main character. She uses sex to get what she wants and therefore is a powerful who inflicts pain on her selected targets. The words fatal and attraction were another homage of the film Fatal Attraction. below is a screenshot of the words on the tree that i took from the opening of Silence Of The Lambs to show where the idea originated from.
This is a poster of Glenn Close who starred in Fatal Attraction. This was another homage of the film, used for two reasons. The first, was that it was 1 of 3 posters of femme fatale's on the wall of this woman's room as their characters are similar to the woman we were trying to portray. Secondly, this poster was significant in the scene because there is a panning shot showing the main character copying this shot which looks creepy and creates an eerie atmosphere.
This was a simple shot showing the clock at 12:12pm. The point of this shot was to show the exact time which supposedly reflects the precision of the woman and emphasizes her particular lifestyle. also, it was purposely upside down to raise questions and ignite suspicion, because why would you have an upside down clock?
This was a newspaper we made so that the title actually had significance in the shot. The title being 'Local millionaire wins millions on Saturday's lottery'. This shows the intention of the woman as she circles the mans face. We purposely chose to have a millionaire win the lottery because its someone who has more then enough money, and who has won even more! This is believably the reason she has targeted him, because she is in a poorer position and he has won money he doesn't even need.
We chose to have a purple dress to signify mystery and power. This is the dress the woman grabs before leaving to track down this millionaire lottery winner to get what she wants from him. The dress was purposely hanging by itself to show the lack of clothes she has as well as to highlight the importance of this one dress. The dress is short and revealing which supports the idea that she uses sex to get what she wants, and is essentially a provocative character.
This is a picture of myself positioning the camera ready to start recording the next shot. Nikita was the only actress in our film opening, and myself and Andrew took it in turns to film. I really enjoyed filming as I had never done anything like this before (other then our preliminary) but this was much more serious. I also became familiar with how to use the equipment properly which will help me in future media lessons. The girl in the background is my friend Alisha who allowed us to use her room to film, she was also taking pictures on her phone of the set and us using the equipment.
Myself and Nikita were watching back a shot we had just filmed to check it was okay, before moving onto the next scene.
This picture shows Nikita practicing the scene where she is copying the pose Glenn Close did in the poster. This is quite a creepy shot and raises questions of why she is copying the poster exactly. Also the panning shot itself which we used to film this shot helped create an eerie atmosphere because the light is on her at the end of the shot and we don't expect to see her there, as it originally looks like a pan of the room.
Friday 25 January 2013
Soundtrack ideas
For our soundtrack we wanted something more seductive then full of suspense, to mirror the character of the Femme Fatale. After researching into different soundtracks on the internet, we then defined our search to look for soundtracks from Film Noir films which is our chosen sub genre. We then discovered a particular jazz sound that we are going to reinvent and are planning to put together fro scratch. To do this, we will be sitting in on the schools band practice and listening to the high school students as they rehearse. This will allow us to choose who we want to include, and then we will make a soundtrack of our own to use in our thriller opening.
Here is a youtube video of a piece of music that gave us inspiration to go on and make our own version.
Here is a youtube video of a piece of music that gave us inspiration to go on and make our own version.
Monday 7 January 2013
Certificate Research
After looking into what makes a film a certain certificate, on the BBFC website, I decided to research a couple of films so I could recognize why they are the certificate they are and how violent or horrific a film has to be to take it from a 12 to a 15 or from a 15 to an 18.
The first film I looked into was LA Confidential; certificate 18. According to BBFC, a film has to be an 18 if:
' Material or treatment appears to the BBFC to risk harm to individuals or, through their behavior, to society – for example, any detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use, which may cause harm to public health or morals. This may include portrayals of sexual or sexualised violence which might, for example, eroticise or endorse sexual assault'
Another reason I decided to look into LA Confidential was because of the film poster. It shows a femme fatale in a white dress, showing attention has been paid to costume and colour, as she is also wearing red lipstick which can signify power and seduction. There is also a glimpse of Hollywood in the background of the film cover, which from my research on Film Noir, I know is part of their usual settings, in addition to lounges and nightclubs. In other versions of the film poster, the woman is seen smoking a cigarette, which is a commonly used piece of iconography. It is elements like these that we have taken on board and creatively mixed into our thriller opening, but in our own way. Before studying media, I was not aware of the genre 'Film Noir' and had absolutely no idea what a 'Femme Fatale' was, but this is something I have really enjoyed learning about and researching into, because I've always been one to support the idea that women should have as much right to leading roles as men should, and not always as the victim.
Another film I looked into was Terminator 2 Judgement Day, certificate 15. It was given this certificate due to it's use of strong language, bloody violence and horror. Enemy of State, similarly was given certificate 15 due to its use of strong language.
Thriller Sub-Genres Research
Conspiracy Thriller:
This type of genre consists of a hero/heroine who are usually journalists or investigators who find themselves caught up amongst powerful organisations. These organisations are often brought down by the protagonist character, which reinforces the idea of good overtaking evil. conspiracy thrillers often play with the secrecy of governments and major organisations. An example of a conspiracy film is The Game, this film is about an investment banker who receives a mysterious gift where he must participate in a game that integrates with his life. As the lines between his real life, and the game become more uncertain, hints of a large conspiracy are unveiled.
Crime Thriller:
The hybrid between crime and thriller has created a new sense of suspense in thriller movies. Crime thrillers usually focus on the events that take place leading up to the crime, or once the crime has taken place and then look back onto what caused it to happen. There is usually a psychological aspect to these types of films as well. The most common story lines will involve, murders, robberies and heists. An example of a crime thriller is Inside Man, this film is about a robbery that takes place in a big New York bank, where all the customers are held hostage and some are brutally shot throughout the robbery. The police surround the bank and insist they will catch the robbers when they will eventually have to plan their escape, but the robber vows to walk out the front of the bank, just like he entered it, and he does exactly that.
Disaster Thriller:
This genre follows a group or persons survival when they are up against disasters such as flood, volcanoes, or in some cases, the end of the world. In addition, you can have the consequences of man kind possibly leading to the extinction of humanity. This genre also focus's on what the future will bring, if these devastating circumstances arise. An example of a disaster thriller is 2012, the plot follows Jackson Curtis as he attempts to bring his children, ex-wife and her boyfriend to refuge and attempt to escape the heightened change in the elements. The film includes references to Mayanism, the Mesoamerican long count calendar and the 2012 phenomenon in its portrayal of cataclysmic events unfolding in the year 2012.
Mystery Thriller:
This genre particularly focuses on the efforts of the detective or private investigator in order to solve the mystery. This sub genre looks at the circumstances of the mystery or crime itself in order to try and figure out what the clues are. The audiences usually take part in this and feel like they are part of it as this genre gets into their psyche. This brings more dramatic effect to the films as the investigation unravels. An example of a mystery film is Flight plan this film follows the journey of a mother flying on a aircraft her late husband helped design, with her daughter as they are taking the husbands body to be buried When waking up, the mother cannot find her daughter and a search begins on the aircraft. After finding no proof her daughter even boarded the plane, the stewards tell her she is delusional and have her handcuffed. Although the audience know the daughter is on the plane and has in fact been taken as part of a hijack and is hidden by her dads coffin with a bomb on timer.
Political Thriller:
This sub genre looks into the stability of a government and the reliance on a hero or heroine who must ensure the stability of the government that employs him in order to prevent bad events happening. Commonly used examples are the prevention's of war and US elections. An example of a political thriller is State of Play, this film tells of a journalist's probe into the suspicious death of a Congressman's mistress and explores the topical subject of privatization of American Homeland security and to a minor extent journalistic independence, along with the relationship between politicians and the press.
Psychological Thriller
This sub genre is implemented into all the other sub thriller genres. It plays with the audiences minds and produces suspense in the film because it reflects the main characters conflict being mental and emotional, it shows the mentality of a character and the thought processes that they go through. This is essentially what makes this sub gere full of suspense. An example of a psychological thriller is Psycho. In need of money a secretary steals $40,000 from one of her employer's clients and flees in her car. She ends up spending the night at the isolated Bates Motel rather than drive in the rain. The young owner tells Marion he rarely has customers because of his location along an older, less-traveled highway, and mentions he lives with his mother. He then invites Marion to have supper with him. She overhears Norman arguing with his unseen mother about his supposed sexual interest in Marion, who then suggests he institutionalize his mother, making him become aggressive.Marion resolves to return to Phoenix to ret
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