A convention of a thriller means to conforming or adhering to accepted standards. In a film, elements that are common within different film genre patterns that can be seen or used in different films from the same category. Convention of thriller films are used to create the main elements of shock, surprise and suspense for the audience, making the film more effective. By having these elements creates a relationship with the audience as it seems almost realistic. Some examples of conventions within a thriller film are:
Female victim (usually young, attractive and clueless, making the audience sympathise for her when she is in danger)
Iconography (weapons, representing a dangeorus situation)
Antagonist/Protagonist
Diegetic/Non-Diegetic sound- gets louder when the victim/protagonist is in danger.
Low Key lighting
Slow editing
Enigma which creates mystery to the audience, leaving them with tension and ending up with shock.
Eerie music (creates tension to the audience)
Abandoned setting/dark/isolated
Chase scenes, showing typical thriller content, antagonist after the protagonist.
Hand held camera/POV
Timing of shots- slow(creates suspense) or fast (informs the audience that a character is trying to get away or run away from something)
A narrative is important because it is what the story is about within a thriller film, something that has happened in a story. This is the factor in the genre of a thriller which makes films so effective. Without a narrative, there would be no point to watch the film as there would be no storyline, the most important aspect within any type of film.
A narrative for a new thriller film
Creating my own thriller film; I was thinking of having the typical female victim in danger while the antagonist has specifically chosen to go after her. By doing this, would make the audience sympathise for her as she is powerless within the opening sequence. For the cinematography part of the scene, use a low angle when the antagonist is on the screen, this would then make the audience feel smaller than the villain and feel the same level of intimidation as the victim, making it relatable. To also make my own narrative effective, use slow editing and fast editing, this would make the audience sense panic and safety within the sequence. As it is going to be an opening sequence, the antagonist could capture/kill the victim, as she is captured away or killed with the antagonist running away. By having this as the end of the scene, would make the audience want to see what happens next and who else is going to be in danger.
At the start of this scene; there is a 'shot reverse shot,' the shot quickly moves from the girl to the other girl, this is to represent panic that they are feeling. The impact of this onto the audience creates sympathy, makes them feel the panic towards what the characters are feeling. The characters fear for their lives, this then also makes the audience scared as it is a life or death situation which involves a lot of tension.
In this scene, there is also a 'reaction shot,' when the girl is trying to break free when her friend is being tortured. The particular scene goes from her untying the knot she has been tied up in, (which represents the danger he is about the put the girls in) to then her friend screaming "I want my mum." This then adds effect towards the panic the victim is feeling, making the girl more panicky as she knows she will have to go through the same torture routine that her friend went through.
The timing of shots when the girl breaks free is 'fast shots,' to show that she only has a little bit of time to get away from the antagonist. This creates more agitation towards both audience and the character running away. It is meant to be fast shots to represent the fear she is experiencing, she is running for her life. This then makes the audience sympathise for her and then are eager to find out whether or not she will get herself out of this bazare trouble, or get herself into even more trouble.
Once she has found a safer place to hide, it then goes to 'slow shot,' as she feels more safe she does not feel the need to run about but just be quiet and hope for the best. As she left almost like a trale of blood for him, it was easy to know where she was and where she wasnt, as she touched a lot of walls, my interpretation of why she done this was to almost hold herself up right, she was so scared she could not walk properly and using walls as a way to stand really shows how little she knows where her future lies. As he is aware of where she is, he does not feel the need to have a fast pace either, so then he walks slower down the corridor towards the door in which she is in hiding. This creates suspence, he also walks slower to represent that he is a powerful character, he does not need to run after her as he is aware already of what is locked and what isn't. The victim of this scene is also using slower body language as she feels a lot safer than she did when she was in the corridor, using one lock of the door as a sense of relief, all she can do now is be quiet and wait.
There is also a 'jump cut' in this scene as the sequence moves from antagonist outside the room to then the victim inside the room, petrafied towards what will happen to her if he manages to open the door. This then adds effect and build suspence towards the audience, as the audience are unaware of what is going to happen to her, if the antagonist catches her, the chances of her being tortured even more now would be extremely high. As you can see he is determined and motivated to get her to torture her, defiantly will not let her get away she would reveal his sick mind towards the world, informing everyone of what she had witnessed so early into the torturing session.
For this post I will be researching the sound from a scene of the thriller film 'Sinister.' I have chosen this clip due to such dramatic tension it portrays for the couple of minutes it shows in which thrill the audience wanting to see what happens next. Sound is important for thriller films in general as it gives the illusion towards the audience that a particular scene is scarier than it would have been without any non-diegetic sound. By having sound makes a film more effective as it can create a bond with the characters and the audience through the sound of dialogue. This way; the audience can see emotions certain characters are feeling and relate to it in a way to whether they have been in a similar, emotional situation.
Sound techniques
Non-diegetic sound - throughout this scene, there is a constant background sound called non-diegetic sound. This makes the scene seem more scary, making it effective. The sound gets louder as the scary children get closer to the main character, showing that he is about to be in danger. This builds tension towards the audience. After the next child comes, the non-diegetic sound is very faint and then gets louder as they get closer with more music and volume being added. This is suppose to represent the thrill the audience feels at that moment This is effective as it helps to make a scene seem more mysterious and thrilling. This builds a connection with the audience as they are worried towards what is going to happen to the character of the victim. The audience sympathise for them and almost feel the experience with the character within the scene as they are watching it as if they are involved, making it an effective scene.
On-screen sound - this is where you can see and hear where the sound is coming from within the film. The sound and visual image of video player equipment going round in circles as it is playing. This allows the character to come back into reality as he goes to turn the video off, letting him forget about his paranoia. The audience is put more under the influence towards the realism of this scene as there are normal, day-to-day things going on and surrounding the character (set in a normal family house.) You can see the video player as the character turns it of and the sound of it stops, making it an on-screen sound. This is a useful technique as the audience can be more familar with the surrounding of the characters, making it seem more realistic and effective. By having sounds from the scene where the audience can clearly see, allows the audience to relate to a thrilling experience they have experienced if its in the same scenario, for example; in a dark setting of an unwelcoming house. If the audience can make a scene relatable, can be extremely effective as the audience are creating a stronger bond with the particular characters.2:16
On-screen sound - as the door squeaks because the father has opened it to see if his children are ok. His daughters door squeaks but the sons bedroom door does not. This builds suspense as the audience question if she is asleep or not as she moves around. The sound of the creepy, loud door makes this particular scene effective as it makes the girl ghost who is in the daughters room more scary and the audience sympathise for the frightened, innocent daughter. This sound is on-screen sound as you can see the father open the door as it creeks. 2:40
Silence - as there is non-diegetic sound is at the scariest part of the scene, the father carries on walking, there is a glimpse of silence before the non-diegetic music starts again to create more thrill. By having silence created tension as the audience does not know what to expect. There is silence as he eagerly checks for the safety of his children, this creates tension upon the audience as you want to see if they are safe, spshwoing the bond the audience make with the characters. 2:35
Dialogue - only form of communication throughout whole scene when the ghost child whispers "shh" to the daughter, by only having this as dialogue makes it more effective as it could interpret to the audience that they are too scared to talk, they do not know what's going on, so therefore they cannot make communication. There should not be any dialogue in this scene as it is meant to be night time, so children and parents should be asleep, ready for their routine of the next day. This shows so etching abnormal is going on as the father is walking around cautiously in his own house carrying a baseball batamd the daughter is staring at something she does not understand, as she is only a child she would not understand the full concept of paranormal activity, which would frighten her even more. 2:60
I think this research has taught me that sound is very important in any genre of film. I always knew sound played a role in creating tension towards the audience but I never knew the importance of it until I watched the 'Sinister' scene without any sound and all the difference it makes. Without sound, scenes from films are not as effective or creative, does not involve the audience and makes it confusing, does not not grab the audiences attention the same way as sound techniques which are used like diegetic/non-diegetic sound, on/off screen sound, parrallel sound, contrapuntal sound, voice over/narrative sound, silence or sound bridge.
What is cinematography? The name comes from combining two Greek words: 'kinema',meaning movement, and 'graphein',meaning to record. In film, cinematography refers to the photography within the movie.
In the hierarchy of a film set, the director's two key creative people in the crew are the art director and the cinematographer. The cinematographer is in charge of the camera, electric and grip departments. The camera department maintains the camera and has it ready for the shot while the grips and electrics handle the lighting. Electrics set the lights and run power to them and grips shape the light by using flags and diffusion.
Being a cinematographer means you are one of the most important people that will be hired for a film. The visual look of your film is heavily dependent on who you hire, having a different camera angle can interpret a whole different meaning to the audience.
(the art of photography and camerawork in film-making.)
This scene has a lot of typical thriller aspects you would except within a thriller film, which relates towards the audience. I decided to use this scene from the thriller film 'Nightmare on Elmstreet' as I thought it had a lot of conventions towards what makes a thriller film successful. It makes it successful by using different angles and positions to engage the audience and grab their attention towards a certain scene.The antagonist going after the protagonist making the victim extremely cautious and behaving in an abnormal manner. The start of the scene has Steadiucam movements and tracking positions, which suggests to the audience that everyone is well, nothing bad is happening; only sitting in a classroom being educated. As the camera moves around perfectly, instead of using handheld which interprets panic towards the audience, giving the impression that something extremely bad is happening.
This scene shows that the girl is very nervous and starting to become delusional, which explains why she thinks she is having real life dreams. The victim is starting to become frigity, while the camera movements still remain steady and calm. There is also a lot of panning towards the start of this scene, the camera is mainly remaining on the character of the victim but also having some characters and setting in the background. As she starts to suspect something is not going right in this dream of hers, there becomes more of extreme close up positions to show the fear within her face and builds tension towards the audience as there is more focus on her facial expressions and the background starts to blur. Known as shallow focus.
As the character starts to get scared and wants to wake up from this nightmare, all of the setting changes to what she fears to happen. There tends to be not a lot of close ups when she is in her nightmare, to show the horror in which she is situated in, which makes the audience feel sympathy towards her and become eager to see what will happen to her in this real life like dream. This is known as a long shot.
When she wakes up from the nightmare in a horrible scream, the camera is focused onto the background characters; showing their reaction to her behaviour, known as a extreme long shot, showing the importance of the worry all the characters have for the protagonist character. After the sudden scream, it turns to shallow focus on the character but not a close up, but having the characters a blurry figure but still seeing a slight part of worry in their body language. This makes the audience also feel a sense of worry within this scene, feeling sympathy for the audience.
Using these types of shots for the scene makes it very effective as it creates suspence and tension towards the audience as it is a very adnormal situation for the type of scenario that they are in. Being in a safe classroom, juxstaposing the fact that she believes she is in a dark deserted area in which she does not feel safe in. They are conventional towards the audience by always having the the camera view on eye level (Point of view) to make it seem more realistic towards the audience, as this scene is a highlyunrealistic scene to believe. Keeping the camera focus steady to create more effect and make it seem as if they are watching as a third person, in the situation with the victim, having to create a way out instead of observing it.
Mise-En-Scene Definition- an expression used to describe the design aspects of a theatre or film production, which essentially means "visual theme" or "telling a story"—both in visually artful ways through storyboarding, cinematography and stage design, and in poetically artful ways through direction. Mise-en-scène has been called film criticism's "grand undefined term"
-Settings and iconography
-Costume, hair and make-up
-Facial expressions and body language
-Lighting and colour
-Positioning of characters/objects within the frame
This particular scene is from a recent film called 'Deliver Us From Evil,' this shows a lot of thriller aspects within this brief clip.
The setting of this scene is very dark, representing a mysterious and strange storyline. The intrigued character Ralph Sarchie is questioning the one of a few possessed characters trying to solve what is happening within this strange scenario. During this sequence; the physcotic girl has been put into a prison setting, this shows that the girl has been resembled as an animal, being put behind a cage, which allows the audience to put into a perspective that the girl is in a zoo plot. An animal behind the bars in a cage. This also interprets to the audience that she is not in a normal situation, acting in-human. As she is being perceived as an animal, there is also a realisation towards the audience that the behaviour from her is also animal like; showing that she is out of control.
The costume, hair and make-up is very much thriller relevant as it the stratches that are made out on her face show that she has no control over what she is doing to herself, in this case it would be seen as self-harm but after being possessed, having no recollection of her taking part in anything that she had done. Her costume looks like it was meant to be a white colour, but has turned into an off-white, grey colour. This is meant to make the audience look at more of the face rather than being distracted by the surroundings, hence the reason everything is a very dark, boring colour, and the only thing you can see with detail is the face of the girl and her very detailed, realistic make-up design, which makes the scene even more effective.
The body language of this girl is all curled up, just like an animal, or even child like. I interpreted this with a child aspect as when you are a child you like to play around and you are very immature, this is what the girl is like, no care in the world towards how the police man is judging her. The police-man, Ralph; is standing very confidently, you can tell he is very confident in this scene as there is no fear in his eyes and by the end of the scene he puts his arm out to the girl, showing her a picture on his phone, even though he was aware that she was a dangerous spirit. He is also the hierarchy of this sequence as he is stood confidently and she is curled up in a ball at the side of the room, representing that the spirit that is in her doesn't really understand how to act with interactionality, doesn't know how to control the body language. Her facial expressions look very intimidating; as soon as she is introduced into the scene, she immediately hisses at the police officer, which represents she does not like him or want to feel his presence. She walks up to the two police officers with a hunch back and her hands stuck out, which represents a form of anger and does not slur her words, she shouts them, pronouncing them as well as she can, to show power to the officers and to show who is the hierarchy now, as the spirit is more powerful and strong than the two officers put together. I think she also uses a lot of mouth expression when talking, is to show the girls actual spirit trying to communicate, to show fear inside of her, but the evil spirit is more strong and is taking over the real spirit in which belongs to the body.
The lighting of this scene is very dark and dull, not so much where the police men are standing but where the girl is lying, to represent an evil presence that surrounds her. This then also adds effect to the face of the girl, as it is all focused onto her, which creates more of a scare to the audience as you can see every one of her facial expressions without being distracted by the background of the scene. This then makes it very effective as is creates more of a thrill towards the audience. The colour is set to be dark, mysterious colours to show fear, sadness, anger etc, instead of using neon colours or bright colours, which would be represented as happiness, which would then make the audience confused as it does not give a clear interpretation.
The positioning of the characters is meant to represent who is the stronger character personality wise. Showing who has the higher ranking of the scene. By the end, they are both in a competition to see who is the stronger character, as the girl stands up and tries to intimidate the police officer. As the police officer has a strong personality and is extremely curious to find out what is going on, he does not back down. After this scene, the frustration of the competition gets too much for the possessed girl and takes out aggression by biting the arm of the police officer, this shows that she is not use to having to retaliate towards people. The positioning of the character is to represent power, showing a lot of high angle and low angle shots; showing who is the most confident and who is uncontrollable and unaware of what is happening. Also, a lot of mom-diegetic sound is used in a lot of thriller films, particularly this film, as it creates tension to the audience, a lot of riding if sound and as soon as something scary happens, the music would suddenly rise, which would make that particular scene.
Research into mise-en-scene is benefitical as it allows me to understand the concept of it and why it is effectivce towards the genre of a thriller. It is effective as it can get an insight towards a part of a certain scene from a successful thriller and increase my knowledge for thriller films. As mise-en-scene can range from a various amount of things, it is very important to include them in my opening sequence, as they can range from what the character is wearing to then the setting of a scene and the mood of it.
The BBFC is an annual report in which provides reviews of films of which classification was decided to be represented of the specific type of film, over the duration of the year. The 'British Board of Film Censors' was created in 1912. The BBFC was created to create comfort towards parents in which provides them with information towards what they're children will be watching. It is to keep children that are underage of the specific age classification of a film safe and not affect them mentally. After this was created, this then made the whole industry of film-making more successful as you can be immediately informed towards what a certain film includes, and instantly protect children who are of a younger age being exposed towards sexual behaviour, extreme violence and also the use of illegal drugs. This was produced to protect the public eye, allowing the public especially parents to feel confident and at ease when going to the cinema and making sure them and peers are not exploited with any sequences.
How the classification works.
In order to protect mainly children from innapropiate and sinful content in films and videos and to give costumers information they might need about a precise media before deciding whether or not to view it, the BBFC examines carefully what film fits into what category before they are released to the public.
What does U mean?
The U symbol stands for Universal. A 'U' film should be suitable for everyone aged 4 and above. However, it is unpredictable towards what might upset a particular child, so making it as sensible as possible, making sure the whole audience has enjoyed their experience of watching a particular film. By having a film classed as a 'U' is meant that there is nothing that would affect a child towards they might not understand. There will defiantly not be any sense of sexual behaviour, any interpretation of drug use or any violent behaviour. In some cases there is some fight scenes, but is quickly resolved in a friendly manner.
Example- Princess Diaries (2001) is about a normal girl who finds out her grand mother is the queen of 'Genovia' and her grand daughter 'Mia' is the princess. It is a story about a normal girl suddenly living a famous life, where people treat her differently. This film is mainly a comedy as the main character 'Mia,' a very geeky character and is having trouble adjusting to the princess life. There is no sexual behaviour towards any scenes of this film, except from a scene where the most popular boy which she has had a crush on her entire life finally notices her at a party. They both go into a sort of shack like beach house, where you would expect a kissing scene but quickly turns into the boy asking for a foot rub, an example towards types of comedy that children enjoy. Parents knowing this movie is rated 'U' shows no sense of worry,profanity or violence. But that does not make it a kids-only movie. This is a family movie, a movie that the whole family would enjoy without any uncomfortable scenes.
What does PG mean?
PG stands for Parental Guidance. Meaning that this certain type of film is suitable for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable and unsettling for young children. A PG film should not unsettle a child aged 8 or older. Parents should consider whether the content may upset younger, and making the decision towards if more sensitive children should be allowed to watch it or not. A child cannot watch a 'PG' film without parental guidance if the child is aged younger than 12 years. This classification was made to allow minor explicit content towards violence and romance scenes towards children that understand what's going on, without any type of unsettling material in which will damage a childs imagination or upset them in any way.
Example-Frozen (2013). This film is about a princess 'Elsa' who was blessed with a power of ice, 'Anna' the sister of 'Elsa,' both loved the play with the advantage of her super power. As Elsa got older her powers grew stronger, more than she could handle. In one scene she accidentally injured Anna, which could affect some audiences which makes it suitable for parental guidance. She started to distance herself from humanity because of how dangerous she became. Always staying in her room. Her and Anna became very unclose, especially after they're parents died when they were overseas, Anna felt lonelier than ever, showing a sad scene of this film which could be potentially upsetting to younger audiences. One day was a ceremony, meaning everyone in the village came to the palace, which turned into a disaster for Elsa. Everyone found out about her secret powers and she ran towards the snow mountain. As her powers are interpreted to be dangerous, this then could be potentially upsetting for the young audience, as the two sisters are departed for some duration of the film, making this film liscensed as 'Parental Guidance,' making it comforting for people that may be upset by this. This film is appropiate because there is characters within this film like a talking snowman called 'Olaf,' and a friendly reindeer. It Is suitable for the classifcation of 'PG' because of the fact there is a scary snowman, snarling wolves, severe storm, men armed with weapons, and a character who in which nearly dies of death, these are all things in which a child could potentially become upset over, so by having a parent observing will make it comforting and enjoyable.
What does the 12A symbol mean?
Films classified '12A' and video works classified 12 contain material that is not generally suitable for children aged under 12. This age classifcation will inlove a moderate amound of explicit, sexual scenes but nothing that would harm the young mind the a young adult. It is adviced that no one younger than 12 may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult. Adults planning to take a child under 12 to view a 12A film should consider whether the film is suitable for that child and whether they are comfortable with them watching minor scenes they may not understand and may find upsetting. '12' rated films also include some drug use and more voilence.
Example- Hunger Games Catching Fire (2013). This film is bonbarded with voilent scenes. The story line towards this film is people in every district are picked to take part in the annual 'Hunger Games,' whcih involves extreme amounts of voilence and death until the last contestant stands. You are fighting for your life. This could be potentially be disruptive to a childs mind as effects throughout the movie are extremely realistic. After 'Katniss Everdeen' has now returned home alive after winning the 74th 'Hunger Games' along with partner in the same district 'Peeta Mellark.' This film is all about rebelling from the rules, in which the main character 'Katniss' does a lot, this could be interprettted to inspire young children that look up to that character, in some senses change their behaviour to be more like her. This is why having the classifcation of '12' is suitable as they are young teenagers, they realise what is right or wrong as they are young adults. By having parental guidance with someone who is of a younger age than 12, provides comfort if they are feeling frightened or uncomfortable.This movie is rated 12a due to its continuous violence and recurring death within the film, meaning that it would be inappropriate for viewers under the age of 12 as they could interpret it into an alarming futuristic situation as the film is meant to be set into the future.
What does the 15 symbol mean?
No-one under 15 would be allowed to see a 15 rated film at the cinema or buy/rent a 15 rated video. 15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age. Films classified age 15 are rated this way due to sexual behviour, use of illegal drugs, swearing, overuse of alcohol, and also lots of violent behaviour. Anyone under the age of 15 and watching a 15 rated movie could find it extremely uncomfortable and potentially upsetting.
Example- The Hangover(2009) this film is about drinking more than a sensible amount of alcohol in the party capital of the world- Vegas. Then the next day having to figure out what you did the night before and way. There is a range of immature things that children would not understand, for example all of the character waking up in a hotel room with a monkey that behaved sexually in the film touching gential parts and a viscous lion in the bathroom. The reason they got this drunk was because it was one of the characters 'Stews' bachelor party, making it seem almost acceptable towards what their antics were that night.People ages 15 and above enjoy types of films like this because they find it extremely funny, this is why this particular movie was so successful and then went on to create a 'Hangover 2.' This film includes an extreme amount of sexual preferences; for example, revealing breast and one man degrading the women by saying 'I married a whore,' and seeing a few 'sex dolls' I'm the bath at the beginning. People under the age of 15 would not understand the concept towards the humour of this film and could feel obliged to use it to other people, inspiring young children in the wrong way to do bad things as they are growing up. There is also some violence with as they are missing there friend 'Doug' and a Man Chinese man said he would return him back for money. Again, a concept in which children could not understand. If young children watched the 'Hangover,' could inspire them to see what's it like when feeling drunk or hungover, setting a bad example towards the younger generation.
What does the 18 symbol mean?
Films rated 18 are for adults. No-one under 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy / rent an 18 rated video. No 18 rated works are suitable for children. Contains extreme amount of sexual behaviour, violence towards each other and drug use. Anyone under the age of 18 could feel potentially harmed by the explicitness of a film, making them feel uncomfortable and upset. The age rate 15 and 18 seem similar but only in the way of what they include, he classification of an 18 is much more explicit and defiantly not suitable for young children.
Example- American Pie (1999) Four teenage boys enter a pact to lose their virginity by prom night. This is so,etching children of young teenagers may not understand why they are making a pact on this particular night and feel confused throughout the film. Lots of sexual content within the film, making it a very explicit type of film, involving nudity and sexual behaviour. For example, within the film I n two different scenes, a character 'Kevin' is shown gazing through a book called the "Sex Bible." In the Unrated Version he first learns that his enemy is the Vibrator; then he sees some drawings of sex positions. He done this to gain extra knowledge within the sexual world, which is something you would not want your child or young friend to be getting information about. In the picture of American Pie, you can see a girl leaning forward showing her clevage, and a man shirtless standing next to her, which immediately gives an interpretation to the audience that there would be sexual scene throughout this certain film. There is also a group of friends behind which shows that they are teenagers behind immature about the term of 'sex,' as no one wants to get left behind in loosing their virginity, so a friendship of peace within the sexual world is not something young teenagers or children should be making within their friendship group.
