Poster analysis

Looper



Storyboard

Our initial storyboard

Title and font research

Taken

This film title is for the thriller Taken, a similar thriller to our own thriller. The title is very bold with its font,colour and size. The font itself is very wide and long in terms of width and the colours are very thick which makes it stand out a lot more than a thinner font would. The colour that is used is red, this colour is very effective because its the colour of blood and anger and various other emotions that relate to thrillers. The red also adds to the boldness as its very vibrant but not too bright that it takes away the thriller feature of the font. The font is very basic but the edges are very sharp which makes it look different to other titles.

Trade

This thriller is another one similar to our chosen crime thriller, this is very different to the Taken titles as its not as simple and has a lot more meaning behind the effects. The use of the lines just behind the font appears to be a barcode which could be relating to the film and showing people that in some way something is being traded for money. The font is also very similar to a barcode font with the shapes and edges, which is again adding to the theme of a barcode. The link between the storyline of the film and the style of the font is a very good feature to have and has definitely given us ideas about how the styles need to link with out story in our own thriller.

Seven

This thriller is also a crime thriller as our is, but its styles are very different as its a more gory and sadistic film whereas ours is a kidnapping. However the styles of this title is very professional and aspirational for our own. The white writing against the dark black background really makes the writing stand out even with the effect that erases some of the writing, it is still very clear to read. The effect used on the title is showing us that the film may have a sinister character or theme to it, which is a good message to give out to the audience. The shadowing of the writing is very subtle and light but dark enough for us to see that its there, which is another characteristic of the title that I think we should use when creating our own title.





Analysis of AS thriller videos

To help with creating our own thriller opening, I am going to analyse some other thriller openings that have been made by students so that we can see what effects and shots look good and are actually possible to do so that our opening can look as best as possible.

The first thriller opening that I am going to analyse is shown below.

I have chosen to analyse this thriller opening because its uses many different editorial effects that makes it look very professional and overall I think its a very good thriller opening to look at when looking at ideas for our own opening.

The titles of this thriller show that its going to bean action thriller and possibly something involving agents or secret intelligence because the font is very similar to films of them genres like the Bourne films. The colour chosen for these titles are very effective because they stand out against the very dark background. They are also positioned on the screen very well because they don't cover anything important and they still allow us to see the background without being hard to see.

The opening was mainly shown in black and white which is a very popular editing effect, but in this video it really fits with the genre as it brings a serious feel to film. It feels more serious because often colour can be used to show something fun or happy, so without any colour it can be used the show the opposite and to use it in a thriller is one of he best genres for it to be used for. This effect is also shown to use different time periods as its shown in the videos of the past terrorist attacks, but when the thriller goes back to present time the man and the following scenes are shown in colour. This makes switching from different time periods very easy and less complicated for the audience.

One of the best features of this opening is the way they have used clips of real events that have been shown on the news. This really makes the thriller a lot more realistic and shows how professional the opening is, even though it has been created by students. This also tells the audience what the film is going to be about which is presumably something to do with terrorist attacks, which I think is a very mature choice of plot as it could be quite complicated to actually create an opening for, but this group have done extremely well and have used these clips in the perfect way as the video still flows well even with different clips used.
The sounds within this opening start of very gentle and everything is quite quiet but there is a constant flow of music which doesn't create a feeling of fear or tension because its just a intense but calm feeling, so when the loud explosions start happening it really shocks you as its not expected at all. The loudness of the first explosion makes you realise that this film isn't going be a predictable one at all, which would make the audience want to continue watching if it was a real film, which is ultimately the main goal of creating a good opening sequence.

Our final idea

To show our final ideas we have made a prezi which is shown below...

From the feedback given from the class they have said that it is very positive that we have chosen characters for our thriller already and they also like the costumes that we have picked for them, this is good for our group because the actors and costumes are very accessible and will make the process of filming must easier. The feedback also like our storyline as they think the opening will keep the audience on the edge of their seats, which is what we want our thriller to do. These positive comments are helpful to us because we now know that the ideas we have will be received by our audience well. 

However the feedback from our class also showed some negative aspects of our thriller that they were either confused about or did not like. One comment suggested that the idea remind them of a different film, however the film they have suggested has only a small relevance to our storyline, so we our idea is still quite different. another comment asked a question which was "how are you going to film different angles of the girl being cramped under the bed?".  Although our presentation does not specify camera angles, we will be able to show different angles of her under the bed because we can still access under the bed an the angles can vary from the front, showing her face to the bottom showing her feet, so overall this is not an issue e need to worry about.
Overall most of the feedback given was very positive and our peers actually liked our idea very much, which has given us more confidence about our final idea.

Initial ideas

Thriller film analysis

The Sixth Sense

The Sixth Sense is a supernatural thriller as it features ghosts, dead people and paranormal activity. It is one of the most well known thrillers and best known for the big twist at the end. In this blog I will be analysing 3 different scenes in the film that have created suspense.

Scene 1
One scene that created a lot of suspense was the scene with Cole in the bathroom and the figure of a woman appears. When the woman walks past Cole realises someone was there, we can tell this from his facial expression and the extreme close up helps to emphasis the fear in his face, this then makes the audience feel the same because they now know that something big is about to happen. The non diegetic sound at this moment also changes from completely silent, to a high pitched typical thriller sound which increases the suspense. Also the way Cole turns his head around so slowly shows that he could sense something so he is aware that someone was there and when the shot shows his breathe is cold also informs him that a ghost was there and it wasn't his mother. This also shows the audience that it wasn't his mum, so they are also ware that someone dead walked past him, but they are unknown to who it was. By making the identity of the ghost unknown it adds even more worry because it could be someone scary or someone that could hurt Cole, so it leaves it to their imagination whichoften is a lot worse that the actual situation.

Another camera shot used in this scene was a long shot of Cole in front of the toilet. The shot shows him as very vulnerable and young as it shows his whole body and how small it is, which reminds us that he's only a little boy. The mise en scene shows Cole in a white vest and pants, this also adds to his vulnerability as the vest is often used when clothing babies and young children so its showing that he's of the age to still be wearing childlike clothing. Also the use of a white vest shows innocence and purity which juxtaposes the overall theme of the thriller as its very dark and deathly, the opposite to what the colour white suggest. The way he stands still and moves slowly into the hall shows that he is hesitating due to him being unaware of what truly is out there. This hesitation creates anticipation for the audience because as he moves slowly it gives more time for the audience's fear to increase, therefore making the suspense worse.

The scene continues into the hall and the camera shot is as though its from Coles eyes and he's the one walking down the hall which means we see everything he sees, making it more scary because anything could happen and there's almost no warning for us. The non diegetic sound also continues but gets a lot higher so its a high pitched continuous sound, this type of sound usually insinuates something big is about to happen, its like a build up to the scary part. The way the camera is held through the hall way is very jittery and shaky which could be showing just how scared Cole is by representing his view very nervously as we presume by the shot that he is shaking due to fear of what is in the kitchen. The mise en scene in the shots shows a very homily kitchen and delicate colours of pink and white, which shows some sort of comfort that Cole may have if he gets into the room, but it also shows the contrast between the dead person that is actually in the room, the room that looks feminine and safe, with the supernatural ghost in it. Also the way the shot shows the kitchen through a small gap could be showing how trapped he is as the boarder effect, created by the door frames in the hall does appear to be closing in, which could be representing how trapped he is. This will create more suspense because we are unaware of who is trapping him, but in moments to come we will be aware.

Scene 2

Another scene in the film that creates suspense is when Cole is at a birthday party and he loses his balloon which forces him to go up the stairs to get it, but whilst he is on the stairs he hears scary and mysterious sounds coming from a cupboard. The first scene that creates the initial suspense is this image which shows Cole stopping on thee stairs because he as heard voices coming from a ghost. The shot is a low angle mid shot that shows the young boys body and as the sot is quite wide it makes the by look even smaller than he already is. The way he is looking up after he stops waking does also suggest to the audience that there is something fearful at the top but as we are unknown to what it is, it makes us even more curios but scared as to what it is. This then adds to the tension making the suspense in the scene stronger. The lighting in the scene is very dull and has a lot of shadowing especially to the edges of the scene which could be used to draw more attention to the boy. The clothing also helps keep the attention to Cole because he is wearing a red jumper, but even though it is red it is not bright, its a very deep red, this could be to make sure that the scene has no brightness but still has a main focus point.



Another shot in this scene that continues the suspense is a simple shot of the door from which the voice is coming from. The shot shows the open door from the boys perspective because the camera slightly jilts which is suggesting its from his view because he was moving up the stairs. The colours are again very dull and faded with patterns on the metal section of the door very old fashioned and dated. The door itself is a dark brown and blends in slightly with he black hole inside. The blackness of the actual room inside looks quite sinister so it makes the audience wonder even more about what is actually in there because they cant actually see it yet. The sound happening at this point is the voice of this man getting louder and gradually more aggressive and threatening as the boy gets closer, this suggests that this unknown person may actually hurt Cole if he gets any closer which makes the audience fearful for what may happen to him.

 There is another section in this scene where Cole is shut in the room on his own and screams for help but cries out as though he is being harmed. This then brings attention to his mother that he is trapped. But just before she comes to help him, his balloon rises up to the light and pops, the loud bang that it makes can be used to shock the audience and almost releases the suspense that has been created throughout the whole scene. The main feature that created the most suspense in this scene was the sound effects, the demonic voice coming from that door was so powerful wen creating fear and tension and even when the scene was silent, the no noise was so effective.