Preliminary Task

Moodboard

We have used the image of the 15 age rating, as this is the age that is appropriate for the viewer.

We have used the black hoodie as this is stereotypically linked with youths of today and this does not reveal the face of the character.

We have used the image of the kitchen knife as it is a good primitive weapon. The knife is iconic in the thriller genre so we are going to use it to annotate violence.

We have used the image of the torch as its a good source of low key lighting and is a great way of creating shadows and its a good way to build a tense atomsphere.

We have used the metal fence as it symbolises containment and security.

We have used the image of the dead body as this is a great shot of a dead victim and it only reveals the body of the victim.

We used the picture of the street light as it is a great way of building suspense as the face of the character is'nt revealed only, as the viewer can only see the hoodie from behind.

We have used the location shot of dundrey view as its a isolated location but has a great view over the city and at night it's a very dark place with a well lit city as the back drop.

We have used the image of the hospital wrist band as this is the way we are going to identify our suspect as this can be used to identify him.

We have used the image of the blood as this connotates death.

We have also used the image of the roof of the school building as this could be one of the possible locations.

We have used the image of the warning sign as it will be on the fence and will portray warning to the victim before the murder.

Codes and conventions of a thriller

These are some of the different shots that are mainly used in the thriller genre and that we may use in our own movie.

Film Classification

AGE RATE



 

We have decided to rate our movie a 15 as this allows us to use violence but we also need to consider that teengaers are at risk of copying what they see.

What does the 15 symbol mean?

No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a ‘15’ rated DVD. 15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age.

Are there any limits on what sort of theme a work can have at 15?

No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

What can a 15 contain?

strong violence
frequent strong language
discriminatory language or behaviour
drug taking

Can there be strong violence?

Yes, at 15 violence may be strong. It should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury, however, and the strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable.
Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable.
Easily accessible weapons may not be glamorised.

What about horror works?

Many horror films are rated 15. At 15 there can be strong threat and menace (as long as it is not sadistic or sexualised), although the strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable.

Can you see drugs in a 15 rated film or video?

At 15 drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse.
The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances like aerosols or solvents is unlikely to be acceptable at 15.

What about dangerous behaviour or things teens might copy?

We consider the risk of potential harm to impressionable teenagers. For example, dangerous behaviour such as hanging, suicide and self-harming should not dwell on detail which could be copied.


Narrative Theories

  Narrative Theory

Tzvetan Todorov

Tzvetan Todorov is a Franco-Bulgarian philosopher who writes books about literary theory, thought history and culture theory. Todorov believed that narratives were separated into 5 different stages.

He suggested that stories begin with an equilibrium (stage 1) where everything is in a normal state where any potentially opposing forces are in balance.

Stage 2: That there would then be some sort of disruption of the equilibrium.

Stage 3: A recognition that there has been a disruption.

Stage 4: An attempt to repair the disruption.

Stage 5: A reinstatement of the equilibrium.

Vladimir Propp

was a soviet formalist scholar who analyzed the basic plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irreducible narrative elements.Vladimir Propp broke up fairy tales into sections. Through these sections he was able to define the tale into a series of sequences that occurred within the Russian fairytale.

Vladimir Propp suggested that every narrative has eight different character types, these character types were:

The Villain - fights the hero in some way.

The Dispatcher - makes the villain's evil known and sends the hero off.

The Helper - helps the hero in their quest.

The Princess - acts as a prize for the hero.

Princess' Father - gives task to hero then gives the hero the reward.

The Donor - prepares the hero.

The Hero - reacts to the donor and gets the prize.

False Hero - tries to take credit for the hero's actions.

Claude Levi Strauss

Levi Strauss was a french anthropologist and ethnologist who studied hundreds of myths and legends all around the world, from that he found out that we as humans make sense of the world, people and events by seeing and using binary opposites.

Some examples of binary opposites:

Good v Evil

Black v White

Boy v Girl

Peace v War

Civilized v Savage

Democracy v Dictatorship

Equilibrium Theory 

The equilibrium is a theory that the story is about a normal state being disrupted but then resolved to reinstate normality.

Sound

Sound

Diegetic Sound - Sound that is part of the film, for example talking, weather and major events happening in the film.

Non-Diegetic - Sound we do recognise as part of the film world.

Sound Bridges -  A sound bridge is a sound from one scene that will often continue onto the next scene.

Parallel - Compliments the image the viewer sees.

Contrapuntal - Sound that does not not fit the image.

Sting - Musical punctuation.

Theme - A key passage of music linked to the subject.

Incidental Music - "Background" adds atmosphere to the action.

Ambient Sound - Providing audio continuity between shots.

Sound Motif - Repeated sound that comes to be identified with a particular character, place or thing, we hear the sound and it adds axpectation.

Editing

EDITING

 

 

The Terminology:

•dissolve, fade in, fade out or to black; wipe, slow motion or fast-forward; short or long takes; flashback.

•jump-cut, montage editing, post-production special effects.

•insert; cutaway, cross-cutting, parallel editing.

•continuity editing; the 180-degree rule; shot-reverse-shot; match on action;

eyeline match.

Editing For Pace

•What’s the pace and rhythm

of editing in these sequences?

Try:

•- counting the shots to gauge the

variety of shot lengths and variations in pace.

•- mapping the edit points in a diagram

to get the ‘shape’ of the sequence.

 

Editing To Disrupt

•to disrupt or challenge the viewer’s expectations:

•jump-cut,

•montage editing,

•post-production special effects.

 

Editing To Show Simultaneous

•to represent simultaneous activity:

•insert;

•cutaway,

•cross-cutting,

•parallel editing

 

Editing To Show A Passage Of Time

•to show the passage of time through visual effects or transitions:

•dissolve,

•fade in, fade out or to black;

•wipe, slow motion or fast-forward;

•short or long takes;

•flashback

 

Editing For Realism

•continuity editing;

•the 180-degree rule;

•shot-reverse-shot;

•match on action;

•eyeline match.