Filming day

This was third attempt at filming as the first two days were littered with problems. the first day we tried to film the weather was terrible and therefore i could only get limited footage. The second attempt of filming we had a problem with the lighting as the sun was low in the sky so again i could only get limited footage. The third day went much better as it was overcast so there was no problems with the lighting.

I managed to get all the shoots of the car that I needed. I also had the idea to film some shots sat inside the car as ponit of view shots. These shots were easy to film and will fit into the opening quite well. We had a twenty minute period where it was not possible to film anything as there was heavy rain. The only other problem I encountered was at one of the spots that we though would be quiet the traffic was much busier than expected. We managed to get some shots done there eventually.

Soundtrack

Thriller opening - soundtrack

 

Possible sounds - For my thriller opening I could use a string soundtrack. I could use high pitched violins to create a sense of panic and chaos. I could also use a brass instrument that makes a deep low pitch sound. The low pitch sound would build tension during the slower shots. The violin would then add a sense of panic during the shots in the latter stages of the opening. This is similar to climactic scenes from some crime films and also gangster films.

 

For my soundtrack I am going to use a heartbeat sound at the beginning. I will use a couple of heartbeats per shot then cross cut to another shot. The heart beat sound will gradually get quicker as the pace of the editing gets faster. I will then change to a fast drum beat at the end of the opening to create a sense of speed and chaos. this is similar to a car chase sequence from james bond. In Bond films there are instruments over the top of the percussion. I could also do this as the scene reaches its climax.

 

Thriller Conventions

Conventions of the thriller genre

 

Camera work is huge part of the thriller genre as used effectively it can create the mood for the film. It is used in thrillers to create excitement particularly in action thrillers and suspense in all forms of thriller film. Typical shots in thriller openings consist of mid shots and close ups. These two shots are used to show the emotions, expressions and reactions of key characters. The close up shot can also be used to conceal certain things to create suspense and keep the audience guessing. Close ups can also be used to give a sense of claustrophobia, particularly in action thrillers. The composition and framing of shots is also vital in thriller films to create suspense and tension. The exclusion of objects can also have this effect. Camera angles are crucial in thriller films to show the audience which characters may be powerful and which characters are vulnerable. A low angle shot on a character will give them a sense of power and dominance. A high angle shot on a particular character will show vulnerability as the audience are looking down on them.

 

Editing is a key part of all films and TV and in thriller films it used to great effect to create tension and set the pace of the film. The typical transitions used in a thriller film include dissolves, fades and quick cuts. A dissolve can be used to link events together. Fades to black or white can be used to show flashbacks. A fade to white can also be used to show a death. Quick cuts are predominantly used in chase scenes or fighting scenes to show panic, pace and action. Editing can also be used to structure the narrative of a film. If it is non-chronological it can create tension. A dual narrative can cross cut between a victim and a villain.

 

The opening to a thriller has the same key elements to most films. The titles will show actors, directors and other key information. There will always be a key event in the opening to a thriller and an introduction to a plot. This will make the audience engage with the film and want to watch the rest of the film to see how it pans out. Key characters will also be introduced at this stage.

 

One of the most important components of a thriller is the sound whether it is diegetic or non-diegetic. The non-diegetic sound is used to build the atmosphere of the film. In particularly tense moments of a film a low pitch sound may be used to build suspense among the audience. During climactic scenes high pitch sound will be used to give a sense of the pace and urgency.  In thriller openings there is often no dialogue as the main plot begins after the titles.  

 

Mise en scene is a huge element of thriller films. Thriller settings vary largely between sub-genres. For example, action thrillers will tend to be set in urban areas where more props can be used such as buildings and vehicles. Supernatural thrillers will often be set in rural or woodland areas as those places are associated with scary goings on. Props in thriller openings can usually be a hint towards the plot of the main film. Weapons can be a big giveaway to a plot that involves murder and violence. In most films gender plays a huge role. Often, males are cast as the dominant character, either a hero or a killer. More often and not the female character is a victim or the person that the male hero saves. Costume is also important to the atmosphere of the film. A darker costume can add to a dark atmosphere.

 

It is common for the narrative of a thriller to be based on a revenge story or perhaps a justice theme. The narrative of a thriller could be a dual narrative where the action cross cuts between two characters or scenarios. This could be done to create a psychological effect.

Questionnaire Analysis

Questionnaire Analysis

 

In the results from my questionnaire I have found that most people watch between 1 and 3 films each week. A majority of the films watched by the people who answered my questionnaire were thriller films. This shows that thrillers are still popular viewing. My results also found that the most memorable thrillers tended to be action thrillers such as Die Hard and James Bond. This suggests that the most effective thriller films have plenty of action to keep the audience enthralled and entertained.

 

I also found out that the most popular setting for a thriller is an urban setting. This reflects that the most popular sub-genre of thriller in my questionnaire was an action thriller. Action thrillers are often set in an urban setting as it is more believable for car chases and crimes to take place in an urban setting.  Another popular choice of setting was a rural setting. This type of setting lends itself to supernatural thrillers as the idea of remoteness and loneliness often plays a part in supernatural thrillers and horror thrillers.

 

I asked people what they though made a successful thriller opening the most common answer I got was suspense. I think that people said suspense as it would make them want to watch on and find out what happens in the film. Another answer I found interesting was a dual narrative. A dual narrative would set the scene for the film and would also introduce key characters at an early stage. One person also answered that keeping identity hidden during the opening would create suspense. This would also make the audience want to watch the rest of the film in order to find out who these characters are and why their identities are kept hidden from the viewer.

 

Taking all the feedback into account I have decided produce an opening for an action/crime thriller. The opening will be a dual narrative between a victim and a villain. The scene will cross cut between the two characters. The victim will be walking on his own. For this part I will use some high angle shots to show vulnerability and will also show the villains car in the background. I will cross cut to villain driving down a country lane in a remote place. For this I will use fast paced editing to show a sense of urgency and speed.              

Organisation Prezi

Film Noir Mood Board

Pitch

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

 

How many films do you watch each week?

·         Between 1-3

·         Between 4-6

·         Over 6

Of these films how many are Thrillers?

 

Name 3 Thrillers which are memorable to you?

 

Why have you selected these thrillers?

 

How do your interests, hobbies and lifestyle influence your viewing habits?

 

Do you have an interest in any particular sub-genres of Thriller? E.g. Film Noir, Supernatural

 

What attracts you to this/these sub-genres?

 

What elements do you think make a successful Thriller opening?

 

 What order would you rank these settings as the most effective for a thriller?

·         Urban

·         Suburban

·         Rural

·         Woodland

·         Indoors

 

Do advertisements encourage you to watch films?

·         Yes

·         No

 

If so what type of advertisements do you think work best?

·         Television

·         Magazine and Newspaper Adverts

·         Posters

·         Billboards

·         Internet Adverts

Thriller Conventions

Camera Work -
Typical Shots - mid shots to show reactions and emotions. Close up involvement, concealment claustrophobia
Composition & framing - exclusion of objects to create tension
camera movement and angles - low/high angle shots to show power or authority
perspectives - empathy = 1st person

Editing -
typical transitions - dissolve = link events - fade to black/white = flashbacks - quick cuts = tension
editing used to structure narrative - non chronological = tension - dual narrative/victim


thriller opening conventions -
how do thrillers start? - titles - actors, directors, camera, idents - film company.
what should happen in the first two minutes - introduce key characters, atmosphere, plot introduction - key event


Sound -
how might diegetic/non diegetic sound be used? - music - atmosphere
how might dialogue/voice over/music be used? music enhance the plot, ambient style, voice over - better to avoid dialogue

mise en scene-
typical thriller setting, actors, costume, props, lighting -
props hint at plot - weapon
setting - realism, isolated
gender- males - authority/power/killer/hero
women - victim
costume - use of light and dark for atmosphere


Narrative - Revenge/ justice/crime
chronology- flash back-dual narrative to create psyhcological effect

sub genres -
techno, supernatural, psychological, film noir, sci fi, conspiracy, medical, political, mystery, spy, disaster, eco, action, crime, religious

Prelim Evaluation

Evaluation

There are a few things that I feel we could have done a lot better and things that we can improve upon in our thriller opening.

We had a small problem with the lighting at the end of the scene as we can’t see one of the characters faces in detail as the daylight is coming through the window behind him. However this problem could not have been avoided as the room we used was the only room available for us to film in. the room we used didn’t have any blinds or curtains so there was no way for us to stop the light coming into the room, however, we could have moved the table so we were not facing the light.

There was however problems that we caused ourselves that could have easily been avoided. One of these problems was the editing. We had a couple of shots in the final version of our prelim that jump onto the next shot without flowing properly. The first of these is when the character is walking into the room it skips to the next shot and he appears a few metres further on than the preceding shot. The second was when the character was leaving the table. In this instance we had the same problem in that the two shots do not match. We could have avoided this problem by taking our time and thought more carefully about the shots that we required.

We also encountered a problem with the number of shots that we had. We did not have enough shots that could be used in the final prelim as the person operating the camera did not hold it still. This meant that a lot of the shots we had were wobbling and were unsuitable for use. This could easily have been avoided as we did not need to move the camera during a shot. We also break the 180 degree rule once in the prelim, again this is due to the lack of usable shots that we had.

Overall I think our preliminary film was okay but could have been much improved if we hadn’t have made silly but significant mistakes. These mistakes will be addressed when filming my thriller.

Sound

Mise-en-Scene and Sound in Cape Fear

 

Sound

Diegetic, non-diegetic

 

What makes a good thriller soundtrack?

 

·         ALWAYS in a minor key

·         Strings - often high pitch

·         Percussive heart beat sound (usually in the bass)

·         Increasing in speed and volume

·         Nursery rhyme themes work well for scary

·         No lyrics

·         Chromatic

 

 

Possible soundtracks

 

Ligeti 16 voices

·         Very simple but very creepy

·         Very choir like

·         Good for supernatural thriller

 

 

 

Tubular bells - mike Oldfield

 

·          

 

notes on shallow grave

SHALLOW GRAVE - directed by Danny Boyle

 

Representation - linked to the idea of stereotypes; how an individual or group is presented

Use adjectives

e.g. Scottish people - proud. Old people - grumpy

How is gender represented in shallow grave?

How is social class represented in shallow grave?

 

Gender - keywords

Masculine, feminine, power, sexuality, aggression, submissive, equality

 

Social class - keywords

Education, income, professionalism, privilege, careers, wealth

 

 Key scenes

Social class - 17.14 - 22.56

Gender - 34.10 - 39.06

 

4 Paragraphs on representation

Mise en scene, sound, cinematography, editing

 

Cinematography

Technique - extreme low angle, POV shot

Connotations - power, intimidations

Conclusion - Boyle uses extreme low angle POV shot to represent women as powerful.

 

 

Mise en scene - social class

Technique - setting of spacious flat.

Connotations- appearance conscious order

 

Sound - Gender

Technique - David swearing Fucking bin bag

Connotations - aggression, violence

Men violent

 

Editing - montage of dead body, working life

Connotations - montages compare and contrast

Conclusion - Boyle uses montage editing to represent the professional class as responsible compare jobs to moving dead body

Examples of Thriller openings

How are these thriller openings effective?

Goldeneye

The opening to Goldeneye is full of action throughout. This sets the tone for the rest of the film. We first see the character on top of a dam. This creates suspense as we don’t initially know why he is there. Bond then seemingly gets trapped in a room with people pointing guns at him but as the audience know he is the main character we know he will get out alive but are intrigued to find out how. We see him blow up the Russian base but we want to know why he has done that and what effect it has on the rest of the film.

 

28 Days Later

Compared to Goldeneye there is a lot less action in the opening to 28 Days Later but in terms of creating suspense it is a lot more effective. The first shot of the scene is an extreme close up of the protagonist. This doesn’t reveal to the audience who he is where he is. We then see him walking round the empty hospital and this creates suspense as we don’t know why it is empty and neither does the lead character. The audience and the main character find out things about the new world at the same time. For the rest of the scene we see him walking round the empty London streets past world famous landmarks. This creates tension as the audience see one of the world’s busiest cities and recognisable streets deserted. This again has the audience and the lead character wondering what happened. For the beginning of the scene the only sounds made are made by the man. This gives a sense of vulnerability as it becomes clear he is the only man. For the rest of the scene we have a slow burning non diegetic soundtrack that slowly gets a lot faster and a lot louder. This builds a lot of tension as the music builds we expect something to happen at the end of the scene but this does not materialise.

 

  

Memento 

The opening to Memento is similar to 28 Days Later as the audience find things out at the same time as the protagonist. We do quickly learn that the lead character has a memory problem. However we know little else about what is going on in the scene and this builds suspense as we want to know what happened beforehand to lead to the events that we are seeing.

 

V for Vendetta

At the beginning of the opening sequence of V for Vendetta we don’t see anything but just hear a woman reciting the Guy Fawkes poem. Then we see what appears to be flash back of Guy Fawkes himself trying to blow up the Houses of Parliament. This makes the audience question why the heavy link to Guy Fawkes. The voiceover of the woman continues to talk about a man who she will never forget. This again makes us want to watch the rest of the film to find out who this man is. Later in the opening we see the woman watching the news on the TV the news presenter begins to talk about the Former United States. This poses the question as to what happened prior to when the film is set. We now know that this is a dystopian film. The news presenter then appears to say some very right wing things that are completely different to the Britain of today. This show that there has been a key event before the film was set. This theme continues as we see that there is a curfew in place in London. We then see the lead female being saved by a mysterious man in a mask. This makes the audience want to know why the man is hiding identity and why he is saving the woman. The man then talks but almost every word begins with a V, this makes us wonder why he is doing this. The two characters are the on the roof of a building looking at the Justice statue. The masked character then appears to make music play out of the speakers without touching them. The Justice statue is then blown up amidst a flurry of fireworks and explosions. This all happens on the 5^th of November, the same day that Guy Fawkes attempted a similar thing.

Prelim Planning

Ou et la singe part II

 

·         Character A walks down corridor towards camera (long shot-mid shot)

·         Mid shot of character A putting hand on door handle

·         Cuts to close up of character A pulling the handle and walking through the door

·         Cuts to mid shot of character A waking towards chair were he sits down and faces character B

·         Over the shoulder shot looking from character A to Character B

·         Shot reverse shot between two characters as the conversation is on-going (DO NOT BREAK 180 DEGREE RULE) eye line match.

·         After conversation, character A gets up and walks out mid shot

·         Match on action on his feet walking to the door and then out the room

·         Long shot of Character A walking down the corridor

·         End of film

 

Double Indemnity

How does Wilder show the relationship between the characters in the penultimate scene of Double Indemnity?

 

In the penultimate scene, Wilder shows the relationship between Walter and Phyllis with clever uses of lighting, shadows and camera angles.

 

When Walter enters the room he casts a very large shadow on the wall. This shows that he is the most powerful character in the scene. Phyllis does not cast a shadow on the wall this shows that she is vulnerable in and is the weaker character of the two. Also there is often a shadow cast on Walter’s face. This shows that there may be two sides to his character and also gives the audience the sense that he has the aura of a villain.

 

Later on in the scene when Walter is stood at the window the blinds cast shadow bars on his body. This is reminiscent of gun shots which will significant later on in the scene. These shadows may be Wilder’s way of foreshadowing events. The use of shadows and sharp angles makes the viewer unable to tell how big the room is and what some of the props are.

 

One of the key pieces of the mise-en-scene is the huge chair in the background behind Phyllis. This makes the audience ask questions about why the chair is where it is in the scene. It is in the corner of the room and not being used. The shows us that the chair belonged to Phyllis’ husband who was murdered. The fact the chair is still there could show that Phyllis is supposedly grieving for her husband when in fact she wanted him dead.

 

Another important aspect of the scene that shows the relationship between the two characters is the costume. Walter is wearing a dark suit which again has a whiff of villain about it. The hat that he is wearing also casts a shadow on his fasts which helps to perhaps hide his identity and again is reminiscent of classis villain costume. The suit does show that he is in a position of power in the scene. Phyllis is wearing a white dress. White is the colour of innocence which is contradictory to Phyllis’ recent past, however towards the end of the scene there is a drastic change in her personality when she tells Walter that she has feelings for him. Her white dress is of contrasting colour to his dark suits which reflects their contrasting personalities in the scene.  The darkness of his suit could suggest that he may be a dark person which the audience see at the very end of the scene.

 

Towards the end of the scene Phyllis shoots Walter but fails to kill him. After this Walter walks towards Phyllis. As he does this there is a high angle shot looking down on Phyllis from behind Walter. This shows that despite the fact that Phyllis is still holding the gun, Walter is still the more powerful of the two characters. He is in control of the situation and Phyllis is very vulnerable as the high angle shot shows. When Walter is stood up behind Phyllis in the chair the audience can see that is the more influential of the two. The low angle shot at this point looking up at him shows this and could also be an indicator that he is there with the intention of killing Phyllis.

When Film Noir was at its peak in popularity it was just after the Second World War. This was when, in America, males were not equal with females when they returned from fighting in the war. Females had the jobs that men usually held prior to the war. This is reflected in the scene when it’s revealed that Phyllis was using Walter to make money.  At the very end of the scene when the characters are together the camera is still looking slightly up at Walter as it has throughout the scene. This is just before Walter kills Phyllis. The simple factor of height also shows how vulnerable Phyllis is as she is much shorter than Walter.

 

To conclude, Wilder uses the conventions of Film Noir to great effect in showing that Walter is the more powerful of the two characters. Wilder uses shadows, sharp angles and a variety of camera shots and angles to show this.

 

    

Cape Fear

How does Thompson create an atmosphere of threat in the school yard scene in Cape Fear?

 

One of the most obvious ways in which Thompson creates threat is the use of non-diegetic sound throughout the scene. There are also very important aspects of mise en scene in the schoolyard scene such as the iron fencing which appears to surround Nancy. There is also very clever use of diegetic sounds when Cady walks past the fountain and when we hear footsteps from both characters. The costume of both characters also shows the contrasting ages of them.

 

The noon diegetic sound starts very early in the scene and is a slow, low pitch sound. This creates tension in the audience as they know that music is playing for a reason. The slow pace of the music reflects the slow pace of Cady in the scene. He never moves quickly but still keeps up with Nancy. One of the early shots in the scene shows Nancy in the schoolyard behind the fence which gives the audience a sense of entrapment, the fence reminiscent of a cage. Later in the scene we see cady clasp onto the bars with both his hands, hinting to the viewer that he was in jail very recently and has just been released.

 

Throughout the scene there is a lot of very important diegetic sound, the most prominent of which is the difference in the two characters footsteps. Nancy is very light on her feet as she is still a young girl. This shows the audience that she has an air of innocence but also that she could be very vulnerable and a target for Cady’s threat. Her footsteps are also very clumsy which suggests panic and that she may be about to run into trouble. This is very contrasting to Cady’s footsteps which are very organised and almost robot like. This shows that he knows what he is doing and that he is easily the most powerful character of the two. Another diegetic sound in the scene is the hiss of the fountain as Cady walks past. The sound is very much like that of a snake. This shows the audience that he may be a predator and that in this instance Nancy is his prey. Another example of diegetic sound is when Nancy is panting and puffing after running down the stairs. This lets the viewer know how desperate to escape she is and also causes the audience to feel sympathy for her.

 

In the part of the scene when Nancy is in the car, Thompson uses lighting and camera shots to show threat and Nancy’s vulnerability. Nancy sits in the side of the car that is darker. This could show that again she is vulnerable as many children her age may be scared of the dark but also it shows that she hopes Cady may not see her. She is hiding from him, implying that she feels threatened by his presence. Just prior to this there is a close up of Nancy’s face showing a worried expression on her face as if she knows she is at peril.

 

Later on in the scene Nancy scampers frantically down the stairs in a last ditch attempt to escape Cady, this tells us that she knows that the danger is increasing. This is followed by a close up of Cady’s groin which implies that the threat he is giving is that of a sexual nature. This is backed up throughout the scene with the cigar smoking which is a phallic symbol and suggests that Cady is carrying a sexual threat. At this point in the scene Cady’s footsteps become very slow and a lot louder which suggests that what he wants is probably about to happen. It also makes him look very menacing and threatening.

 

One of the most important factors of Thompson’s portrayal of threat is the stark contrast in clothing between the two characters. Nancy is in school uniform which again reflects her youth and innocence but also vulnerability. Cady is wearing light clothing which stands out amongst the dark room this shows that he is the most influential character in the scene and also the most powerful.

 

To Conclude, Thompson uses sound, mise en scene and costume very effectively to show threat and vulnerability.

Psycho

How does Hitchcock use cinematography to create tension in the parlour scene in Psycho?

 

 

In the parlour scene of Psycho, Hitchcock uses a variety of techniques to create tension in a scene with no real action in it.

 

At the start of the scene we see the two characters in the same shot; this is the only time in scene that they are in the same shot.  When the characters are sat down they are never in the same shot. This means that the audience cannot tell how far apart the characters are from each other. This creates mystery as there must be a reason Hitchcock has done this. One possible reason for this is to show an imaginary barrier between the characters. This barrier between the characters is obvious as we can clearly see friction in an awkward conversation.

 

In the scene there are some very clever uses of shadow and lighting. One example is that behind Norman there are some rather old fashioned candles whereas behind Marion there is an electric lamp. This again signifies the difference between the two characters as Norman has very traditional beliefs and values regarding his mother and Marion has more modern beliefs. In the scene Norman casts a shadow on the wall; however Marion doesn’t cast a shadow. This is interesting as one thing that does not cast a shadow is a ghost. This could be Hitchcock foreshadowing events later on in the film. Even though Psycho is a black and white film we can tell by the shadows that it is quite a dark room. This adds tension as the audience will know that in thriller films of this type darkness is used a lot as a reference to people’s fear of the dark. The darkness and use of shadows creates an air of unease on the scene. Also the fact that normal does have a shadow could show that he may have a split personality which is revealed later on in Psycho.

 

There are not many shot types in the parlour scene. It mainly consists of close ups and the occasional mid shot. The most interesting thing about the camera shots is the angles they use. Throughout most of the scene there is a low angle shot on the man. This shows his superiority in the scene. There is a high angle shot on Marion throughout the scene but most importantly when Norman is on his rant about Institutions and madhouses. This shows how quickly Norman’s personality can change and also shows how vulnerable she is. This creates tension among the audience as they begin to realise that the woman is the weakest character of the two and is vulnerable to attack.

 

One of the most interesting things in the scene is the use of props that definitely create tension and mystery. The birds are significant in the scene but also they are used as an icebreaker between the two characters and they start the conversation. The birds feature in almost every shot in the parlour scene. The two larger birds are the most eye catching in the scene and when they are in shot they are behind Norman from a low angle shot. The fact they are so high up in the room could suggest that someone is looking down on the characters, in particular Marion. These props are again showing the audience that she is vulnerable. This also gives the audience the impression that Norman might be a bit of an unconventional character and may be quite odd. This makes the audience ask the question as to why he has this hobby. And how much about him do we really know. Also the two larger stuffed birds are birds of prey, this could show that on of the two characters in the parlour scene could be preyed upon the most likely of the two is Marion. This could show that Norman is a predator or a killer. Another bird in the scene is shown in a close up shot right at the beginning as they enter the room. The crow is perhaps the most significant of the stuffed animals as a crow is a symbol of death. This lets the audience know that there will be a death and it creates tension as the audience don’t know how the death will occur but they will already have a picture of who might be the victim.

 

In the parlour scene in Psycho, Hitchcock uses very simple techniques very effectively to create tension. He also uses little details such as props very subtlety to create a lot of tension in a scene where little happens. 

Shallow Grave

How does Boyle represent gender in Shallow Grave?

 

In the dancing scene from Shallow Grave, Boyle represents gender in many ways using a variety of techniques. He shows the difference between the three main characters using different camera shots and angles and also uses all aspects of mise en scene but especially costume.

 

At the start of the scene when Juliet, David and Alex are sat at the table we can clearly see the difference in clothing between Juliet and the two men. Alex and David are both wearing suits which are not very striking to look at but are both very formal; however they are similarly dressed to a lot of the other male characters in the scene. Juliet, on the other hand, is wearing a very striking purple dress. This shows that unlike the male characters she has a wider choice of clothes to wear and as she is a woman, she might have a better fashion sense. It also seems like she has made more of an effort to impress and dress correctly for the occasion than David and Alex. Juliet’s costume makes her stand out amongst all the black and grey suits. This shows that she perhaps wants to be noticed by the men.

 

One of the most interesting shots in the dancing scene is a Point of View shot from Alex looking directly up at Juliet who is standing over him. Alex is lying on the floor and he is looking directly up at Juliet. The way she is stood suggests that she is the more powerful of the two characters. The camera angle looking directly up at her gives her a great sense of power over Alex. The camera looks slightly up her skirt and this suggests sexual power over Alex. Again at this moment her costume suggests that she is quite a powerful woman who may know how to get what she wants. The way in which Alex looks up at Juliet suggests that he does find her very sexually attractive. This could be Boyle showing that the stereotypical man does think about sex a lot of the time. The way Alex laughs afterwards suggests that he and Juliet are very close friends and this sort of behaviour is a common occurrence between the two of them and it is acceptable for them to behave like this around each other. This situation may be Boyle’s way of saying that not all women suffer from inequality as Juliet clearly is more powerful than Alex. 

 

Right at the end of the scene we see David getting really angry and very aggressive towards another man. David threatens to put him in a “Fucking bin bag”. This shows that males can be very aggressive towards other men. This makes David look very frightening and the bloke he is shouting at looks perplexed as to why he is being so aggressive. David is clearly doing this to protect Juliet. This shows that men are probably expected to protect and look out for women. This also portrays that David may be cracking under the pressure of keeping such a dark secret, he clearly wants to talk to the others about it but they don’t allow it. Shortly after that he becomes very loud and aggressive to a seemingly innocent man. This shows that men can become very grumpy and quite angry when they don’t get what they want.

 

Men are also represented, by Boyle, as being bullies and also very cruel towards people who they can sense have a weakness about them. This is showed when Alex taunts Cameron about not becoming his flat mate. What he said could be interpreted as him deliberately embarrassing Cameron in public. This shows that men do tend to put other men down especially in front of women to boost their own egos. Alex clearly enjoys putting Cameron down as it makes him seem more important.

 

To conclude, Boyle uses many techniques very effectively to portray men as being aggressive and somewhat animalistic. He also uses mise en scene effectively to show women as being very glamorous and well dressed.

Conventions of thriller genre

Conventions of the thriller genre

 

One convention of a thriller film is the use of non-diegetic sound whether it is to build suspense in supernatural thrillers or to add pace to climactic scenes in action thriller. The setting of a thriller varies on the type of thriller it is. For example many action thrillers are set in cities and Sci-fi thrillers are commonly set on other fictional planets. Also many actors appear in more than one thriller film. Another common element of thrillers is that they often have a hero and a villain. Some actors are regularly cast as villains in various films.

A common plot used in thriller films is the idea of revenge and vengeance. This allows writers to explore ways in which their characters can get revenge. Also a lot of action thrillers particularly successful ones often have sequels to extend the storylines and plots. For climactic scenes across all forms of thriller movies the editing and camerawork is usually rather frenetic.  

 

Casino Royale

 

 

This shot is a close up of James Bond in a town or city but we can tell from the buildings in the background that it is no a modern settlement. The facial expression shows us that he may be in deep thought about something. The stare from his eyes suggests he is looking at something that could be very important to the plot. The camera is looking up at him slightly which may lead us to believe that he is the superior character in the scene and that he may be looking down at someone he has just killed. This may be the case as we can see the sweat on his face and his hair is messed up. This tells us he has just been in a chase or a fight of some sort.

 

 

 

 

This is a mid shot showing Bond and a woman on a train at night. This is also a two shot. The shot may be set up like this so the audience get a sense of movement. We can tell by the costume that they are going to or coming from an important formal meeting. The wine on the table may show that they are coming back from a meeting and are having a drink. We can see that they may be sat in first class on the train.

 

 

 

 

This is a mid-shot of the villain in Casino Royale. We get the sense that he is the villain because of the way he looks. Usually Bond villains have something unique about their appearance. This villain is easy to tell apart from other characters because his eyes are different colours. We can see that he is partaking in a casino game from the poker chips in front of him. The camera is looking up at him which suggests he is powerful. Also the characters in the background are looking at him which suggests that the game he is playing is for very big money. The lighting in this shot highlights his face which again shows how important a character he is. We can see by the background and the costume that this casino is a high end casino and requires a dress code. We can see by his facial expression that he may be confident of winning the game.

 

 

This is an extreme long shot which is showing a very significant scene in the plot. The shot also helps set the scene. We can tell by the buildings and the boats that this is in Venice. The shot is focusing on the building in the middle that appears to be collapsing. This shot is used to show the audience the scale of the building. The lighting shows that it is the middle of the day which may be on odd time of day for action like this to happen.