Generic Conventions of a Thriller

In the shutter island poster you see a desolate island which is engulfed by heavy sea's and stormy weather. Also the fact that the picture is at night signifies that most of the film will be set in the dark, making the island seem spooky. We also see barbwire and steep cliffs surrounding the island, making it look impossible to leave. The title is red signifying that there is danger and the smears next to the title means there will be blood and probably some gruesome scenes.

In this poster we see a man levitating from his bed. He looks like he is under somebody elses control, maybe a paranormal force. The light look artificial and could be the light from a UFO that is abducting this man. The text confirms that it is about alien activity and the fourth kind is abduction. The poster also says that it is based on a true story which is a trick to make more people watch it and also to giving people an even bigger thriller.

Thriller expectations

In a thriller I would expect certain features that separates it from an action/adventure film and a horror film. The reason it's called a thriller is because it's meant to thrill you. This means there will be lots of tension and moment that make you jump. To do this films use spooky non-diegetic music, dim lighting and a good story. I expect the music to build up to something or to be really sharp and short, like the music from psycho or the shining. Thrillers are often quite predictable, making it scarier (e.g. paranormal activity). The method used in some thrillers like clover field and the Blair witch project, is to make the audience feel like they are in the same position as the main character because they have a camcorder so we follow them everywhere. We feel much closer to the main characters because they get so much camera time.

This trailer has all the things you would expect to see in a thriller. It's about insanity and someone who is being controlled by an evil force. This is a typical thriller storyline and the sound, editing, lighting and mise-en-scene in the trailer are what you would expect to see in a thriller film. I picked this example because has all the components of a thriller film. The trailer creates a lot of tension towards the end with the music that becomes quicker and louder with a screeching in the background. The quick editing goes with the non-diegetic sound and each shot is of something dark or someone screaming.

Prelim post production

After my prelim task I had to log the shots that I got onto the computer. First I took the appropriate shots from each angle. This made it easier when selecting which angle I want to for each shot. I then had to make the choice which angles I should use. I used different angles for most shots to show it from different perspectives, show more detail when the characters say something important and show the body language of the character. After each shot I had to find the best fit, cutting the previous shot at exactly the right moment to make the scene flow. Once I had finished putting the different shots in, I had to tweak some of the sound because on one of the shots you hear the door slam and then it cuts to another shot and you hear it slam again. All I had to do was cut some of the sound so that you don’t hear it shut twice. Overall I am very happy with the final product and I enjoyed using the new technology.

Lesson on "What is a thriller"

The thriller genre uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements. It keeps the audience on the edge of their seat with eerie non-diegetic sound and often dark and isolated surroundings. Thrillers tend to have protagonists who are unaware of the antagonists' true colours. This means someone hiding their true identity, perhaps pretending to be good to get closer to the main character without him suspecting anything. The thriller can be restricted or unrestricted. Restricted narratives are when the audience knows only as much as the main character does and unrestricted narratives are when the audience knows things that the main character doesnt know. Thrillers can include many sub-genres, pshychological being one of the most popular. Other sub-genres include Supernatural, political, crime, conspiracy and legal thrillers.

Preliminary task evaluation

I filmed in the studio. I filmed there because it had all the right props, including the doors that is opened and then slammed close. The studio was suitable for our video, as it was a normal room where you would expect this scene to happen. The studio is where the camera’s are kept so that also made it convenient to film their instead of travelling with a heavy, expensive camera. I took a big role in directing and filming. I filmed all the shots and worked with the actors to try and make it look as good as possible.

The lighting in this scene is artificial because the scene is filmed inside in a dark environment. The lights enable you to see the character and signifies that it could be filmed at night. This makes the scene effective because if its at night, it makes it more mysterious, like the context of what the two characters are talking about.

I set up the camera correctly, I remembered how to put the tripod up, I clipped the camera into place and levelled it by moving the camera around till the bubble on the stand is level and then twisting the screw up, this is so that the camera shots aren’t tilted. I then filmed many different shot angles from each point I filmed at.

I did wide shots, over the shoulder shots, medium shots, close ups. I stood at 4 different places with the tripod and camera and filmed lots of different shot of the characters at each place. I also had to communicate with the actors a lot so they knew what was going on and I also had to shout “Action” and “Cut”. I used the 180 degree so that the audience doesn’t get confused because if I hadn’t used the 180 degree rule it will look like the two characters keep swapping positions. This makes the scene look more professional.

I learnt a lot from this filming experience. I learnt that communication is key to being a good director and that everywhere you film, you should try and film all the shot you can film. Filming too much is worse than filming too little.