Thursday 28 June 2012
Summary of genre research
From the genre research I completed, I found out that the thriller genre was created a long time ago evolving from thriller literature into thriller films, in the 1930s [the sound era] allowed thriller to fully develop with the use of sophisticated dialogue, in the late 1940s the genre toughened and the characters dressed down it did not necessarily need to depend on the excitement of the extravagant action scenes whereas contemporary thriller films tend to focus on well executed action scenes, car chases, acrobatic action sequences which did not have to have a plausible storyline. Some of the conventional camerawork and editing techniques used within thriller film trailers were fast pace editing which builds up the excitement of the film, fade to black which creates suspense and lengthens the trailer and build up the excitement and anticipation for the next scene within the trailer, dissolve transition and cross cutting which also lengthens the trailer and cross cutting of the whole film in non-chronological order intrigues the audience and leave them wanting to find out more. All the conventional techniques are used to intrigue the audience to hold the interest, create uncertainty, anxiety, suspense and adventure that will draw the audience in. Thriller trailers tend to create an attachment between the audience and the main characters by giving the main character/s likable qualities and characteristics where they cannot help but worry about their safety and well being and also bring across a certain message throughout the film. The mise-en-scene within trailer films tend to use low key lighting and isolated as it gives an eerie atmosphere, also it makes the plot of the story more plausible as it is more likely no one can help when it is late at night when most people are sleeping and isolated where not many people are around and the villains within thriller films tend to wear dark costumes to reflect their attitude and behaviour. The non-diegetic background music tend to either be a dramatic build up towards the end or very quiet and eerie to compliment the atmosphere created by mise-en-scene, the music choice is key to create the desired mood for the trailer so they usually have no lyrics to draw the focus on the actions within the scene. A production company that played a major roll in the development of the thriller genre was Hammer Films Productions, they are best known for a series of Gothic “Hammer Horror” films in the mid 1950s to 1970s, they mainly produce science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedy films and they dominated the horror film market during successful years. Hammer films tend to include excitement, sense of suspense, exhilaration that drives the narrative, sustained tension, surprise and a constant sense of impending doom to intrigue the audience. With all the information I collected from my research into the thriller genre, I now know what conventional techniques I could use within my own film trailer to make it clear to the audience the genre I have chosen and to create a successful trailer that would intrigue the audience leaving them wanting to watch the whole film.
Detailed Analysis: The Panic Room
Dissolve transition was used from the shot with the empty room to the room with people in, as the room was empty before it signifies the characters intruding the space. The dissolve fades the two scenes together which gives a ghostly effect which could also suggest that their time spent at the house drags on.
This scene uses low key lighting which is usually used within thriller films creates deep shadows and establish mood which gives a sense of mystery.
The setting of this shot was in an aging house which is conventional within thriller films as it makes the film more credible that the location/setting is haunted.
Fade to black transitions are often used in thriller films between some scenes which lengthens the time, it builds up the audience’s anticipation. Black connotes mystery.
Low key lighting is used again to creates deep shadows and create mystery.
The composition of the two shot used within the scene gives the male character subtle dominance over the woman as he is looking down at her. The female characters body language signifies she is a little uncomfortable and the male’s body language suggests that he is hiding something.
An action shot is used during the scene when the door is locked, the action shot lengthens the time which emphasises on the event happening, it signifies that it has a significant point within the film. The action shot cuts between different angles of the same event happening, there is a close up of the door locking connotes entrapment and imprisonment.
Low key lighting is used once again to create deep shadows and gives a sense of mystery.
The scene is shot so that everything is behind the stair banister, they signify imprisonment and entrapment as it gives the effect of a cage, this emphasises the action shot scene with the door locking which suggests that entrapment is a major theme within the film.
Low Key Lighting is used again to create deep shadows and a sense of mystery, it also makes the characters vulnerable as they cannot see everything out there.
Close up of the character’s face to show her reaction within the scene.
Canted angle used within the shot gives dramatic effect to signify unease as she knows that someone is coming.
Low key lighting is used again to create dark shadows to create mystery, it makes the characters vulnerable as not everything is visible to them.
Shallow focus is used to focus on the woman’s reaction but also to blur the shadow walking towards her so it keeps the audience guessing who it could be.
Composition of the shot where the shadow is standing over her makes her inferior to the shadow, also the fact she is laying with her back towards the person makes her vulnerable as she cannot see his/her actions.
A subtle high angle is used on the two characters to show that they are inferior to something that is unknown to the views at this moment in time.
The close up used on the two characters show that they are scared of something, as it is unknown to the viewers it intrigues the audience to wanting to watch the whole film.
The composition of the shot signifies that even though one of the characters is an adult, they are equally scared at the unknown thing.
Low key lighting is used once again to make the characters more vulnerable as it suggests that it is night time there are less people wake to help them.
Slow motion of one of the characters to emphasise the event happening within the scene, the slow motion signifies that it is a significant event that she is running against time.
Cross cutting which is commonly used in all film trailers to intrigue the audience to key events of the film shows who she is running from.
Low key lighting is used again to set the time of the scene which makes the vulnerable as it is night time and there are less people to help. Also the darkness gives a sense of mystery as you cannot see some of the characters faces.
Whimsical Non-diegetic background music, similar to a music box which connotes mystery and give a feel that something is different and not ordinary about the place. The music starts to pick up its pace to correspond with the editing when the secret room is shown.
The sound effect of the steel door locking is emphasised its security.
Detached dialogue from different scenes placed over establishing shots so the scenes correspond with the dialogue, this technique was also used on the young girl’s whisper of “what’s going on” over the top of her mum looking at the security cameras which creates mystery and suspense as the characters are finding out when the audience are finding out.
During the fast pace zoom all over the house, the sound effects of wind compliments the movement of the camera to.
The use of a thunder storm sound effect as the scene shows a figure looking through the glass connotes danger and suddenness.
The non-diegetic eerie sound suggests to the audience that something is going to happen soon but the characters within the film may not know it yet.
Floor creaking sound effect is conventional within thriller films as it connotes that something/someone is out there creating mystery and suspense.
Intense non-diegetic music builds up as the pace of the editing increases to build up to the climax of the trailer leaving the audience wanting more.
Friday 22 June 2012
Creative analysis: The Roommate
- Calm non diegetic music (suggests everything is normal)
- On screen text over white font over black background to make it stand out
- close up of the face to introduce the characters
- dialogue used shows the bond
- establishing shot shows location
- two shot and shot reverse shot shows the relationship between the characters
- over the shoulder shot shows relationship between the characters
- non diegetic music getting more up beat emphasise fun
- equilibrium disequilibrium narrative
- non diegetic sound effect correspond with camera movement and editing
- fade tho black builds up tension and suspense
- non-diegetic sound effect slowly gets more intense corresponding with the build up
- sudden realisation through dialogue
- close up to show emotion and reaction
- low key lighting creates mystery and suspense leaving the characters vulnerable as they cannot see everything
- ariel shot shows what the characters are doing but not enough for the audience to know who it is
- shower scenes puts the characters in a vulnerable situation
- door handle movement creates mystery and suspense
- lights going out signifies that something bad will happen
- extreme close up of the girl shouting in another characters ear to emphasise anger
- hand held camera to create a sense of urgency and panic
- on screen text corresponding with intense non0diegetic music to create suspense
- cross cutting to interest viewers leaving scenes unfinished to draw the audience's attention
- canted angle signify the way Rebecca thinks
- scream connotes danger
- fast pace editing to create build up
- heavy breathing creates a sense of panic as if someone is running away
- showing title of the film at the end to make it memorable to the audience
- fade in of mystery character to show theres more to the film than the trailer
- zoom to correspond with fast pace editing and non diegetic background music
For the creative analysis of similar products I decided to annotate the video with on screen text. The use of on screen text using a bold white font over a black or dark background is used within both the the trailers as it gives it a more dramatic effect, also it lengthens the time of the trailer building up suspense for the viewers. Close-ups and extreme close ups of the characters faces are conventional in any genre of film trailers as it introduces the characters to the audience making it more memorable, also it shows the reaction and emotion of the characters. Even though there was not a huge amount of dialogue used within the trailers, the sections that do use it shows the bond between the characters which also works with the narrative. Two shot, group shot and shot reverse shot are often used to show the relationship between the characters. The non-diegetic music sound effects that correspond with camera movement and editing helps build the excitement of the trailer ready to climax with a cliff hanger at the end making the audience anticipate more. Low key lighting is used within most thriller movies to create mystery and suspense, it makes the characters more vulnerable as they cannot see everything that is out there and there are less people awake during night time to help. Fade to black is often used to build tension and suspense, it lengthens the time the audience has to wait. Canted angle is often used within thriller films are it connotes uneaseness or disorientation, but within the roommate it connotes madness and signifies the way Rebecca thinks. Cross cutting is used within any genre of film trailers to show exciting moments within the film to intrigue the audience and the way they always edit the ending out shows that there is more to the film. Face pace editing, also another technique used by many genres of film trailers build up excitement and signify there is more to the film than the trailer shows.
It was demonstrated within the Roommate such as the scream. Screams are very conventional within thriller films as the genre tend to build up to impending doom and screams connote danger. Also the lights going out and the shower scene emphasises on vulnerability as you cannot always hear what is going on within the shower. The lights going out also allows the audience to know that something bad will happen but the character may not necessary know. An Ariel shot was also used to show what the characters were doing, but not enough for the views to know who it is, along with the costume of the hoodie covering one of the character's faces creates mystery and suspense. The roommate started off with calm non-diegetic music which suggests to the viewers that everything is normal but when the music starts to pick up its pace and get more intense in immediately suggests the to views that something bad is waiting to happen (equilibrium dis-equilibrum narrative) which is a conventional narrative as they usually have plots where the bad things happen to people you would least expect.
From analysing existing trailers for the genre of film I will be making i have found many conventions I could include within my own trailer to ensure the viewers can clearly acknowledge the genre of film the trailer is within such as on screen text, fade to black, cross cutting, close ups/extreme close ups, fast pace editing, dramatic build up of non-diegetic background music, low key lighting and canted angle.
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