Opening Sequence - Pulp Fiction

1) What does the set up reveal to the audience about setting? Where is this place? What gives you information?

We first see these characters in a diner/some kind of restaurant and we can see some trees in the background and so they are clearly in a town or a village instead of a big city. The whole movie is set in various locations and if you watch the whole film, you do not see these people in the diner or the diner itself until the last bits of the film, so it is important to remember this place.

2) What does the set up reveal to the audience about characters? Choose one and explain HOW the set up reveals this information.

The set up makes us think that these two people who are obviously in some kind of relationship, are an innocent couple complaining about something that the male character is doing, which he says he is going to stop. This is a red herring as we are lead to think it is maybe a drug problem or a bad habit but then they go on about robbing places and the man says 'Remember that time we held up that liquor store?'. The woman seems very innocent throughout the conversation and that is what shocked me the most, she went from being innocent to this crazy woman in such a short period of time.

3) What does the set up reveal to the audience about interrelationships between characters? About their goals? 

We see that these two people have a very strong connection and are quite clearly in a relationship of some sort together. The very indiscrete goal they pursuit is the goal of getting as much money as they can from this diner by holding it up, but what we dont know is if they have a specific purpose for doing this, are they being made to? do they work for someone?

4)What is this ‘world’ like? Safe? Happy? Dangerous? How do you know?

The world seems very safe and happy to begin with, it is sunny outside, they are having a nice breakfast together, but then the innocent just falls as we find out that they are criminals and then suddenly there is a Dangerous feel to it, but in a way it still feels quite happy.

5)How does this film opening fit with the codes and conventions of a thriller film?

The main thriller convention that the set up has is the massive 'Narrative Retardation' when i first watched the film i did not expect that to happen at all. This also kind of goes against most normal Thriller conventions in which normally the 'bad guys' are normally concealed from us throughout most of the film. But their innocent act could be seen as a personality concealment. There is then another close up on the man's gun when he slams it on the table.

There is a close up in the first minute of the film. This is a very typical shot for a thriller film. The close up is of a waitresses face, who looks like a very innocent young girl. This could be a juxtaposition for the very non innocent that is about to happen.

Another very typical camera shot they take is a 'Shot-Reverse-Shot' This is to just show the two people in the conversation.

There is a Low Angle Shot that happens when he gets up on the table to announce that he is holding the diner up. This is to make him look intimidating and that he is in-charge of the situation at hand. 

Alfred Hitchcock Research

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, (13 August 1899 - 29 April 1980) was an English film director and producer. He used many techniques in the suspense and phycological thriller genres. This video will show some of the techniques he used in his movies.

Opening Sequence- Se7en Part 1

1) What does the set up reveal to the audience about setting? Where is this place? What gives you information?

The setting of the film is quite clearly in a city and is very urban. The first shot we Get is of Detective Sommerset in his flat getting ready for work, he puts on very stereotypical detective outfit and then heads out. We are then abruptly cut into a apartment where a murder has been committed and we see a dead body lying on the floor, this instantly sets a story line in place and also a question, who killed him? Detective Sommerset and Mills then exit the apartment and they come onto a street where we hear cars and see lots of by-passers, this is how we know it is a very urban setting.

2) What does the set up reveal to the audience about characters? Choose one and explain HOW the set up reveals this information.

We see from the very start that Detective Sommerset is a very old fashioned detective, he plays by the rules and has done for his whole career, which we find out later is coming to an end after this final case. This is shown first by his very specific and very stereotypical detective outfit, the main part of this outfit would be the long trench coat he has on him. It is then shown when the new detective shows up on the scene and Sommerset tries to put the young detective in his place by acting almost superior then him with his many past experiences in the field.

3) What does the set up reveal to the audience about interrelationships between characters? 
About their goals? 

The relationship between the two detectives in the set up is very rough, they are both trying to establish a chain of command between the two of them and both of them wish to be at the top of the chain. The two detectives come from two very different generation of detectives and this is what causes the problems between them. The very obvious goal for both of the detectives is to find the killer and stop him before he hurts anyone else.

4)What is this ‘world’ like? Safe? Happy? Dangerous? How do you know?

The World that both detectives live in is quite obviously dangerous but for detective Sommerset i think that it also quite lonely. We know that the world is dangerous as we see the crime scene with the murder victim lying still on the floor and this clearly indicates danger. But the thing that made me think that Sommerset may be lonely is that when he goes to bed the only sort of comfort he seems to get is the ticking of an old metronome.

5)How does this film opening fit with the codes and conventions of a thriller film?

The opening credits of Se7en are very clever and also very stereo typically thriller. The credits consist of bits of quite eerie footage but this i think that it is just the detectives making sort of portfolio on the killer. This would be a Red Herring this is the case.

Detective Sommersets face is concealed for the 20 seconds of the footage and this often used to keep a characters identity hidden, but in this case it is shown and we see that he is a detective.

The lighting is very dark to begin with at the crime scene, this gives it a more mysterious feel. This is commonly used in thriller films.

The Costume that Detective Sommerset wears is probably the most iconic 'uniform' for a detective to have in any thriller film.

Thriller Opening Idea - 'The Keyhole'

What makes a thriller a thriller?

Thriller is a genre of literature, film and television programming. It is a work of fiction or drama designed to hold the interest by the use of a high degree of intrigue, adventure or suspense.

Story

The most important thing of a thriller is certainly the story.
Steven Spielberg said that if there is a story that is worth telling the thrill come automatically.
The protagonist in these films is set against a problem – an escape, a mission, or a mystery. No matter what sub-genre a thriller films falls into, it will emphasize the danger that the protagonist faces.
Thrillers emphasize the puzzle aspect of the plot.

In a thriller movie, you need to keep the question of what comes next foremost in the viewers´ mind as the movie progresses. The viewer should be able to determine the solution at about the same time as the main character.
A story also needs terrific dialogs and surprises for the viewer, something what he is not even expecting.

Technical Conventions

Basically technical thriller conventions are specific camerawork, sound, mise-en –scene, editing and lightning.
To make the film scenes more exciting you need specific camerawork like reveals (zoom-in), dramatic angles. For making camerashots much clearer are lightning effects often used: e.g. strong directional lightning or low key lightning.
Also sound is a very important factor for keeping the suspense level high. In thriller films are tense music, off screen music, off screen sounds and exaggerated sounds often used.  But sometimes also silence is a good instrument.

For polish the movie in the end, editing is very important. With good cuts like parallel editing you can confuse the viewer and it could build the suspense level up. With the editing you can cause feelings and suspense in the scenes. This you could boost with chiaroscuro, over exposed or colour manipulation and fade to black because then the viewer don´t know what comes next.
What also can confuse the viewer is disorientation in time and space

Common Themes

Common methods and themes in crime thrillers are mainly kidnappings, revenge and heists. In mystery thrillers are investigations and the whodunit common techniques. And in psychological thrillers are mind games, stalking and deathtraps very common.
In spy thrillers is it mainly assassins and electronic surveillance and also threats to entire countries.

Characters

Characters in thrillers include convicts, criminals, stalkers, assassins, down-on-their-luck losers, innocent victims (often on the run), prison inmates, menaced women, characters with dark pasts, psychotic individuals, terrorists, cops and escaped cons, fugitives, private eyes, drifters, duplicitious individuals, people involved in twisted relationships, world-weary men and women, psycho-fiends, and more. The themes of thrillers frequently include terrorism, political conspiracy, pursuit, or romantic triangles leading to murder.

This is just a list of the different types of characters could be part of a thriller film. But the most important thing is that the characters have to be believable. You don´t even have to like them but you have to believe in them. You have to care about the character. They have to be interesting so that you want to know more about the characters background.

Also important is who is playing the role of the character; it has to be a good actor, who can represent himself and the role very good.

Setting

The settings of the films have to be well chosen. Places can also cause lots of suspense. 

The places have to be actual places, like actual cities and actual countries, because then the viewer got an own connection the place, and this can draw his interest to the film.
The location could be mysterious e.g. a warehouse, a dark wood or streets etc.

 

Audience Groups

There are lot´s of different types of audience. For our thriller film we need to define our audience group. 

This model of audience segmentation classifies the population not by class but by their personal aspirations.

Mainstreamers

At 40% of the market this is the largest segment of consumers. This group seek security un conformity and tend to buy well-established brands such as Hein Baked Beans or Kellog´s Cornflakes.

Aspires/ social climbers

This group´s motivation is status and they tend to buy smart high-tech and high-fashion goods which will help give them a higher status image. Louis Vuitton have targeted this market. 

Succeeders

These are people who have climbed the ladder and now want to keep control of what they have. Car advertisements which emphasise power and control are aimed at this group.

Reformers

This group want to make the world a better palce. They tend to be educated professionals such as teachers, doctors, etc. These people buy eco-friendly products and healthy foods. Although this is a relatively small group of consumers they have an influential voice with manufactures.

Individuals

These people respond to advertising which emphasises quirkiness or individuality. The enigmatic Guinness commercials target these people. 

In todays lesson we machted the Simpson's characters to their possible groups. 

Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He was born in March 1963.
His films have been characterized by nonlinear storylines, satirical subject matter, and an aestheticization of violence that often results in the exhibition of neo-noir characteristics.

Tarantino grew up as an avid film fan. While he training to act he worked in a video rental store. His career then began in the late 1980s when, he wrote and directed My Best Friend.

In the early 1990s he began his career as an independent filmmaker with the release of Reservoir Dogs. Directly this film succeeded. The Empire magazine called it the “Greatest Independent Film of All Time”.  

Tarantino’s is a very successful director and writer. He has received many industry awards, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Award, two BAFTA Awards and the Palme d’Or. 

One of his best thriller films are Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.

Tarantino is using very specific camera shots and themes in his films. In using these techniques, these films have become a part of their own genre, as Charles McGrath says in the New York Times - “His movies are famous for their violence and bloodshed; their blaring soundtracks; their offbeat, Pinteresque dialogue; their startling performances from actors you had almost forgotten about; and their encyclopaedic range of references to other movies, especially schlocky ones” (McGrath, 2012).”


Camera Shots

Crash Zoom
It is a quick zoom-in to a character or a situation of some description. It is often use to integrate a new character in a film. This camera shoot in Tarantino’s films are often used to call the audience attention on a specific part of the screen. You can see these shots in his latest film Django Unchained or in his Thriller Kill Bill: Vol 2.

Trunk Shot
The trunk shot gives the audience the illusion that they are sit in the trunk of a car, looking up at the action or dialogue between characters. First time Tarantino used this shot was in one of his first films Reservoir Dogs. The audience feels threated by the looming characters looking down at them. It let look the characters very strong, and very good in what they do. They can feel a little bit like the character sitting in the trunk of the car.

Corpse Shot
This shot is quite similar to the ‘trunk shot’. The difference is that the ‘trunk shot’ is kept to the trunk of a car and the ‘corpse shot’ is a point-of-view shot from the perspective of a body, everywhere else but not in a trunk. It depends on with which character you share the view; it can cause different feelings for the audience. We can find the shot in Kill Bill: Vol 2. 

Reserve Trunk
Shot It is a quite similar shot to the ‘trunk shot’, but this shot is filmed from the other view. So the audience is looking down on the person in the trunk or any other boxes, e.g. a coffin. In Kill Bill: Vol 2 is this shot shown.

Long Shot 
The ‘long shot’ is a shot where the audience is staying with the same character or characters for several minutes. The audience follow how the character/s perform actions and interact with each other. The most famous of these shots can be seen in Pulp Fiction or in the opening of Jackie Brown, where the camera follows the titular character of Jackie as she makes her way towards to her work place.



Theming

Gore
Tarantino is very famous for gore. A Tarantino film without gore has not happened yet. It is an aspect of his film that people flock to see, but the gore is not there for sake of it, it often has meaning and significance. 

Actors
The other major thing which is running through all Tarantino movies is the consistent usage of same actors. Tarantino says said he choose these actors e.g. Samuel L. Jackson, again and again. It is easier to work and making the film because he feels comfortable with them and these people understand his world, they understand his words and understands his working methods. Also the fans like this, they like the familiar faces. They can connect specific actors with directors.

Thriller questionnaire

Thriller questionnaire

What makes a thriller?

What is a Thriller?

What is a Thriller?

A thriller can be either a book or film but in both cases they are made to keep the audience on the edge of their seat. Thrillers are filled with suspense and breath taking action. Thriller is a very large genre, you can find many sub genres inside thriller, such as mysteries for example.


You can easily spot a thriller film by the many characteristics that it contains. These characteristics include certain types of camera angles and shots, typically a red herring of some sort, it often contains a fair bit of action but the main thing that defines a thriller is if it contains lots of suspense and creates a tense, eerie feel for the audience.

A lot of people will get Horror and Thriller mixed up but there is a difference between them.
Horror films take a very unsubtle approach to try and effect the audience emotionally using lots of blood and horrible creatures that do this, that and the other, where as Thrillers have a very subtle approach to it, leaving the audience guessing who? or what?

I much prefer watching thriller films as i like being able to try and work out what is happening instead of being slapped in the face by the directors ideas.

Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick (July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, and editor who did most of his work as an expatriate in the United Kingdom. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.

Stanley’s films were typically adaptations of short stories or novels and they were renowned for their ‘unique cinematography, attention to details to achieve realism and an inspired use of music scores.’ Stanley’s films covered a wide variety of genres such as : War, Crime, Romantic and Black Comedies, Horror, Epic, Science Fiction and Thriller.

Stanley started out as a photographer in New York City, where he taught himself all aspects of directing and film production. He started with just making low budget films, which was then followed by his Hollywood blockbuster ‘Spartacus’, after he moved back to the UK and carried on his career living and filming there.

Stanley was well known for his‘s Steadicams’s smooth motion effects’.

‘Steadicam is a brand of camera stabilizing mount for motion picture cameras that mechanically isolates it from the operator's movement. It allows for a smooth shot, even when moving quickly over an uneven surface. The Steadicam was invented by cameraman Garrett Brown and was introduced in 1975.’

He first used these effects in his well known film ‘The Shining’ Stanley said why he liked the Steadicam and why he wanted to use it:

‘The Steadicam allows one man to move the camera any place he can walk – into small spaces where a dolly won't fit, and up and down staircases. . . . You can walk or run with the camera, and the Steadicam smooths out any unsteadiness. It's like a magic carpet. The fast, flowing, camera movements in the maze would have been impossible to do without the Steadicam’

Ridley Scott - Director research

Preliminary task - final edit

This is our preliminary task final edit.

Bird's 3 Thriller film ideas

Key Codes and Conventions of a thriller film.

Shutter Island Set Up Task