My Research

Thriller Itself
Connotations of thrillers should include the following:
Setting - haunted house, grave yard, attic, basement, forest ect - this is symbolic as well because these are scary settings which would creep out the audience. This would also be indexical because when you see these settings in a film you immediately think that its a thriller or horror.

Camera angles - icon high and low angles becuase the director wants to show who is of higher status. Also, another common movement for cameras in thrillers is tracking because the usually chase the protagonist form the point of view of the villan.

Music - non diegetic - fast pace, really quiet and then sharp loud and unexpected, tense, most common instruments would be strings e.g. high pitched violins.
diegetic sound - glass breaking, screams, howls, witches cackle- the sound and music is symbolic to the thriller genre.

Characters- vampires, monsters, evil scientist (Frankenstein), psychotic person (Moriarty). These are iconic characters of the genre of thriller.

The conventions of the thriller genre are to do with sound and editing for example quick cuts and camera angle changes, music that gives tension because the have a fast pace. Lighting, especially can be important because of the use of shadow. Mirrors are also iconic props of thriller movies.

The thriller Genre is a film, or television program that uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main components. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods giving them a high level of anticipation, increasing expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and or terror. Thrillers are known to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced, these are amplified by plot twists and cliffhangers. A thriller is a villain-driven plot, where he or she creates obstacles that the male or female protagonist must overcome.

The main intention of thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats. The protagonist in these films is set against a problem – an escape, a mission, or a mystery. No matter what sub-genre a thriller film falls into, it will emphasize the danger that the protagonist by showing facial expressions through, mise-en-scene. The tension with the main problem is built on throughout the film and leads to a very stressful climax, which is intensified through the use of non-diegetic music and sound. The cover-up of important information from the viewer, is common in the thriller sub-genre  because it produces mystery to the audience. However, each sub-genre has its own original characteristics examples are below.

Sub-genres

Action-Adventure Thriller -Treasure hunting, search for a lost archaeological site, the world's lost meteorite, a mystery lost to time. Examples include: Sahara by Clive Cussler, Thunderhead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, Tyrannosaur Canyon by Douglas Preston

Disaster Thriller Any kind of disaster that can affect lots of people--a dam bursting, a natural hazard occurring because of global warming. Examples include Category Five by The Hurricane-Force Novel: Philip S. Donlay, Deep Fathom by James Rollins, Utopia by Lincoln Child,

Psychological thrillers - thrillers that play tricks on the mind as it is mentally related usually with social and emotional conflict between characters. Examples include The Silence of the Lambs by Jonathan Demme,
Memento by Christopher Nolan, Seven by David Fincher.

Historical Thriller- Thrillers set in the past, usually combined with other sub genres. This particular sub genre is quite uncommon. Example include Black Order by James Rollins, The Jester by James Patterson and Andrew Gross

Medical Thriller Robin-, where modern medical technology that is supposed to help people is morphed into something deadly. Example include Deadly Errors by Allen Wyler, Crisis: Books by Robin Cook

Religious Thriller - Popularised by the blockbuster The Da Vinci Code, this sub genre uses the rich and long history of religion to build stories with high stakes and deadly politics. Example include Map of Bones by James Rollins, The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry, The Last Cato by Matilde Asensi.

Serial Killer Thriller -This is an extremely popular sub genre of thriller. In this sub genre a serial killer is terrorising a group of people with horrific violence. The detective's goal is to stop the killer before he takes his next victim. Example include The Skin Gods by Richard Montanari, The Narrows by Michael Connelly, Seduction in Death by J. D. Robb.

Techno Thriller - In techno-thrillers, the technology drives the plot on. Example include At Risk by Patricia Cornwell, America by Stephen Coonts, Dangerous Ground by Larry Bond.

Therefore, a sub-genre is a type of genre!

Stereotypes in prim-eval

In this lesson we also discussed how gender is Re-presented through media's in particular the film prim-eval. I learnt that some characters could be atypically male or female these are e.g. a strong capable female protagonist or a feminine weak male antagonist. And stereotypical e.g. the strong, heroic male protagonist or pretty little female protagonist.

In this lesson, we learnt how to divide a video clip, into four or five sections, as this is what we will do in the first viewing for the exam, so that in the other three viewings we can write notes on camera angles, mise-en-scene, sound, and editing about the sections I have devised. we were set the homework to write an essay about the Primeval using the sections as a guideline for paragraphing. I also learnt that this will add a structure to my essay writing. The page below shows that I tried to find the four sections and didn't succeed, which means it will take practice to find the sections, and the notes on sections four as the other three sections are above.

Discuss the Way in Which the Extract Contrasts Representation of Gender
In the opening clip of Primeval, the director Michael Katleman represents gender through a mid-long shot of the male protagonist we know he is this because of his unshaven face and clothing of a grey t-shirt and jeans which connotes masculinity and therefore a stereotypical male. Also the female protagonist is established from a long shot in a JCB (digger) which connotes that she is an atypical female because the digger is hard, strong and angular. Her masculinity is reinforced through her non-feminine short haircut and wearing of dark clothing e.g. black jacket and trousers. Another long shot is used to introduce a character of an atypical male antagonist; the audience acknowledges that he is atypical because he is wearing a red scarf, and a pink top which connotes femininity as there is a weakness of being cold and the colour pink is usually worn by women. His body language reinforces this when he is placing bate on the ground as he gently puts it on the floor by stretching his arms out to balance because he is afraid that he might fall.

As the clip continues the audience hears a non-diegetic roar of a Saber-tooth the camera pans left and right quite rapidly blurring the audience’s vision connoting panic which is from the male protagonist’s point of view this connotes he is scared and therefore atypically weak. This is reinforced when the high camera angle from the Saber-tooth’s point of view is looking down on the male protagonist in the ditch connoting the Saber-tooth’s strength and the man’s cowardice connoting that the animal has higher status because it was in charge. The grey of his top could now symbolise being trapped in a cage or in this case trapped by the Saber-tooth. The atypical representation is reinforced when the female protagonist saves the male protagonist from the Saber-tooth distracting it with the yellow digger as yellow symbolises courage it connotes that she is an atypical female protagonist because females are not supposed to be strong, heroic, be good at driving or have courage. The diegetic drumming strings and high pitched choral creates a dramatic suspense because of the danger connoted. Also the diegetic roar of the digger’s engine and the non-diegetic roar of the edited animated Saber-tooth are the same volume connoting they are at equal statuses, so they are just as dangerous as each other. There is evidence that this trend in roles of a weak male and strong female continues, which reinforces the atypical representation, because, even though the male protagonist distracts the Saber-tooth from the women and for a short while, has control through a bird’s eye view looking down on the Saber-tooth acting stereotypically heroic, using his belt as a zip wire. The female protagonist runs after them and scares of the Saber-tooth with a riffle which connotes power because it is indexical to war because it has weapons in it that are linked to politics which refers back to power. This emphases’ her masculinity because she runs which is quite active and has a riffle which is linked to the army where there are mostly male solders.

The clip develops more by a use of a long shot of four of the characters the weaker –atypical female and atypical male are marginalized whereas the strong stereotypical masculine male protagonists are positioned in the centre of the screen. This connotes the importance of the characters given their position on screen, job title and status. A new idea has also been created which is that there is a decline in equality for it is male dominated this is conveyed through the number of men in ratio to women; in this scene it is 4:1.Moreover, Referring back to her costume characters have to take on a masculine persona despite their gender if wanting a job in this profession e.g. fighting Saber-tooth’s.

The last part of the clip mainly represents males and females stereotypically, for example the mid shot of Jennie connotes she is a business woman as she wears make-up, has her long hair tied up, wears a long white coat, a black expensive looking dress and jewellery. Whereas, the over the shoulder shot of West conveys a stocky masculine working class farmer as connoted by his costume of a blue long sleeved top with a green body warmer over it and grey trousers, also the setting of the barn reinforces the connotation of his occupation. Furthermore, the fact that he owns dogs expresses his masculinity as they are Alsatians big and are usually used for guard dogs. However, the over the shoulder shot communicates to the audience that these two characters are still at the same level of status, even though that Jennie feels as though she is in control and higher than West. The diegetic dialogue that Jennie says threatens West and so he turns against her with a gun symbolising his power. This is reinforced in the low to high slow motion shot from Jennie’s point of view which makes the spectator’s sympathize with her as she is fragile, startled and feminine, because Jennie thought that she was in control. The tension is built further from the gun shots making the dogs bark and the base increase with volume. Suddenly, the diegetic dialogue from the male protagonist stops all other diegetic and non-diegetic sounds and action as he and female protagonist save the day both pointing guns at West connoting power over him stopping him shoot Jennie, the stereotypical female. Then there is a mid-long shot of the female protagonist, male protagonist and the atypical antagonist comes into the barn late and picks up a spade to defend himself connoting lack of power. Nevertheless, the atypical women is still further back than the male protagonist with the atypical man reinforcing the connotation of the decline of equality as people still do not expect her to be strong even though she proved herself at the beginning of the clip. One of the last shots is hand held as the male protagonist is brave enough to edge forward and grab the riffle connoting that he is still feeling on edge.

Gender and Re-presentation

In this lesson we were shown a digital image of a photograph of Kate Moss topless posing for the camera. Then the boys were asked what they thought of the photo for femininity and to write it on a piece of paper and the girls to do the same on another piece of paper. We were then asked what we thought the boys would say about the photo and the boys were asked the same about the girls. Both groups were surprised of what the other group said. This is because of stereotypes the media have Re-presented to us. For example pink is usually a feminine colour whereas blue is supposed to be a masculine colour, this is what we have learnt through our cultural background so where we are from which contributes to what media we see.

Next we were given this activity to decide what advertising was best to advertise to the different genders.

Lastly, I then learnt that the opposite to stereotypical  is atypical.

Loua's Thriller Openings!

Evaluation!

I think Loua's analysis was brief and to the point perhaps a bit too brief. However, the videos embedded were a brilliant idea but its a shame that "Silence of the lambs" doesn't work. Nevertheless I did learn a lot from from her opinion this is below, but I also put a few points about what I thought about the films as well.

Shutter (2004)

Mise en scene - Lighting In the backgrounds of credits photos are being developed in a dark  room so the lenses of the camera are red this connotes danger and blood. Even though the facial expressions are happy in the photos it adds a sense of eeriness as something is yet to happen.

Camera angles - The director uses mostly of close up canted angles on the photos being developed zooming in and out so the audience can see the characters of the film in detail, this is important because we know that a protagonist will be a photographer. The camera produces short flashes at each photograph. These flashes of photographs increase pace adding suspense.

Editing - The film is edited with some sharp cuts that creates a climax as they flicker across the screen increasing the suspense and other cuts that fade or ripple into each other which increases suspense. And in the credits the titles are over the clip the font is in white small capitals which really contrasts against the red dark background.

Sound – at the very beginning there is a piano playing very high eerie pitched notes but as this non diegetic music keeps going it turns into a high-pitched, and screechy sound that increases in speed, pitch and volume as the introduction continues. This reinforces the tension as intrigues the viewers to keep watching.

Panic Room

Camera:

Generally most of the camera angles are a bird’s eye view of New York City it establishes the setting and time of the film. The bird’s eye view also makes the cars and people seem really small from far away connoting that humans look weak and insecure. The camera also pans across skyscrapers; it shows the inactivity from above which makes the audience feel isolated to the "real world" as there is no movement inside the buildings.

Titles:

The film must have been edited so that it was three dimensional titles was probably computer animated over the clip so that they would stand out. The titles are grey, bold, thin and 3D as they stand high in the air strong between the sky-scrapers. The fact that they are grey could connote jail and cages because someone’s been trapped ect. When the title Panic Room comes up the non diegetic ticking starts which could connote panicking of time or height because of how high up the camera is.

Sound:

The non diegetic music used throughout the opening sequence is the main point of interest within this film because it tells the audience that it is an action thriller because it has a low slow base kind of hum which creates suspense. As the wide shot of the New York Skyscrapers are also used in Sex and the City the music creates a completely different atmosphere. This is reinforced when the ticking starts as the use of rising tempos throughout the scene add to this feeling of suspense, which is important because it gives the impression to the audience that something bad is going to happen. There is no Diegetic sound heard in the beginning of the film.

Mise-en-Scene:

The mise-en-scene denotes what normally happens on a day-to-day life in New York from above, which includes yellow cabs and business-dressed individuals. This also increases the anticipation because the people in shot are not aware of any danger the viewer knows this because of their body language and facial expressions are relaxed, however the audience is aware.

Silence of the lambs

Camera:

Due to the tracking of the woman through the forest, it shows the audience that she is the female atypical protagonist because it starts off with her. The fact that it is fast paced shows that This is shown through the fast paced tracking connoting that she is running fast, and this sport ordinarily connotes masculinity

It also pans across the forest at the beginning of the sequence which gives the impression of isolation. This pan shot also reinforces her atypical masculinity character because she is alone in the woods, which could connote the emotions of the female protagonist.

The low to high shot of the tree with signs, signify that the people looking up to them would be weak as they say “Hurt”, “agony”, “pain” and “Love it” this could connotes the setting of an training base for the FBI which is connoted through the hat.

As the clip continues the camera angles range of mid long shots of other characters and mid close ups of the girl reinforcing that she is the female protagonist.

Sound:

In the opening of the film, leading the audience up to a false sense of security as the music is only establishing the characters and setting with non-diegetic music that is soothing but there is also background sounds of people working physically for example her heavy breathing connoting she is running but also gun shots of people training and gates opening reinforcing the setting. There is also diegetic dialogue with a male antagonist, foot-steps and the lifts sound all on screen sounds.

Editing:
At the beginning, the shots are seen as fast paced because the editing is abrupt and jagged to match the speed of her running; however when she begins to slow down the editing does. However the lifts journey is cut short to speed things up a bit, and the cuts flow well with the music.

Mise-en-scene:
Clothing used within the scene introduces the main character effectively by showing that she is part of the FBI e.g. the male antagonists hat has the signs “FBI” this signifies that the characters are part of the police force in the government as it stands federal bureau of investigation. Body language is relaxed and facial expressions are normal which connotes all is fine at the beginning – equilibrium the traditional starting of a Hollywood studio film.

Notes On Binary Opposition

In this lesson I learnt about binary opposition and how one thing cannot exist without the opposite for example love and hate or hot and cold. I learnt that all people have different views and preferences as I prefer hot to cold and others prefer cold to hot and it all depends on what experiences we have had. Also people look at the meanings of words differently for instance strong can be interpreted in two different ways strong physically or strong taste. Therefore people wouldn't prefer to have a strong tea or strong curry but they would prefer to be strong so it depends on the way people look at it through interpretation as well.

For home work we were asked to find a media test where binary opposition was found on the right there is two adverts one for Camp America and the other for Get Australia which are for summer camps and both use binary opposition -
As you can see there are the words "Work & Play" audiences wouldn't know what work was without play and vise versa. In addition, there is "travels and arrivals" People wouldn't know what Arrival was without Travel and the other way round.





We were given this sheet to understand more about Binary Oppersition now I know that we intepret things differently because of our culture and beliefs these are called ideological ideas.



Thriller Opening 3

Film Title: Shutter Island Director: Martin Scorsese
	Technique	Effect (Analysis)
Camera – distance, angle, movement…	Long Establishing shot Long shot Over the shoulder shot Mid long shot Close up looking out the window Mid long shot Close up of sink as teddy uses the tape Close up point of view Mid long shot of teddy’s back to the camera Long shot–zoom in  pan right Mid Shot Teddy – new partner chuck Aule Long through shot- Reverse–mid Shot Teddy wired gate. Mid shot of both characters eye level on the right showing the sea in the back ground Mid shot Pan left ted and chuck SRS Pan right Close up of Teddy During the Flash back Eye level mid close up Ped Down Wife SRS Close up of record player wife Wife smiling close up SRS out of Flash Back sea water Wife smiling Close up on Teddy Mid close up of chuck and ted Pan left both pan right Mid close up eye to eye Long mid shot of detectives Long establishing shot zooms in Mid shot with the captain + detectives SRS Mid Close up of chuck and Ted Mid shot with the captain+ detectives Closer shot of the island still zooming in Crab left follows detectives and security guards Close up of Deputy Marshall badge Mid-shot of head security guard eye to eye level SRS detectives SRS of Detectives and other security guards Mid shot of ted chuck and the head security guard in the car	Establishes the setting of the boat in the middle of the ocean which is moving forward Establishes the Character Teddy Daniels and tells us of his personality sea sick or is it his phobia of water As he looks in the mirror the audience views the back of his head and his face Teddy Characteristics - trying to stop being sick Shows facial expression Mise-en-scene (1) in detail. Connotes that Teddy doesn’t want anyone to see him ill. Denotes Teddy’s action of washing his hands Teddy is supposedly looking in the mirror again so the audience views what he sees in the mirror instead of the reflection of the mirror again Connotes that Teddy doesn’t want anyone to see him ill. Follows Teddy coming out of the rest room puts his hat and coat on and goes towards the gate of the deck. Shows Teddy’s POV reaction of his new partner Mise-en-scene (2) facial expression the wired gate connotes caged trapped and locked up. Connotes they are both at equal levels in status even though Teddy is the boss he respects his new partner and shows the speed at which the boat is going They are having a conversation and the director wanted to show who was talking and when. Chuck asked him whether he was married and as his wife had died this was very personal to him Mise-en-scene (3) Facial expression as he remembers her His wife puts his tie on him–the closeness of the camera shot connotes how close they were. She’s on tip toes connotes how happy they were because the music must have been jolly but edited to be eerie Connotes the effect of water on the couple seems to separate the memory to reality predicts future possibility Mise-en-scene (4) facial expression Shows closeness of partners already More conversation realistic when you first meet someone As they arrive at the island POV what they and the viewers see next Viewers see the characters POV as the boat gets closer the camera gets closer Conversation with captain Viewers see the characters POV as the boat gets closer the camera gets closer The detectives are technically following the security guards POV Connotes authority and pride as he was holding the badge Same status even though Teddy has a badge conversation Tense as these security guards have rifles and there are so many security guards
Editing – speed, style…	Flash back Cross cutting Jump and cut good pace Chuck blurred Pace or speed on the boat is slow Cut out docking the boat and getting off it Pace speeds up once on the island	Makes the audience sympathise with Teddy because of his memory of his wife Makes conversations more realistic Focus on Teddy – male protagonist before flash back Traveling takes time and they needed to fit the conversation in To speed up the process of filming Work starts for the detectives
Sound – effects, musical score…	Non Diegetic sound Diegetic sea water, chains, dialogue	To create Tension and suspense and speed up pace or slow down pace to create climax Eerie feel in the flash back like teddy was daydreaming Make it more realistic and the chains help predict the future of being locked
Mise-en-scene – props, costume, setting, lighting, colour…	Facial Expressions 1) 2) 3) 4)     Body language Props/costume Lighting	Ill worried frustrated that he’s ill on the first day of meeting his new partner Still ill but Blank not ecstatic and not disheartened Sad swallows creates sympathy Looks down Mostly relaxed but sometimes teddy is slouched connoting him being ill The badge and uniform connotes authority the guns connote power and suites with ties connotes business men Quite dark inside the boat it a little lighter outside but still cloudy as “there’s a storm coming”
Titles – font, colour, placement, over black / over clip…	“Shutter Island” Big Bold grey/silver capital letters Centre over black “Boston Harbor Island, 1954” smaller capital grey/silver letters centre bottom of the screen black back ground still	Silver connotes chains, bars, locked up – Jail – dark – grey – dull boring stuck in a cell –no freedom shutter = shut down not let out establishes the setting for most of the film. Establishes setting and date – Silver/grey connotes chains, bars, locked up – Jail – dark dull boring stuck in a cell –no freedom

Thriller Opening Two

The shining

Camera angles range at the very beginning as it canted right while zooming in to bird’s eye view, establishing the uninhabited setting. However it then just consists of mostly long shots and mid shots, introducing the characters; Jack Torrance The male protagonist and Wendy Torrance the female protagonist and others. There are lots of shot reverse shots as well because there’s a good amount of conversation at the beginning to make it interesting and pull the audience in.

The font scrolls over the clip it is red which can connote danger bold and placed in the middle of the screen. There was also white text on black background which can connote danger like the skull and cross bone.

Non diegetic sound is very eerie and suspicious which increased the tension, made the pace increase. There was a low base sound under the dialogue and an echoing screaming at the beginning of the establishing shots which got louder as the camera zoomed into the setting. The dialogue steps and typewriters are the diegetic sounds made to make the film more realistic.

The lighting is very bright which juxtaposes the reality as the story is actually quite sinister and disturbing. It connotes the era it was set 1980 as there was only one type of lighting.

For costumes the character Wendy Torrance is wearing an orange blouse under a long blue pinafore and Jack Torrance is wearing a suite as he is going to an interview.

The font scrolls over the clip it is red which can connote danger bold and placed in the middle of the screen. There was also white text on black background which can connote danger like the skull and cross bone.