Thriller Interviews

This is an iMovie I made to show the process of interviewing about what people like about thrillers.

From this I have understood that it needs to be an attractive main character. Boys are attracted to good looking girls and vice versa. I also found that audiences like to watch thrillers that keep you anticipated and on the edge of your seat, good cast which means that they have to be experienced with acting, a thrill and so on. I think this has given us a good idea of what to do next and what our audience will like as we interviewed people of our target audience. Therefore to progress with our idea we will show our main character being chased and being killed but then reveal that actually this is all a dream thta the antagonist has rather than a real crime. This will then give us time duri ng the process of the film to reveal why the protagonist acts this way.

What is a storyboard?

A storyboard serves the same function in film making as an outline does in written projects. It enables the film director to visualise the flow of camera shots and sets that we want to eventually appear on the cinema screen. Doing a rough storyboard is the first step a director will take visualising a script of storyboard, it is easier to visualise potential problems before actually filming which saves time. One advantage of using storyboards is that it allows us to experiment with changes in the storyline to evoke stronger reaction or interest. For example, flashback are often the result of sorting storyboards our of chronological order to help build suspense and interest. The process of visual thinking and planning will allow my group to brainstorm together, planning our ideas on the storyboard and then arranging it on the wall. The creates more ideas and generates consensus inside the group.

What I Have Learnt From My Story Board

This has helped me because it has given me an idea of what i'm doing in the real opening sequence. I think it also puts our film idea into a real life perspective not just in writing. It has given me an idea on particular shots we can use to get the best outcome. This will also help in editing as we can see what scene goes with what and the order of our clips to create the thrilling story.

Storyboard for Opening Sequence

Potential Titles for our Thriller Opening Sequence

Shotlist of Final Thriller Idea

Girl getting off the bus
Girl walking in street
Texts mum saying she is on her way home
Shot of feet walking
Shot of car in the distance
She hears a noise behind her
Looks around- go pro on her
Starts walking faster but not running
Heart beat is emphasized- by the sound of knife chopping to show canabilsm
Car drives past
Sigh of relief
Man cross the road and drops a fork and car runs over it
Title Appears

Girl getting off bus- midi shot and zoom out to show friends saying bye.
Girl walking in the street- switch shots between go pro and wide shot.
Texts mum - zoom in on phone.
Shot of feet- zoom in (emphasize the noise of the shoes)
Wide shot of car in the distance- shallow focus
Cuts to the car to show the man watching her
Looks around- go pro
Starts walking faster- go pro and wide shot
Car drives past- wide
Zoom in on the girls face
Man crosses the street and a fork drops out his pocket onto the road, zoom in and car drives over it.
Fade to black and title appears.

Now we have created our timeline of our film we can focus on developing the narrative and script in more detail as well as work on important casting choices.

Second by Second Shot list

Shot	Second
Wide Tracking Shot	0.16
Front Wide Shot	0.18
Wide Tracking shot	0.19
Wide Tracking Shot	0.23-0.31
Front Wide shot	0.31
Close up floor shot	0.33
Close up phone shot	0.37
Go pro, point of view shot	0.39
Mid-panning down shot	0.40
Wide shot	0.43
Wide shot	0.46-0.54
Behind-mid shot	0.55
Extreme Close up of face	0.57
Point of view shot	1.00
Extreme facial feature close up	1.02
Point of view shot	1.03
Extreme facial feature close up	1.05
Point of view shot	1.07
Panning shot	1.08
Point of view shot	1.09
Canted angle mid shot	1.11
Point of view shot	1.12
Focus Pulled Mid shot	1.14
Low angle – mid shot	1.18
Wide shot from behind	1.19
Floor shot	1.20
Wide shot from behind	1.21
Floor shot	1.22
High-angle close up	1.22
Wide shot	1.22
Gro-pro, birds eye view shot	1.23
Mid shot	1.24
Point of view, rapid movement shot	1.26
Panning shot	1.28
Point of view, rapid movement shot	1.29
Extreme Close up	1.29
Panning shot	1.30
Point of view shot	1.32
Low angle shot	1.33
Point of view, rqpid movement shot	1.34
Close up of body features shot	1.36
Panning shot (left to right)	1.37-1.40
Close up, slow motion shot	1.42
Point of view tilt shot	1.45

A Start Towards Our Final Idea

Survey on Opening Sequence Idea

I did a survey and got my older friends and family to answer it, who are 18 years old and over as this is out target audience. I found this information really useful as i know what the audience want to see. This will make the opening sequence be the best of its ability.

From this i can tell that the audience would watch this but not if it was too scary or intense so this will be taken into account.

From this i can tell that majority of people who did my survey think that a forest is a good setting for my opening sequence.

From the survey, i can tell that we should have a teenage girl as it makes more effect on the audience.

I can infer that we could use fonts, and filters that are red and black.

From this i can see that many people like action and psychological thrillers which is what the final idea is

What makes a good thriller?

I can see from these comments that to make a thriller it needs to be scary, gripping, enigma, fast pace,  needs to make the audience alert and be unexpected.

From this survey, i can see what my audience will enjoy and hopefully all these answers will impact on the final opening title sequence. This has given me good ideas into developing an opening sequence with an attractive girl who will appeal to the demographics of 15-24 males. In addition, we will work on incorporating a scare factor to appeal to our target audience.

My Final Thriller idea

This new idea was inspired by this story in the news.

I think this new idea decided by my group and I will be very gripping and scary and fit perfectly in with the genre of thriller.

Moving on with my Idea

I want to discard of my ideas because i have found a better, more thrilling idea of a stalker scene. I don't like the ebola idea as it is in the news a lot. I don't think the kidnapping idea is good because young children are hard to use. Lastly the idea about online is good but without the paedofile.

I propose to do a scene set in a forest. A girl will be isolated in the open woodland area. There will be someone else in the forrest which we do not actually see the identity of to make it scarier. I will have the main person being followed in all black. This would be an action thriller.

Thriller Idea

News Articles For Thriller Openings

A news article 

This news article could make an interesting thriller narrative as the idea of the man who is pedophile and two younger girls. I like the idea of it being cyber and online using social media websites like twitter and Facebook. I think it could make an interesting opening sequence to a thriller as it is a very shocking story.

Another news article

This news article can make a fascinating thriller because the Ebola outbreak itself if a very interesting topic. It is also quite scary to think that it is lurking around and can get anyone at anytime by being in contact with someone who is a carrier. I like the idea of using Ebola as it is very commonly known and could one day turn into a pandemic.


In the news over in the past there have been many kidnapping stories.

I think a story like this could make a good thriller as it is one of the most scariest things to hear about in the news. The fact that these hostages feel bad for their kidnappers and create a surprisingly unbreakable bond. I find that these stories are all so different and could make an interesting intro to a thriller.

Research into the roles of different characters within thrillers

Thrillers usually show good vs evil added with suspense. Normally the identity of the antagonist in known whilst the protagonist will be known later. A typical thriller will be shown from the protagonists point of view which allows the audience to become more involved in the events themselves and therefore closer to the characters as they see how they interact with others in different situations. Furthermore, there will also be a few short clips from the villains point of view allowing the audience to see how the antagonist acts while by themselves or how they used to act through a flashback which allows the audience to gain information on why they have become the evil person. There are often lots of action scenes between characters which keep the audience guessing what will happen next and how the characters interact with each other. The audience never get a sense of the full plot which allows the film to retain its mystery and suspense until nearer the end. Usually at the end of a film, the narrative is revealed and the audience understand why the characters have acted they way they have.

In the opening sequence this means that nothing can be revealed but has to be compact with suspense and mystery. The antagonist who is the evil person should be identified in the opening sequence.

Resarch into Thrillers

We watched the opening sequnce of Lilya-4-eva. From this i can infer the plot of the film involves a girl who is unhappy with her life so she decides to commit suidice. We can see from her make up that she has maybe been abused due to her bruises around her face. The fact that she is jumping off a bridge onto a motorway connotes her desperation to kill herself. The setting is very dull which may reflect her life. The sky is grey and so are the buildings, this could also symbolize her mood and her life,  which is called pathetic fallacy. The music is very fast tempo and heavy which goes with the setting. When she is looking down over the motorway, it connotes her giving up. Similarly, when she is looking down at the pavement.

Thriller Types

The Art of the Title Sequence

There are 4 different types of title sequences: Discrete, Traditional, Straight into the Film and The Stylised Opening Sequence.

An example of discrete is Catch Me If You Can. The music suggests it is discrete as it gets the audience in the mood. The animation connotes what is going to happen in the film.

Catch Me If You Can (2002) — Art of the Title

An example of a traditional opening sequence is 21 Jump Street. The up beat song sets the tone and mood of the film. The quick cuts show that it is an action film. They have the opening credits and the characters are established.

21 Jump Street (2012) — Art of the Title

An example of a straight into the film sequence is Natural Born Killers. The characters are seen dancing, there is also blood over the title which symbolises danger.

Natural Born Killers (1994) — Art of the Title

An example of a stylised opening sequence is Mrs Doubtfire. In this film we are introduced to the character and his profession.

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) — Art of the Title

Opening Sequences

This is a movie i made of clips of opening sequences from 2 films. LOL is a rom-com in contrast to the roommate which is a thriller.

What is a Thriller?

A thriller is a genre of film that creates suspense and invokes an emotional/ physical response. Thriller's heavily stimulate the viewer's mood, giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra heightened expectations, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and terror.

The target audience for thrillers are usually aimed at 15-35 years old. This is because once you get over a certain age, you get no rush anymore as you can expect the unexpected. Additionally, according the BBFC, a 15 rated film can contain strong violence, frequent strong language, portrayals of sexual activity, strong verbal references to sex, sexual nudity, brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence, discriminatory language or behaviour and drug taking. Here are some examples of thriller films that are rated 15: Disturbia, When a Stranger Calls, The Call, Casino Royale, Mama and Orphan.

My Group

This is my group who i will be working with for my opening thriller sequence:
Jessica Caplan
Claudia Kaye
Rebecca Millar

We work well in a group together and we have similar ideas and hope to make an intriguing opening sequence.

Kill Bill (Vol 1)- Camera and Editing

*Pause between 0.07 and 0.11 seconds for camera*
*Pause between 0.12 and 0.18 seconds for editing*

Taken Abduction Scene Analysis

Kim on the phone to her dad hiding under the bed.

This memorable and iconic scene is acted spectacularly by Maggie Grace and Liam Neeson, who play daughter (Kim) and father (Bryan). The scene is based on a phone call between Kim and Bryan as she has arrived in Paris with her friend Amanda. The first camera shot is a zoom which shows the discomposure of Kim as people break into her apartment. The sharp non diegetic sound is heard and as it fades back getting louder Kim steps back. This is called synchronous sound. Kim isn't speaking very quietly as she is alarmed that what is happening to her friend could happen to her. She is crying and very emotional in contrast to her father who is very calm and knows what to do. The camera shots in this scene are all zooms to show her panic.

The diegetic sound of the phone call is played most of the scene with no background music. This makes it seem more realistic and emphasised the horror of this action. Bryan (Liam Neesom) is fiddling around with his equipment whilst his daughter is answering questions moderately loud about people she has met or spoken to since being in France. The mise-en-scene is passports in a rubber band, which suggests he travels a lot and brings up the question of why he has more than 1 passport. He then pulls out what looks like a voice recorder and a speaker which are plugged into his phone.

He continues to ask questions like 'how many people are there' as the men approach the room Kim is hiding in. The sound is very fuzzled through the phone which creates suspense. The lighting in the room is very light to when she is told to move into the bedroom it is dark, the two room contrast. The dark room brings a bad atmosphere with it. The front on shot of Bryan shows his determination to help his daughter. We also get a sense of his feelings which connote that he is showing no emotion but behind his blank facade he is really nervous for his daughter.

As Kim slides under the bed, there is a tracking shot following her from the bathroom to here. The close up of her emphasises her emotions. As her dad is giving her advice on what to do, there is a diegetic sound of footsteps and creaking floor, this creates a spooky feel and suggests something negative will happen. There is also close ups of the shoes to emphasise how close they are to her. As she holds her phone up after being commanded to, the camera angle is a low angle to show her lack of power at this point in time. There is then a zoom into her face which signifies a sense of panic which suddenly changes to a sense of relief when the two men walk out the room.

She whispers 'They're leaving... I think they're...' The camera stays still as Kim proceeds backwards away from the camera to show that she is going to have to be found. The loud scream alerts Bryan and the camera slowly zooms in on his face as he listens to his daughter being abducted. The screaming then fades out and all is silent. Someone picks up the phone as Bryan gets up in sync. He says "I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you." There is another silence where after a few seconds a reply of "good luck" is heard and the phone is put down. Bryan's facial emotions are very distressed as he draws the phone away from his ear which foreshadows the girl being kidnapped.

The Call Trailer Analysis

The Call Cover

The Call is apart of the Thriller genre. The trailer starts off with a black screen. There is a sound bridge of the phone ringing. The over shot view of the office shows the power they all have as 911 operators and how busy they are. As soon as Hallie Berry hits the space bar to answer her call all the diegetic sound stops. The zoom into her eyes shows the fear of the operator of the sound she just heard over the phone of a window smashing. This connects to the sub title and shows how the audience should be feeling and signifies our response as well as hers. The echo of the screams connote that the girl is very scared. The dark lighting of the house that has been broken into suggests something bad will happen. When the operator redials after loosing connection, there is a blip in the screen like a flash of darkness. This indicates that there is going to be a change and that the intruder is going to find the girl. The zoom in on the teenagers mouth emphasises how loud her scream is and how scared she is, additionally the zoom in on the eyes again conveys how her mistake her cost the girl her life. 
Preceding, the sound effects when the car pulls into the girl show that it wasn't a mistake as it is intensified to build tension. As seen before the blip then happens multiple times and the girl is abducted. We then get an inside view of the girl in the boot of the car. We discover that the girl finds a phone and phones the 911 operators. Similar to before, the same operator gets put on the case to help, we know this time by her facial emotions she is determined to not make any mistakes and save the girl. The repetitive of the blip occurs when the abducter is shown, which demonstrates that the man could have abducted the first girl that was found dead. The steady non diegetic beat shows the heart beat of not only the girl but the 911 operator who is giving her specific advice on how to get people to notice her and getting her calm. The constant shutter effect is to connote something bad will happen like the man being set a light with petrol on him. The side shot of Berry’s eyes and the words she says and the reply foreshadow what was said in the first incident, this presents the fear. The flashbacks she has and the very short clips show how dramatic it is and builds up tension of what is going to happen next. The short clips of tense parts of the film put together to non diegetic sound signify the determination she showed at the beginning as we can guess that the girl is going to be saved. 

Children of Men Cover Analysis

The glass is smashed. This connotes that the world he lives in is broken. The shape of the glass cut out is a heart, this may suggest that he has a broken heart. The writing on the cover is stenciled on and looks like graffiti. This may suggest vandalism and crime in the world he lives in. Under the word 'children' may represent a red embryo to suggest that babies are being killed/not born. The main character is seen through the glass as very in focus and stong. His eyes present a lot of emotion which is aimed right at the camera to connote the world he is living in.

Pulp Fiction Cover Analysis

We see a girl wearing black, showing a bit of cleavage, this attracts men to watching the film. Her choice of attire aswell as her high heels which connotes her power as a women. The cigarette in her hand, the red lipstick and the gun show that she is provocative. It is done on purpose that her eyes are staring straight into the camera to signify her intimidating personality. The cover has 10 cent stamp on it to illustrate that this is infact a book cover. Pulp Fiction means a cheap book hence why it is 10 cent. The room she is in looks very dark, this connotes that something bad may happen in the film. The light only hits her legs which may suggest that she is very active and presents her character.

Editing the Prelim

For my prelim, i edited using Adobe Premiere Pro. I found that this was very simple to use once i got the hang of it. I found the idea of continuity hard after we had filmed it as we made a mistake with the door opening and closing so we couldn't use one shot because the door wasn't in sync with the other shot when putting two together.

I chose the shots by choosing the ones that flowed and observed continuity which was challenging. We organised our shots by matching the story board and the ones that looked good together. We checked for things like selective focus as that makes the outcome better.

We did shot reverse shot as Claudia and Mr Wood were having a conversation, additionally the eyeline match was also done when they were in the conversation. Lastly we also did match and action. Mr Wood walked in and chucked a packet of gum at Claudia and in the next scene she chucked it.

If I had to improve I would do more transitions and make sure everything is done properly like focus shots.



This is the screen whilst editing.

The logging.

The variety of shots.

This was the exporting of the clip.

Prelim

When making my prelim it was fairly easy to set up the camera once shown how to do it. The white balance setting was tested by members of my team and I. We put a piece of paper in front of the lens so we could focus it to the correct lighting. 

When observing the 180 degree rule, it was very hard at first as my group had to do two takes as we were unclear that we had the keep the video running instead of stopping and starting on the shots we wanted at particular bits. When it was understood, the 180 degree rule was pretty simple to do as we did a video from each angle and then when we edit we will cut and place the shots we need. 

The 180 degree rule

Following the storyboard was very simple and we also improvised. Claudia and Mr Woods starred in our pre lim as they were the best actors that we could find at the time. They were very easy to work with and followed instructions given by the director, camera person and continuity person. 

This is the storyboard we followed...

As a group, Becca, Jess, Claudia and I worked very well. We all took turns changing roles so we could all have a go to film. Claudia was acting but filmed the close ups of Mr Wood that she wasn't in.

My personal contribution to the film was my part of being a director and filming 2 of the scenes from two different angles. I also did the continuity to make sure the object thrown landed in the same place every time and was thrown and dropped every time as well as the actors staying in the same position the whole time. I observed the story board each time before we did the shot to make sure it was right.

If i had the chance to improve i would do more camera angles if i had more time as we only got one extra shot done which was a high shot. I think shots like low shot signify and connote more ideas. Additionally I would like to use the camera more as i liked to film and get it in the right position. Finally i would like to the do a more interesting story line.