Thriller Genre

Fast & Furious 5 Trailer

Length: 2:30

Shots: Establishing shot (of Rio), close up, mid shot, long shot, long shot, mid shot, long shot, long shot tracking shot, mid two shot, mid two shot, long shot moving to mid shot, mid panning two shot, wide shot, two shot, over-shoulder shot, two shot, close up, master shot, high angle, low angle, eye level (most used angle), crane shot.

Codes & Conventions: Explosions. fast editing, lots of close-ups to show facial expressions and objects in question, lots of tracking shots, lots of panning shots, aggresion, near-impossible goal being attempted, intimidating characters, exotic locations.

The Rum Diary Trailer

Length: 2:30

Shots: long shot, close up (commonly used for characters and objects), cran shot & panning shot, mid shot, wide shot, long shot, two shot, eye level angle (most used angle), close up, tracking shot, low angle, high angle, master shot.

Codes & Conventions: Crowds, confusion, typical fashion and technology of it's time (1950s), exotic locations, fast editing, dangerous wealthy figure as villain?, lots of two shots & close ups.

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

(Tick your answers in the space provided)

1.       What genre of film is your favourite?

Action        _____

Comedy     _____

Horror        _____

Thriller       _____

Romance   _____

Sci-fi           _____

2.       Why do you go to the cinema?

To be entertained       _____

To escape                       _____

To be frightened         _____

Nothing better to do  _____

For a social activity     _____

3.       Who is your favourite director?

Tim Burton               _____

Steven Spielberg     _____

Quentin Tarantino  _____

Peter Jackson           _____

David Lynch               _____

James Cameron       _____

Michael Moore        _____

4.       If you see a film poster, what is most likely to draw you in?

Famous actors                                                                     _____

Award certificates                                                             _____

Interesting codes and conventions in the poster  _____

Famous directors                                                               _____

The name of the film                                                       _____

5.       What gender are you?

Male                     ____

Female                 ____

6.       How often do you go to the cinema?

Never                             ____

1 – 3 times a month   ____

4 – 7 times a month   ____

8 -15 times a month   ____

16+ times a month     ____

7.       What do you prefer to see in the ending?

The hero wins                                                                   ____

The villain wins                                                                ____

Nobody wins                                                                     ____    

Every character is killed                                                                ____

Few characters survive                                                 ____

All the problems for a character are solved         ____

The character(s) are left with problems                                ____

A cliff hanger leading to a possible sequel          ____

8.       How old are you?

Under 15             _____

15 – 19                  _____

20 – 24                  _____

25+                         _____

9.       What do you enjoy about Thriller films?

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THANKS FOR DOING THIS, BUDDY!

Codes & Conventions of a Thriller

Codes and conventions of a thriller. Thriller films focus mainly on editing and sound. Editing in thrillers tend to be fast paced quick cuts. This is to create a sense of tension and suspense. Tension is very significant when it comes to a thriller. The colours black and white are also conventions of a thriller, they bring a more dark and sinister feel to the movie. Shadows and lighting are also conventions they are exaggerated by the use of the colours black and white. In thrillers mirrors and stairs are used quite often mostly used in psychological thrillers this all relates to the Iconography of thrillers things such as shadows, and confined Spaces bars on windows and street lamps.The codes generally are fast paced camera angle changes which add that extra tension and mystery to the thriller. Thrillers usually have a great deal of action, cinematic landscapes or cityscapes or interior "mindscapes." For example in Hitchcock's “PSYCHO” Thrillers can be very dramatic even when they focus on someone's mind mainly in the psychological thriller. A thriller is Something that thrills, especially a suspenseful, sensational genre of film a fast-paced, high stakes crime story in which the protagonist is generally in danger at every turn, with the most danger coming in the final confrontation with the antagonist. There are certain elements to a thriller that help distinguish them from other similar genres such as surprises and twist anything that is able to engage the audience and plays with their mind. Music is always essential it helps to build up tension and the use of lighting helps to create shadows which gives the thriller that mystery. We normally see a huge part of the thriller from the killer’s point of view which allows the thriller to be more menacing. There is also a lot of continuity editing and montage sequencing to help pass time and not elongate the storyline. There are so a lot of flashbacks to help clarify and develop the story. These are all use to keep the audience interested and constantly make them think.

One Shot film poster

Poster Comparison. My Genre: Thriller

Fast & Furious 5 is the fifth film in a series of gripping films based on cars and the life of certain characters. The poster for Fast & Furious 5 shows a typical American muscle car in the centre of two fierce and strong looking characters, this suggests that they are American themselves. The aggression shown in the poster (The use of guns) suggests that this film is going to involve a lot of fighting, especially with guns. In the background an exotic city is shown (Rio de janeiro) this tells the audience that the majority of the film is going to take place in this tropical environment. The two characters in the poster are moving towards something with their guns ready, this shows that they are ready for action and that there is a strong purpose to their intentions. The text of the title is bold and eye-catching, suggesting it is a big film. The use of the colour red in the title suggests that the film is about danger, excitement and heated moments.

Scre4m is the fourth film of series of slasher films based around a masked character (Ghostface) persuing to kill his victims. The poster's mainly consists of black and white shades, with the only true colour in it being red. The black suggests mystery and death, the white focuses on representing the Ghostface character's mask making it the centre of attention. The use of red suggests blood, danger and pain - all things that this thriller thrives on. The jaw of the killer's mask fades into the blade of a knife, the weapon used to murder his victims. This emphasises the slasher theme within the film. The mask of the killer is tilted ever so slightly to show the featured sorrowful look of the infamous mask. This sorrow shown highlights the misery and depression which is also a key feature in the film.



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Star Trek

The marketing of 'Star Trek' was very thorough and well done. they used their budget in advertisement in creative ways, they used trailers online, trailers in cinemas, posters, tv adverts, teaser posters, teaser trailers, interviews with the cast, and more.

My film:

The way I intend to market my film will be not as thorough as the marketing of Star Trek, but will still be quite extensive. I intend to have teaser and official trailers and posters shown in cinemas, television and around cities. I also intend to start an interactive project in London, giving audiences a chance to interact with the cast and get an idea of the story line through a cinematic experience of the outtakes and a short documentary on the film itself.

S.W.O.T Chart

S.W.O.T Analysis

Strengths:                                                                                           Weaknesses:

·         It is a gripping thriller guaranteed                                          It is based on a compilation of

To leave audiences breathless                                                   other war films, could be

·         It gives an insight to military life.                                            Recognised.

·         It has elements to interest both genders

Opportunities:                                                                                  Threats:

·         Gives an insight to what military                             Could be compared to other war films with

Life is like on detachment.                                           Its similarities,

                                                                                                Funding for the film could be difficult.

                                                                                        The age range of the audience
                                                                                        is most likely to be narrow.

Infotrac Excercise Lesson

I watched the tutorial video on how to use InfoTrac and quickly became aware of how to create advanced searches using key terms such as: names, places, studios, newspapers.
I learnt how to make more direct searches using other fields for search terms such as document types, article types and publication titles.
My first task was to search for "Kill Bill" with a second keyword as "Tarantino". Many magazine articles came up at first and I then learnt I could specify the content type to either: Magazine, Academic Journals, News and Audio.
My next task was to do another advanced search, but on Hugh Grant and then specify the result to NOT come up with "Four Weddings and a Funeral" using the drop down menu on the left hand side. I now know that specifying the options of "And, Or and Not" is called Boolean searching.
My third advanced search I had to conduct was "Ealing Studios" and "Michael Balcon", I then had to specify the publication title as "The Observer" newspaper.
My final search was to try another advanced search on "gangster" or "gangsters" and "film" or "films". I learnt that terms can be combined using the symbol '*' with the common part of the words. For example, I could type gangster* and film*.
Finally I made note of the fact that there are other ways of saving articles that I may find other than printing. I made note of being able to email articles to myself, downloading them to my documents, or using a USB stick. Audio files can also be downloaded as an MP3 file to listen to.

Film Distribution

The name of the trade body that oversees 96% of theatrical releases is called the Film Distributors' Association (FDA). Their role in the cinematic chain is to get the product from the filmmakers, and pass it onto the cinemas for the exhibitions and to advertise to the audiences. They are the trade body supporting, producing, representing the range of generic interests of the UK theatrical film distributors.

Research So Far

Genre: Thriller

Apollo 18

Storyline - Decades-old footage found from NASA's abandoned Apollo 18 mission, where two American astronauts were sent on a secret expedition, reveals the reason the U.S. has never returned to the moon.
Certificate - PG-13
Release Date - 2nd September 2011
Run time - 86 Minutes
Budget - $5Million
Opening Weekend - $8.7Million
Gross - $14.9Million

Fast & Furious 5

Storyline - Dominic and his crew find themselves on the wrong side of the law once again as they try to switch lanes between a ruthless drug lord and a relentless federal agent.
Certificate - PG-13
Release Date - 21st April 2011
Run Time - 130 Minutes
Budget - $125Million
Opening Weekend - $86.1Million
Gross - $209.8Million

Sucker Punch

Storyline - A young girl is institutionalized by her abusive stepfather. Retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, she envisions a plan which will help her escape from the mental facility.
Certificate - PG-13
Release Date - 1st April 2011
Run Time - 110 Minutes
Budget - $82Million
Opening Weekend - $19Million
Gross - $36.3Million

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Storyline - During experiments to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease, a genetically-enhanced chimpanzee uses its greater intelligence to lead other apes to freedom.
Certificate - PG-13
Release Date - 11th August 2011
Run Time - 105 Minutes
Budget - $93Million
Opening Weekend - $54.8Million
Gross - $167.8Million