Thriller Conventions and Textual analysis of title sequences and openings

Thriller conventions include;

• Blood
• A killer
• Tension
• Dim/dark, low-key lighting
• Scary atmosphere
• Jumpy
• Medium close-up, extreme close up and close up shots
• Scary, atmospheric music
• Normally set at night or in stormy weather, lightning and thunder

Films:

Leon

• Shaky camera work, hand-held:this creates realism, documentary
• CU shots, this captures the characters emotions/facial expressions
• Shot-reverse-shot, used in a conversation
• ECU shots-used to show reflection off glasses, so you can see other character, also creates tension
• High angle shots
• 180 degree rule, smoother camera work, defying the 180 degree rule would make the editing look jumpy
• Low-key lighting, lots of shadows-used a lot in thrillers to create suspense and tension
• Fade to black, fade out and in
• VLS: establishing shot, showing where film is set.
• Set in a backstreet, grimy. Feel of film.
• Reflection in glasses, showing the other person through reflection so audience can see them as well as the person actually on camera
• Music creates tense atmosphere, low droning sound, creating tension

The Machinist

Tech. Codes:

• Non-focused camera work, makes the audience concentrate on what is in focus
• MCU shots, shows facial expression as well as posture or body language
• Low angle and high angle shots
• CU shots, shows emotion
• Music creating tension, use of violins contrasting-loud to quiet etc...
• Waves crashing in background
• Camera work looks as if the audience are spying on the character, voyuerism
• Camera focuses on the window pane, not the character, this creates Sensory Deprivation, in this case, sight
• A sound bridge is used to create a smooth transition from one scene to the next
• When the film first starts, there is only sound, no picture, which makes the audience think 'what is happening?'
• Over-shoulder shot, is something going to happen behind him?
• Tracking

Lighting:

• Low-key lighting and set at night
• Dark shadows on his face, up-lighting, distortion

Mise en scene:

• Bleach:get rid of blood, did he kill the man who saw him dump the body? Insight into character and what he does
• Torch on his table
• His room is dirty and has minimal stuff, suggests he may be a killer?
• Character smoking and quite thin-shows stress
• Cuts and bruises on his face, not clean but looks like an ordinary man

Editing:

• Silver text, font is mechanic
• Slow paced opening, about 6-10 shots a minute, not many-makes audience pay attention to what's happening and all the little details
• Titles quite subtle
• Eye-line match:watching the character's face, then cutting to what he sees

The Dolly Zoom/Hitchcock Shot

The 'Dolly Zoom', or Hitchcock Shot, is an unsettling in-camera effect that appears to undermine normal visual perspective. The effect is achieved by using the setting of a zoom lens to adjust the angle of view (often referred to as field of view or FOV) while the camera dollies (or moves) towards or away from the subject in such a way as to keep the subject the same size in the frame throughout.  In its classic form, the camera angle is pulled away from a subject while the lens zooms in, or vice-versa. Therefore, during the zoom, there is a continuous perspective distortion, the most directly noticeable feature being that the background appears to change size relative to the subject.

For example:

 
The 'Dolly Zoom' has many different names:

• The "Hitchcock zoom" or the "Vertigo effect"
• "Hitchcock shot" or "Vertigo shot"
• Triple Reverse Zoom
• Reverse Tracking Shot
• Back Zoom Travelling
• Retrograde zoom
• "Smash Zoom" or "Smash Shot"
• Vertigo zoom
• A "Jaws shot"
• A "zido"
• A "zolly"
• Telescoping
• Trombone shot
• Push/pull
• The Trombone Effect
• A Stretch shot
• Reverse Pull
• More technically as forward zoom / reverse tracking or zoom in / dolly out
• Trans-trav (in Romanian), from trans-focal length operation and travelling movement
• Contra-zoom 

Textual Analysis of Shawshank Redemption 1994

 

Shawshank Redemption 1994

Tech. Codes

• Old, vintage music during titles, then sound bridges into opening scenes. This creates smooth transition into next scene------this is one of the things I would like to include in my production, as I think it would be a useful thing to have and improve my production
• Crickets in background with opening scene, adding to the music playing on the radio.
• Sound of violins and piano during present day scenes but not in flash backs.Creating tension and shows that the flash back is a separate scene.
• Diegetic sound of judge giving prison sentence , not on screen but part of the scene. Done this so the camera is on the man getting the sentence so audience can see facial expression
• Non-diegetic sound: Voice over
• CU and MCU shots to show emotion of the character-----This shots will be included in my production as they are important to a thriller
• Low angle and high angle shots, low angle shots shows someone as powerful and high angle shots shows someone as not powerful
• Medium shot used, this shows the audience where the scene is set and also the body language of a character
• Camera tracking in on character to show emotion, also feels intimidating, when man steps towards other character-------Camera tracking is an element that I could include as it could creates suspense
• Going from non-diegetic to diegetic sound
• Music on flash back, showing that it is a flash back
• Piano chords and violins soundtrack in present day to create tension, adding to atmosphere---------Sound to create an atmosphere will be needed, and violins or piano or orchestral strings are good to use in a thriller
• Orchestral strings subtly playing in background
• Low-pitched rumble on scene where the main character gets accused of crime
• Camera tracking on witnesses of main characters trial to show their facial expressions and emotion, building tension

Lighting

• Low-key lighting, shadows, creating tension for the audience----Low-key lighting will be used in my production as it is common in a thriller
• Shadows of trees projected on a character, only glimpses of character, feeling of suspense
• Present day is lighter than flash backs, natural lighting for present day, low-key lighting for flash backs, set at night, creating mystery. Makes you think what is going on?
• Can't see much in the dark, makes audience feels confined
• Up-lighting used in flash backs, distorting his face, making him look creepy and suspicious and creating shadows on his face 
• Grey and colourless
• Light from outside
• Turns light off in car, creating a silhouette-----I would like to include silhouettes and lots of shadows in my production to make the audience feel on edge and create tension

Mise en scene

• Props--alcohol, gun, gives insight into character. Drinking shows he is unhappy?----Props are very important in a production, so I will include appropriate props in my production to give the audience an insight into what it is about
• Smartly dresses in court room, formal
• Posture of lawyer, head to side, hands behind back, showing he doesn't believe the characters innocence, also authoritative
• 50's feel to film, old music playing. Gun old-fashioned
• Lady in flash back wearing red. Could signify passion or danger
• Leaning into camera, shows authority

Editing

• Vintage text, 50's feel
• Black background and white text
• Text, font = art deco. Could signify prison bars, looks like prison bars
• Slow paced shots, makes audience focus on what's happening and pay attention to all the little details. Slow paced shots also pull you in, makes you want to know what's going on-----I have decided that in my production I will use slow paced as it is more suited to my narrative

Rule of Thirds

The Rule of Thirds is when you shoot using a grid and the subject is on either line at the side, for example:

If there is a close up shot, then the top line must be in line with the person's eyeline:
A bad example of the rule of thirds is something like this:

Textual Analysis of the opening and title sequence of Seven

Film: Seven

Tech. Codes:

• Medium close up shots-shows facial expressions as well as some of the characters body language
• Low angle shots-Shows power and dominance
• Contrasting sound: Outside in rain, quiet room, gets louder with metronome, creating tension
• Sirens in distance, diegetic sound
• Background noises, such as thunder to set the scene and an argument which gets louder

Lighting:

• Dark, low-key lighting. Lots of shadows
• Bright background through windows. Dim look
• Torches used in dark room, creating shadows



Mise en Scene:

• Smart clothing, suits, shows that they are detectives
• Props of Morgan Freeman's table-knife, chess board, intelligent, detective
• Pulls fluff off jumper, OCD? Insight into charcter
• Metronome ticking in his Freeman's bedroom, building tension

Editing:

• Duration of shots is quite long in opening, contrasts with title sequence-short shots and fast paced.
• Slow pace, meaningful, makes you concentrate on what is happening in opening
• Tracking
• Title sequenc3e has a disorientated look, unsettling
• Black and white contrasting with red, threat
• Binary opposition
• Harsh font, scratched in, hand-written
• Flickers, transition
• Dirty look, off-white paper. Dirty nails and fingers. Killer? Gritty and grim

Lighting

Lighting is important when it comes to filming. There are two types of lighting:

Soft Light and Hard Light

Soft Light includes very limited shadows and a very smooth and silky look. Used often in romantic and glamour films. Can also be referred to as High-key lighting

Hard Light creates heavy, dark shadows and is often used in thriller and horror films to create tension. Can also be referred to as Low-key lighting.

Light Direction:

Three point lighting is often used in productions. This includes a Key light, a Fill light and a Back light. The suject is in the middle.
For example:



Chiaroscuro is used in cinematography to indicate extreme low-key lighting to create distinct areas of light and darkness in films, especially in black and white films. The literal translation is light-dark. Classic examples are The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari(1920), Nosferatu(1922), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) and the black and white scenes in Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker (1979).

Three Textual Analysis of Thriller Title Sequences

Three Textual Analysis of Thriller Title Sequences:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Tech. Codes	Lighting	Mise en Scene	Editing
Close-up shots	Dark, low-key lighting	Well dressed men	Fast pace, short shots
High angle shots	Contrasting: Ball of fire against black background	Phone, cluttered table, magnifying glass	Font: Gothic, sharp. Appears instantly, the letters like ‘R’ and ‘N’ grow tails.
Soft music for opening	Black shapes, no colour except black, apart from fire in certain shots	Two men having phone conversation	Flashing images at start of title sequence
Panning camera movement	Light coming in from window, dimly lit lamp	White, clean house, plain, minimal objects	Black, tar like substance, splashing like water
Mysterious opening: phone call

 

Shutter Island

Tech. Codes	Lighting	Mise en Scene	Editing
Medium shots	Outside on a boat, sun in sky lighting. Dull	Suits, smart clothing	Short shots
Close-up shots, match-on-action	Dull colours, contrast between bright colours in flash backs. Bright colours show happy tone and dull show a sad tone	Men in uniform, security shows danger	Text appears instantly, font is bold, thick
Close-up shots, match-on-action	Dull colours, contrast between bright colours in flash backs. Bright colours show happy tone and dull show a sad tone	Men in uniform, security shows danger	Text appears instantly, font is bold, thick
Deep brass music, short pieces, tension	Storm approaching. Clouds. Typical thriller convention		Black background against silver text
Music swells when approaching building, then suddenly stops, when officer starts talking	Dull building contrast against greenery

Insidious

Tech. Codes	Lighting	Mise en Scene	Editing
Music, screeching violins	Low-key lighting, dark	Scary lady wearing gothic clothing, garb, black clothing	Red text, font is bold with smoky shadow effect, ghostly faded upwards, text faded out to left and right
Music swells when title appears suddenly	Shadows of people in windows	Family wearing PJ’s, just woken up. Innocent, normal family	Black, dark background, black and white, light from lamp contrasting against black BG
No music when credits appear, tension	Flashing lights during title	Casual wear, at home	Red title, gothic font, bold, embossed, 3D effect, appears instantly, shock value
High angle shots. Shots zoom in	Dark background		Black and white effect of house, contrast with red text of credits
Close up shots	Candle and moonlight to show woman’s old scary face and nothing else		Lens flickering
Shaky camera work, hand-held effect	Shadows, light coming in from windows		Pictures fade out, becomes distorted

Things I could include in my production is the use of red text and a gothic font for the credits in the title sequence. Also the use of shadows and low-key lighting,and the use of a black and white background. The music I could use could be quite ominous, like violins or use of quiet, mysterious music. For camera shots, I could use close-ups, extreme close ups and also high and low angle shots.