Introduction
For this task, I was instructed to research into what makes a thriller genre film. I will be studying the backbones of what defies a film genre: themes and storylines, characters, settings, sound and editing. Research will be carried out using various educational websites and my own general knowledge of thriller genre films.
This will include visiting several sites and finding out the key features that make a thriller film. I believe that it's very important to visit multiple sites, in order to gain maximum reliability.
This research and gathering will help me and my future group have a clearer idea what characteristically makes up a thriller film. We would then be able to apply this knowledge to our own production of a thriller movie opening sequence. Knowing the conventions and applying it to our opening will help the audience identify our clip as a thriller genre, making it more successful.
My findings have been presented as a Prezi. It is recommended that you go full screen, as some of the text on the presentation is quite small.
For this task, I was instructed to research into what makes a thriller genre film. I will be studying the backbones of what defies a film genre: themes and storylines, characters, settings, sound and editing. Research will be carried out using various educational websites and my own general knowledge of thriller genre films.
This will include visiting several sites and finding out the key features that make a thriller film. I believe that it's very important to visit multiple sites, in order to gain maximum reliability.
This research and gathering will help me and my future group have a clearer idea what characteristically makes up a thriller film. We would then be able to apply this knowledge to our own production of a thriller movie opening sequence. Knowing the conventions and applying it to our opening will help the audience identify our clip as a thriller genre, making it more successful.
My findings have been presented as a Prezi. It is recommended that you go full screen, as some of the text on the presentation is quite small.
Sources used:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(genre)
http://www.imdb.com/genre/thriller
http://www.slideshare.net/WhiteJess/what-makes-a-good-thriller
Conclusion
In conclusion, I have discovered that the thriller genre has a major role of keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. Evidence for this can be seen with the frequent cross cutting to show a story is developing with both the protagonist and antagonist, eventually leading for them to clash.
Thrillers are, to an extent, quite down-to-earth. This is because they are often set in the present day with no out of this world gadgets or weapons, and perhaps more importantly, the protagonist tends to be a normal person until trouble calls. On the flip side, it's unrealistic with the amount of deaths and destruction that typically occur in thriller films.
Thriller films also interestingly combine with other genres. You could arguably say a thriller film is like an action-adventure, or even a horror. This is because the rules are quite relaxed when it comes to thriller; you simply have to have a gripping storyline and plenty of tension.
Armed with the information, it would be a good idea to stay conventional with the thriller opening sequence, which would adopt the theory from Steve Neale. However, I believe it's vital not to stay too different. Our opening sequence needs to be unique in storyline and not to be too cliché and predictive. This is important to keep the thriller genre fresh and entertaining for the audience.
Narrative Research Task
Apologies if the presentation doesn't fit properly on the school's computer screens. This presentation was completed on a widescreen 16:9 monitor, so there may be some rearranging issues with the school 4:3 screens.
Representation of males and females in thriller movies
BBFC Research Task
Opening sequence analysis from Jack Cooper
Opening Sequence Titles Analysis
Ashens is a comedy movie that uses a goofy looking animation of the protagonist to show the audience that this is a movie that shouldn't be taken too seriously. It could also represent that the character doesn't take himself too seriously.
The Italian Job is a thriller movie that uses red, elegant fonts in the opening titles, which zoom out of the frame after a few seconds. This could strongly represent a sophisticated Italian supercar (such as the Lamborghini Miura that is shown during the opening sequence) with the fact that it uses a classic red colour (Ferrari) and that they rush off the screen in the same style a car would. This as a result shows the audience straight away what the movie is going to be about, and allows them to have more understanding with what they are watching.
For my third opening sequence, I watched 'Flood', a 2007 hybrid disaster-thriller movie directed by Tony Mitchell. After a three minute opening where the audience sees two older women get swept away by the flood in Scotland, the opening titles are introduced at 3:58.
The opening titles here are accompanied by a sci-fi sounding beep every time a name flashes up onto the screen. The names are also 'wiped' onto the screen from left to right, almost as though a computer was typing them. This could have been done to represent the computers that are crucial to predicting floods and therefore saving lives.
The names are also randomised in their positioning on the frame. For example, one name of an actor could appear at the bottom-left of the screen, and the next would appear in the middle for no plausible reason. This could have been done to show and convey the random and unexpected nature of a flood in such a way that we never know quite where it will hit next.
The opening title sequence for 'Flood' differs vastly from the opening title sequence for 'Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild', a comedy movie. While Flood uses an ariel view of central London for its backdrop for the opening titles, Ashens' uses a cartoon backdrop featuring humorous animations and also uses an informal font. This instantly tells the audience that 'Flood' is a serious disaster movie, whereas Ashens is clearly a tongue-in-cheek style to convey to the audience that this is a funny movie.
The title sequences of all three of these movies - regardless of their genre - tell a great deal about who was involved in the movie. With so many different departments and people involved, it is clear to see that these movies had a very large funding for the production of their movies. My group will not have a large funding, and so therefore we would have to sacrifice a lot of the roles, or have group members take up multiple roles.
To conclude, this analysis has shown me that it is important to represent what my movie is going to be about through the opening titles. To make a thriller film opening titles successful, I have to use the appropriate font, colour, animation, backdrop and music. I will have to include these in my opening sequence if I used them in order for it to be successful:
Opening Sequence Titles Analysis
 |
| Film 1: Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild | 2013 | Riyad Barmania |
 |
| Film 2: The Italian Job | 1969 | Peter Collinson |
The Italian Job is a thriller movie that uses red, elegant fonts in the opening titles, which zoom out of the frame after a few seconds. This could strongly represent a sophisticated Italian supercar (such as the Lamborghini Miura that is shown during the opening sequence) with the fact that it uses a classic red colour (Ferrari) and that they rush off the screen in the same style a car would. This as a result shows the audience straight away what the movie is going to be about, and allows them to have more understanding with what they are watching.
For my third opening sequence, I watched 'Flood', a 2007 hybrid disaster-thriller movie directed by Tony Mitchell. After a three minute opening where the audience sees two older women get swept away by the flood in Scotland, the opening titles are introduced at 3:58.
The opening titles here are accompanied by a sci-fi sounding beep every time a name flashes up onto the screen. The names are also 'wiped' onto the screen from left to right, almost as though a computer was typing them. This could have been done to represent the computers that are crucial to predicting floods and therefore saving lives.
The names are also randomised in their positioning on the frame. For example, one name of an actor could appear at the bottom-left of the screen, and the next would appear in the middle for no plausible reason. This could have been done to show and convey the random and unexpected nature of a flood in such a way that we never know quite where it will hit next.
The opening title sequence for 'Flood' differs vastly from the opening title sequence for 'Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild', a comedy movie. While Flood uses an ariel view of central London for its backdrop for the opening titles, Ashens' uses a cartoon backdrop featuring humorous animations and also uses an informal font. This instantly tells the audience that 'Flood' is a serious disaster movie, whereas Ashens is clearly a tongue-in-cheek style to convey to the audience that this is a funny movie.
The title sequences of all three of these movies - regardless of their genre - tell a great deal about who was involved in the movie. With so many different departments and people involved, it is clear to see that these movies had a very large funding for the production of their movies. My group will not have a large funding, and so therefore we would have to sacrifice a lot of the roles, or have group members take up multiple roles.
To conclude, this analysis has shown me that it is important to represent what my movie is going to be about through the opening titles. To make a thriller film opening titles successful, I have to use the appropriate font, colour, animation, backdrop and music. I will have to include these in my opening sequence if I used them in order for it to be successful:
- The production company
- Starring actors/actresses
- Title of the film
- Accompanying actors/actresses
- Writer(s) of the film
- Director(s) of the film
- Designer of production
- Producer(s)
- Music composer(s)
- Editor(s)
- Camera person/people
- Costume designer(s)
- Make-up designer(s)
- Visual effects person/people
- Any 'special thanks'
Institution Funding Research
Film Exhibition Research
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