Question 1
I have selected 9 particular frames from my thriller film opening which incorporate or challenge stereotypical conventions of thriller films.
At the start of the film we wanted to show the basis of the narrative therefore we used a panning shot of the setting. This showed the Bunker itself and the empty landscape of its surroundings, the colour of the mise-en-scene tells the audience the scene was set within an older year. The old image suggests the plot of story has a hidden old ghostly story behind it therefore conveying a convention of thriller films. The titles also assist the shot to explain the location. Despite the opening scene looking like a stereotypical location it doesn't set a clear narrative from the start. This opening follows the introduction of 'X-Men' as they too show the location alongside titles to set the mood. Where 'X-Men' use rain 'pathetic fatalist' to set the mood of the opening shoot, our movie uses a filter to make all the colours gloomy and dark. Without the vibrant colours of green of the grass and blue of the sky the mood portrayed is very depressing and sad.
To create suspense and allow the audience to become familiar with the characters from the beginning of the film a niche variety of shots were used in the bunker scene. Using long and medium shots the audience can see the clothing of the person as well as the setting within each shot. Closer shots were used within the second scene to allow the narrative to flow and create suspense. Using a variety of shots as well as the pace between shots worked well to build the suspense for example when the lights go out within the bunker the camera swings from different camera angles, from first the writing on the wall to the close up of the ghost face to then a high angle of the characters running up the stairs to get away. The pace allows the audience to keep engaged into the film as they wouldn't want to miss anything key.
Frame Three: Film Title
The title page is a separate shot to the scene. The title was placed in between the two scenes to break them up, we did experiment with putting the title page on the end of the 2 minutes however this made the opening look more like a trailer. The blood dripping and close up of the scary eye conveys the conventions of a thriller because it looks scary as well as give elements of the narrative. With the title being 'The Bunker' I decided it would be a bit cliché if the title was over the long shot image of the bunker therefore it was placed against a back drop. Also makes a stronger narrative due to the female going missing in the last scene and then appearing being blood within the title, suggesting she has died or something big has happened to her.
Frame Four: How the characters are introduced
The characters were introduced as a friendship group from the beginning of the film. This was to show the connection and relationship between the characters. The characters are shown walking down a lane before approaching the bunker. The filter which is used through this scene doesn't show any colours therefore the characters identity isn't strong, names aren't used either within this scene however the distinctive looks each character has makes them unique and obvious to the audience such as, the female is the only girl within the group, there are different ethnicities which make the characters distinctive as well as height different between the male characters. Within the second scene a title states the location of the house 'Simon's house' then a male character is shown, suggesting that his name is Simon, this is the protagonist. The clothing used was quite basic; as before mentioned we got the female to wear a skirt to make her look more faltering where as we got the males to wear basic jeans and a jumper or/and coat. We then got the character 'Simon' to wear a polo shirt for the second scene because polos are a bit more fashionable and older people, within their 20's, would stereotypically wear these types of tops. In 'The November Man' the male protagonist character wears a top, this was an influence for our costume idea for the second scene.
Frame Five: Lighting
The bunker was a dark location therefore we had to use torches to lighten the surroundings. The torches illuminated the walls of the bunker which allowed us to film enough footage. To our advantage the darkness and torches created shadows when walking down the bunker corridor therefore we used this to create and add suspense to the outcome. The torches were also used to highlight individual part of the bunker such as the graffiti, 'The Devil is Here' is written within the bunker walls (we didn't do this). The torches highlighted this writing so when filming it became clear what was written. In terms of the outside and house scenes we used natural day lighting to give it a natural look, however we did film towards sunset with the bunker scene to allow the light look as if it is falling behind the bunker hill.
Frame Six: Setting and Location
We used the 2 locations in which we had decided on from the beginning of the planning. The bunker was set in Hartlip where as the house was set in Parkwood, Rainham. However due to publishing the film in mainstream cinemas we decided to say the house is set in a more mainstream location 'London' to allow the audience to attach and connect with the narrative easier. The locations were accessible which lead us to film quite easily, despite the weather issues we had on our first original filming date. Using the filter within the first scene allowed the two scenes to juxtapose massively which helped emphases on the time change. With additional help with the music the locations where completely identified separately. The setting of the house was already a plain layout therefore additional props weren't needed which helped us to be more organised.
Frame Nine: How suspense is created
Suspense was created throughout the film, one way in which we done this was by adding slow motion to one of the actors opening the door on the side, this slow motion suggested that they were scared and could possibly leave even though they didn't, this slow motion also made the noise from the door deeper and louder. This created suspense because the noise is sudden and the audience are unaware on what is on the other side of the door. Suspense is also created when the 3 boys are running away, the female isn't present therefore allowing the audience to ask 'where is she?' and 'what happened?'. This is then followed by a loud scream which create even more suspense as it questions the audience more 'who's scream is that?'. In the second scene a sound of creaking is heard and the camera flies round to where the sound is coming from however nothing is there. This creates suspense because there is no one around to make that noise therefore asks the audience again 'where did that sound come from?'. All this continuous questioning within the audiences head creates suspense because they are confused and questions without answers are accruing, not knowing the unknown creates suspense because of the curious thoughts.
Frame One: Story and how the opening sets up
At the start of the film we wanted to show the basis of the narrative therefore we used a panning shot of the setting. This showed the Bunker itself and the empty landscape of its surroundings, the colour of the mise-en-scene tells the audience the scene was set within an older year. The old image suggests the plot of story has a hidden old ghostly story behind it therefore conveying a convention of thriller films. The titles also assist the shot to explain the location. Despite the opening scene looking like a stereotypical location it doesn't set a clear narrative from the start. This opening follows the introduction of 'X-Men' as they too show the location alongside titles to set the mood. Where 'X-Men' use rain 'pathetic fatalist' to set the mood of the opening shoot, our movie uses a filter to make all the colours gloomy and dark. Without the vibrant colours of green of the grass and blue of the sky the mood portrayed is very depressing and sad.
Frame Two: Camera work and editing
To create suspense and allow the audience to become familiar with the characters from the beginning of the film a niche variety of shots were used in the bunker scene. Using long and medium shots the audience can see the clothing of the person as well as the setting within each shot. Closer shots were used within the second scene to allow the narrative to flow and create suspense. Using a variety of shots as well as the pace between shots worked well to build the suspense for example when the lights go out within the bunker the camera swings from different camera angles, from first the writing on the wall to the close up of the ghost face to then a high angle of the characters running up the stairs to get away. The pace allows the audience to keep engaged into the film as they wouldn't want to miss anything key.Frame Three: Film Title
The title page is a separate shot to the scene. The title was placed in between the two scenes to break them up, we did experiment with putting the title page on the end of the 2 minutes however this made the opening look more like a trailer. The blood dripping and close up of the scary eye conveys the conventions of a thriller because it looks scary as well as give elements of the narrative. With the title being 'The Bunker' I decided it would be a bit cliché if the title was over the long shot image of the bunker therefore it was placed against a back drop. Also makes a stronger narrative due to the female going missing in the last scene and then appearing being blood within the title, suggesting she has died or something big has happened to her.
We of course used film titles of production companies which has been explained before hand.
Frame Four: How the characters are introduced
The characters were introduced as a friendship group from the beginning of the film. This was to show the connection and relationship between the characters. The characters are shown walking down a lane before approaching the bunker. The filter which is used through this scene doesn't show any colours therefore the characters identity isn't strong, names aren't used either within this scene however the distinctive looks each character has makes them unique and obvious to the audience such as, the female is the only girl within the group, there are different ethnicities which make the characters distinctive as well as height different between the male characters. Within the second scene a title states the location of the house 'Simon's house' then a male character is shown, suggesting that his name is Simon, this is the protagonist. The clothing used was quite basic; as before mentioned we got the female to wear a skirt to make her look more faltering where as we got the males to wear basic jeans and a jumper or/and coat. We then got the character 'Simon' to wear a polo shirt for the second scene because polos are a bit more fashionable and older people, within their 20's, would stereotypically wear these types of tops. In 'The November Man' the male protagonist character wears a top, this was an influence for our costume idea for the second scene.
Frame Five: Lighting
The bunker was a dark location therefore we had to use torches to lighten the surroundings. The torches illuminated the walls of the bunker which allowed us to film enough footage. To our advantage the darkness and torches created shadows when walking down the bunker corridor therefore we used this to create and add suspense to the outcome. The torches were also used to highlight individual part of the bunker such as the graffiti, 'The Devil is Here' is written within the bunker walls (we didn't do this). The torches highlighted this writing so when filming it became clear what was written. In terms of the outside and house scenes we used natural day lighting to give it a natural look, however we did film towards sunset with the bunker scene to allow the light look as if it is falling behind the bunker hill.Frame Six: Setting and Location
We used the 2 locations in which we had decided on from the beginning of the planning. The bunker was set in Hartlip where as the house was set in Parkwood, Rainham. However due to publishing the film in mainstream cinemas we decided to say the house is set in a more mainstream location 'London' to allow the audience to attach and connect with the narrative easier. The locations were accessible which lead us to film quite easily, despite the weather issues we had on our first original filming date. Using the filter within the first scene allowed the two scenes to juxtapose massively which helped emphases on the time change. With additional help with the music the locations where completely identified separately. The setting of the house was already a plain layout therefore additional props weren't needed which helped us to be more organised.
Frame Seven: Genre and how the opening suggests it
stereotypical conventions of a thriller because we had added the sound of a birds song which is relaxing however this juxtaposes the scene therefore still allowing the audience to be on edge as they could tell from the first scene that it was a thriller therefore it creates the mind thought of 'What's next?'. When the stereotypical conventions of a thriller film are challenge it makes the film more interesting and makes the audience think about the differences. These convention combined allows the audience to see the film has a thriller genre.
Frame Eight: Special effects
We followed top thriller conventions in order for our audience to understand the genre of the film is thriller. A convention we used strongly was the pitch and tempo of the soundtrack. We had several different sounds which were used throughout however, there are sudden changes within the music and scary screams which creates suspense and the heart jumping changes are quite scary therefore informing the audience it is a thriller. Another convention we used was our choices of camera angles. We used a side camera to make it look like someone is watching them come into the bunker, this idea of a stalker or someone watching the characters gives the feel of suspicion therefore telling the audience someone is watching them which is scary, again telling the audience that it is a thriller. Also the added elements of writing and the scribbles used on the female in the photo frame shows that bad things are happening and creating a scary atmosphere therefore allowing the audience to see that it is a thriller. We did subvert one of the
stereotypical conventions of a thriller because we had added the sound of a birds song which is relaxing however this juxtaposes the scene therefore still allowing the audience to be on edge as they could tell from the first scene that it was a thriller therefore it creates the mind thought of 'What's next?'. When the stereotypical conventions of a thriller film are challenge it makes the film more interesting and makes the audience think about the differences. These convention combined allows the audience to see the film has a thriller genre.Frame Eight: Special effects
We used face paint to create a special effect, this was to create suspense as well as make the bunker come across as more scary. We used this special effect to create a fuller story line as well as make the footage look more interesting. We didn't really add many special effects as the footage originally looked quite good and created a clear story line.
Frame Nine: How suspense is created
Suspense was created throughout the film, one way in which we done this was by adding slow motion to one of the actors opening the door on the side, this slow motion suggested that they were scared and could possibly leave even though they didn't, this slow motion also made the noise from the door deeper and louder. This created suspense because the noise is sudden and the audience are unaware on what is on the other side of the door. Suspense is also created when the 3 boys are running away, the female isn't present therefore allowing the audience to ask 'where is she?' and 'what happened?'. This is then followed by a loud scream which create even more suspense as it questions the audience more 'who's scream is that?'. In the second scene a sound of creaking is heard and the camera flies round to where the sound is coming from however nothing is there. This creates suspense because there is no one around to make that noise therefore asks the audience again 'where did that sound come from?'. All this continuous questioning within the audiences head creates suspense because they are confused and questions without answers are accruing, not knowing the unknown creates suspense because of the curious thoughts.
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