Reseach of thriller movies

SALT, is a thriller movie with elements of action/mystery, starring Angelina Jolie. I chose to research this movie, as I found the narrative to be very interesting, it had a lot of twists, something that inspired while writing the treatment of my own film.

The storyline is about a highly respected C.I.A agent named Evelyn Salt, who one day has to interview a Russian spy who walks into their office and offers a vital piece of information: the President of Russia will be assassinated during his forthcoming visit to New York City to attend the funeral of the recently deceased U.S. Vice President. The name of the assassin: Evelyn Salt. Concerned about the safety of her husband, who she cannot contact, she goes on the run. Winter refuses to accept that she is a mole or a double agent but her actions begin to raise doubts. Just who is Evelyn Salt and what is she planning?

From the trailer it is clear to see this is an action packed film driven by the mysterious intentions of the main character, the audience is asked in the trailer 'Who is Salt?', the trailer makes it obvious that she is a mysterious character, for example, near the end there is a shot of Salt ripping off a face mask proving she has attempted to hide her identity. Furthermore, there were many action packed shots in the trailer, like the part when she jumps onto a moving truck, or when there is calamity in a conference meeting with hundreds of important people fleeing the hall and a man falls through the floor. I reckon the target audience for this film would be men and women aged between 16-50 years old, especially action movie fans and fans of Angelina Jolie.

Inception is established as a science fiction action thriller movie!This is clearly hybrid film, with elements of action, romance and mystery, this is clearly a film targeted to a mass audience. It is #8 on IMDB.com's top 250 movies of all time. It won 4 Oscars and another 32 wins.

Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible-inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming.

The soundtrack of this movie is incredible, I believe Hans Zimmer done an excellent job with the musical score, and this inspired the soundtrack of my own film. From the trailer, the music instantly captures the audience, with it's dark and powerful sound, the music is mostly parallel throughout the trailer, and i think this is what thriller movies do well; they entice the audience into being hooked on the movie. I followed this example, and also made my opening sequence soundtrack parallel and enticing.

Another thriller that has a legendary soundtrack is Psycho. Psycho, paved the way for many thrillers today, it could be argued that it made some of the codes and conventions for thriller movies itself. It was nominated for 4 oscars and is #24 on imdb.com's top 250 movies of all time.

Character Profile for Jonathan

• Over protective
• Easily Jealous
• Incredible strength
• Hatred for all of Sarah's previous Boyfriends
• Sadistic
• Reckless
• Relentless

Although this is an animation, this is a clear representation of the character Jonathan. Jonathan loves and devotes his life to his daughter, after the death of his wife he swore to protect his daughter. However, Sarah is unaware of Jonathan's childhood, and what actually drove him to become so twisted an over-protective when it came to males that tried to enter her life. He appears like a normal big stocky man, but possess incredible strength and willpower. Since the death of his wife, he has found it hard to have another relationship, and believes his daughter is the most important woman in his life.

Character Profile for Sarah

• 19 Years old
• Sensitive
• Opinionated
• Virgin
• Usually involved in long-term relationships
• Daddy's girl
• Independent woman

Although this is an animation, this is a clear representation of the character Sarah. Sarah is a student, who has taken a gap year to gain more experience and money. She adores her father, and respects him as he brought her up by himself as her mother died giving birth to her. She is an independent woman, she does not rely on her father for anything, instead she tries to look after him more then he looks after her. She is highly sensitive, she has a fragile personality and tends to get emotional quite easily. Although she is intelligent, she can be easily manipulated, especially by males, but nevertheless she strongly believes she does not want to loose her virginity unless she is in a relationship she knows will be very long-term.

Evaluation Question Seven

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Preliminary Brief:

Our task was to film and edit a character walking through a door, walking across the room, sitting down and having a conversation with another character. The 180 degree rule, match on action and shot/reverse shot must be demonstrated.

Main Task Brief:

Our main was task was to film and edit the opening sequence to our new fiction film that we had to make up, this included the titles. The opening sequence had to last a maximum of two minutes and minimum of one minute (all video and audio material must be original, produced by candidates, with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source).

I feel as if my ability and knowledge as a filmmaker has increased from my preliminary task to my main task. I have learnt from the mistakes in my preliminary and have worked hard to ensure I did not make the same mistakes in my main task.

The preliminary brief and task was straightforward as we did not get a lot of camera training, but instead I think we was being tested to see how much we can do without much guidance from our teacher. As I done media at GCSE, I was already familiar with editing, camera angles, camera movements etc. But I had never used the Canon XAH so I played close attention when we had a lesson on how to operate it. The main purpose of the task was to demonstrate our ability to use match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180
degree rule.

The main task was much more complex; it required much more commitment and effort. The media product was longer in length and the three stages of production were much more in depth; it actually gave me an insight into how much effort goes into making actual films. A minimum of twenty five shots were required, and this included a variety of camera movements and angles. I was excited to do this task as I was proving to myself if I am capable of being a filmmaker as a career and now I believe I can if I keep working hard and developing new ideas.

Pre-production for Prelim

After receiving our brief, no time was wasted as we went straight into our pre-production. During our preliminary, the pre-production was quick as the media product we had to make did not require much in-depth planning. I still learnt things from the preliminary pre-production.

There was three members of my group, myself, Heena and Janelle, we all had to work together to make sure we got our pre-production done smoothly and quickly, so we split up the tasks. For our pre-production we had to produce the following documents:

• Storyboard
• Script
• Shooting Schedule
• Character profile
• Treatment
• Location Recce
• Props list
• Cast list
• Photo storyboard

These documents were very useful to us and without them we would have struggled to film. The storyboard made sure every member of the group had the same vision of each shot and the overall opening sequence, we preferred using the storyboard more than the photo storyboard simply because it was more simple interpreting the shots. In the preliminary, one of my weaknesses was that my time management was not good; my group did not finish all our shots on time because we took too long filming shots. However, this was because we did not produce a shooting schedule, but in my main task we used a shooting schedule which ensured we filmed every shot on time. We had to finish our opening sequence by 5pm, and by using the shooting schedule properly, we managed to finish fifteen minutes early.

The location Recce was not really important in the prelim as we shot the majority of the footage in one classroom, but outside in the hallway was where the location Recce really helped as it reminded us that we had to film quickly before it became congested with pupils. In the main task, the location Recce was much more important as we as all the scenes had specific lighting (red, whit and green lighting was used). I believe my prelim pre-production prepared me for the main task’s pre-production, and all the previous mistakes I made in the prelim did not happen again in my main task, for example my continuity was a lot better.

Production for Prelim

In the preliminary task, we was not a loud to re-film due to limited time so we had to film our shots accurately as these were our final shots, however we was a loud one safety shot. The prelim production stage went well; but we had issues with time management as we took too long to film certain shots and ran out of time to film all our shots.  I also struggled to get the zoom I wanted while filming, in the end I chose not to use any zooms as I was too frustrated because learning how to zoom properly was time consuming. It was not long for the actors to rehearse their lines from the script and this helped the fluidity of the filming as we did not have to keep stopping to rehearse. We also came up with an extra shot while filming, this was the long shot from Bianca's (Actress) point of view, this shot helped the film to flow. We did not need to change the lighting in the room, but honestly at this stage we did not even take lighting into account.

Production for Main Task
In my main task, we were given three safety shots for each shot to avoid making mistakes and to have a variety of shots of a certain shot. For example, in one scene, I wanted a pan of a phone lying on the floor, but this proved difficult, so to make things easier my teacher told me how I should take different shots of the phone so that if the pan does not look good I can replace it with another shot, in the end I used a still close up of the phone. In the main task I also learned about the use of cutaways, and used it in my opening sequence.  Also, in the main task we was asked to switch roles a lot to gain more experience at every role, initially I had no problem being the director because that is something I aspire to be, being the camera operator was fine as well as I am familiar with operating and filming footage, but I had never done sound and continuity before, not even in the prelim, so this was something that through me off guard, because I didn't think such a role was needed, but I still  filled in the sound and continuity sheet, as it was not difficult. We overcame our time management problem by strictly sticking to our shooting schedule, something we lacked at the prelim stage. I found out that if I want an accurate zoom, I should adjust the speed of the zoom using a zoom speed button; this helped out a lot in the production of my opening sequence.

From my preliminary task to my main task I learned the following things:

• Time management is vital, without it problems may occur as your time is not organized and you many fail to meet the expected deadline given for your film. Do not rush filming but be cautious of the time you have available.
• A shooting schedule is an essential; it keeps you on track, helps to avoid rushing and may even help you finish with spare time. Following the shooting schedule gives you superb time management as you film in a certain order, which is quicker and you do not jump between locations, which is time consuming.
• Have as many safety shots, and a variety of different shots. I learned that your footage may not be to your liking when you play it back in post-production, and if you only have one shot and there are problems with it, there is not much you can do about it, other than to re-film. So as a solution you take safety shots so you have spare shots to you use in case your original shot is not what is wanted. Taking a variety of shots gives you more options to improve your film.
• Check everything in your shot is perfect, continuity is an essential. I learned that before you record your footage, you should always check that everything in your scene is as you want it, anything out of place may spoil the continuity and ruin your film. To do this, analyse everything in the viewfinder, making sure you have everything you want in the target lines.
• Make sure the camera is in focus.  To do this, you twist the focus dial until it is in focus. This is so your footage does not appear blurry. However I did use this focus dial smartly during the shot of the mobile phone, so the audience anticipates the name on the mobile screen.
•  Rehearse your scenes. It is wise to rehearse before you record so that the actors and production team are well aware of what they most do when the camera is rolling, otherwise you will waste time retaking shots and scenes.

Post production for Prelim

In the preliminary task, the film was meant to be short and quick so this meant the same for the editing. As I was already experienced at editing, this task was simple for me as I had to do basic editing like, razoring, digitising, adding transitions, adding effects, slowing and speeding down shots, editing the volume of the sounds, copy and pasting, and re-ordering.

Post production for Main Task
However, the main task was a much greater task for me; this was the task where I needed a bit of help from the teacher when editing. For a successful opening sequence, the sound has to be as good as the film itself. I already knew how to edit the volume of sound, but in the main task I had to make all the voice overs have the same level on the volume bar, but when I adjusted each voice over individually to lower the volume, they all still sounded totally different as they were not on the same level on the bar. I used all the editing tools i learned in prelim, like editing sounds and adding effects. I was introduced to a volume setting/tool that I had never used before and it allowed me to edit the volume of the voice overs and soundtrack in greater depth, and the voice overs in the end were at the same level. Furthermore, there were problems with the lighting that we could not notice during filming, but while editing some scenes appeared to dark, so as a result i had to use lighting effects to make some shots brighter . I learned that while filming with dim light, you should always play it back on the camera during filming too make sure there are no lighting problems.

Evaluation Question Six

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

My knowledge about technology has increased from the process of constructing my media product. I and my group had to use the technology available for us effectively so that our film was of the best quality we could make it.

To film my footage I used the Canon XAH, this camera came with the following equipment:

·         Battery(portable and charge pack)

·         Lens cap

·         Camera bag

·         Chalk

·         Clapper board

·         Tape

This was my first time using a camera like this to film, but after a lesson on how to operate it I found it quite simple and straightforward to use. You first take

1.       The lens cap of

2.        Put the battery in the camera

3.        Then your tape

4.       Take the viewfinder out

5.       Turn camera on by turning to record mode

6.       Check focus

7.       Press record

8.       Film away!

The camera was used together with the Libec L8200 tripod.

To set up this tripod I had to do the following:

 
1. Take the tripod out of its protective case
2. Release the legs of the tripod by taking off the lock
3. Open the locks at each leg
4. Extend legs to shoulder length
5. Lock all legs

I then placed the camera on the tripod and checked the shoehorn was locked tightly. I then had to check the spirit level and make any adjustments to it if it was not at the right level.

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For editing I used the program Adobe Premiere CS4. I love editing because it transforms what could have been a poor film to a whole new product; this is where the filming process really comes alive for me. I enjoy using Adobe because it is not complicated to use, and if used correctly, you can edit your film quickly, it also makes the whole look of your footage look so much better because of the vast variety of tools and effects to choose from. This program was used to put together my raw footage, cut the shots to the appropriate length, add effects, add titles, add the sounds, and to edit the sounds.

After digitizing the footage there was a number of mistakes found, this was because while filming, I used dim lights so it was hard for me and the camera operator to spot things that were not meant to be in the shots as it was so dark. So to get rid of these mistakes I had to re-film certain shots or just make certain shots lighter.

I stuck to using three particular transitions: cross dissolve, fade to black and fade to white, an example of when I used fade to black is during the cutaways, when the credits were shown and the voice overs were played. I learned that using many transitions takes away the realism of your footage and makes it look unprofessional. I used one or two effects to lighten one or two shots, and if I didn’t use effects then I adjusted the contrast itself.

The credits were also created using Adobe, I chose a simple white font for the actors names and my teacher actually said the font makes it look more like a thriller opening. I created my production companies with an I.T teacher, for example ‘Mad Man Movies’ was a production company I created and developed. Also me and the I.T teacher spent time creating the title as I specifically wanted a title that appeared in a way that was common yet special in thriller films, and eventually we found a smoke effect. The production companies and title was imported into Adobe and adjustments were made to them if needed.

Once the soundtrack was imported, I made sure it started at the right moment of the opening sequence by moving it to right place on Adobe. I used a fade effect to fade out the soundtrack at the end so the wind effect was heard properly at the end.  A few voice overs were imported to add more emotion and meaning to the opening sequence, like, ‘How can he lay hands on my daughter?!’ This is a significant voice over as it gives the audience a vital clue of what the story is about. Editing these voice overs was kind of a challenge. They all sounded different; either too loud or too quiet, so I had to lower the volume on each voice over properly so that they all had around the same level on the volume bar. Sound effects were also imported to give more meaning to my opening sequence, for example, the heartbeat monitor was added as a clue to show someone has passed away in the story.

To record the voice overs and other sounds, the Sennheiser Microphone and headphones were used with a boom pole.

The clarity of the voice over was decent, they were not perfect but they were clear enough for the audience to hear properly. We recorded footsteps of one of the characters and I believe the clarity of them was very good.

As the microphone was so powerful and picked up voices from other classrooms, I and my group had to find a derelict place to record, and so we used the control room to record as it is hardly used. In the end this room proved useful despite the ridiculous amount of heat the room generated.

Overall, I believe my ability to use all the technology has increased and I know I will be confident with my next practical task.

Evaluation Question Five

How did you attract/address your audience?

My opening sequence begins with my main production company appearing on screen, and then a fade to white transition is used to show the second production company, ‘Rainbow Productions’. At this stage there is total silence so that the audience can focus solely on the production company’s shown, also the absence of sound causes suspense as the audience are waiting to see the first shot of the opening sequence as they are eager to properly start the film, and I believe this is a technique used in many films. This part of my opening sequence uses the codes and conventions of thriller films; usually the absence of sound attracts the audience to continue watching out of suspense and curiosity.

The first shot is parallel to the soundtrack as it appears just as the music starts; the soundtrack helps to grab the attention of the audience as it sets a dark mysterious mood. The first shot is a pan of a wall covered with newspapers, photos and red writing. This shot is significant as it establishes the setting for the audience and they are attracted into the world of the film. I attempted to create an augmented reality.

Throughout the opening sequence, there are close ups of the photos, newspaper articles and the red writing, these close ups are actually clues for the audience to try make some sense of what story is about, the audience can do this by associating the close ups of the photos and newspaper articles, with the voice overs of the characters. I believe these clues work well as there is not much dialogue, characters and action in the opening sequence. The idea of showing photos of the characters instead of the actual characters in the opening was taken from the film Memento; this was done so that the characters were established to the audience but not actually introduced, so that the audience will begin to ask questions like, who are these people? What is their relevance to the story?

Furthermore, a pan of the lead characters’ body in the opening sequence creates curiosity and tension, this is because it starts from his feet and goes up his body, the audience is attracted and in suspense as they want to see the persons face, but as my film follows the codes and conventions of most thriller films, the characters face is not shown so that the audience can try too figure out or imagine the characters face, and to keep the tension. I wanted to build up tension so that the audience fully concentrate on everything that is happening in the opening sequence, and in turn they will naturally anticipate what will happen at the end of the opening sequence, which is a good way to keep my audience hooked.

Close ups of objects, which are also clues, keeps the audience engaged, as they try to figure out the meaning on these clues.  For example, there is a close up of a mobile phone screen and the phone is ringing. The shot is purposely out of focus at the start of the shot so that the audience cannot see the name; this attracts the audience as they are wondering who is actually calling the phone as shot is turning back into focus the audience cannot help but wait to find out the name. I used objects to represent each character, the cap represented Nicholas and the phone represented Sarah as her name was on the screen.

The voice overs used give the audience more clues about the story, they are heard every blackout when an actors name is show. These voice overs also attract the audience to concentrate more as they begin to think who think about whom the voices belong to, the audience can then associate the voices with the pictures and figure out more about the story.  ‘How Can he lay hands on my daughter?!’ Is an example of a voice over that the audience can associate with a picture. The audience can link the voice over with the newspaper article, and figure out that this man is on the hunt for the man who hurt his daughter. The idea of voice overs during blackouts was taken from the film Memento.

While editing, me and my group had to think how we can keep the tension and suspension from the begin to the end, and so we made our opening sequence quite slow paced so the audience can take in as much information as possible to try figure out the story. For example, there is a shot of boots as the person walks into the room; we slowed down this shot to add a sinister and creepy feel to this mysterious character, so the audience can see how slow the character is walking into the room almost as if the character is purposely walking in slow; like a predator creeping up on it’s prey. Furthermore, the pan of the lead characters body is not shown all at once, but it is broken up by using cutaways so that the audience is always anticipating because they are eager to see this characters face, but the pan is interrupted by the cutaways.  The title is shown at the end of the opening sequence, before it is shown, the lead character suddenly opens his eyes as he was unconsciouss then the title is shown, this is common in thriller films. The tile itself also causes suspense as it is not shown straight away, instead smoke fills the screen and the audience is attracted to keep watching as they have to patiently wait for the smoke to clear before the title is shown. This smoke that is used so that there is a sense of mystery to this film, that everything is not clear in this twisted story and that the audience will always be on the edge of their seats awaiting what is yet to come in the film.

I would expect the audience to already know that thriller films are not as straightforward as other film genre, that’s why my narrative is actually non-linear, and my opening sequence is actually near the end of my film, like the film Inception, because it makes my film much more complex and interesting; a film where the audience is much more engaged and have to use their brains more. Also my audience is expected to know that most thriller films show a lot of clues so that the audience are attracted to try piece together the story.

I have chosen the themes of love, hatred and evil. The audience can relate to the use of red lighting and writing as they can be associated with both love and evil, so the audience would automatically think whoever created this room may be enraged and filled with hatred or maybe even love.

Evaluation Question Four

Who would be the audience for your media product?

My media product is aimed at a wide target audience, due to its hybrid mixture, its characters and the actual narrative. As it is a certificate 15 film, anyone beyond the age of 15 is welcome to watch the film. It is aimed at both men and women ranged from the age of 15 to 40 years old. This is because the audience can relate to the characters and settings. The cast itself is aged between 20-40 years old, from the couple who are around 20 years old to the parents who are aged around 40 years old, it is clear my film is aimed at people between those ages as they can relate to and feel comfortable with the characters on screen. My actual primary audience are men and women, from ages 15-40 who are from and urban background, mainly situated in the suburbs. My secondary audience are couples, students, gamers and people who usually watch thriller movies as they will enjoy this film even if they had to watch it as a last resort in the cinema.

 This film is also aimed at people who are more likely to go to the cinema in the evening, after work and college as the film has a dark sinister theme which is better shown in the evening then the daytime, to set the mood for the movie. Also if couples are planning to watch this movie, they are most likely to watch it in the evening, as most couples go cinema in the evening. Also I have chosen the cinema, as I believe my film will be the best when played in one because of the whole cinematic experience and technology, like surround sound.

When my film is released on DVD, it will be aimed at those who love to keep a DVD collection as I believe my film is a film that will be remembered for a very time.  People who love spending time watching hours of TV and DVD's will buy this DVD, also people who have time to watch short films will be interested in buying the DVD.

My Film is a thriller, with elements of action and romance in it, so people who enjoy thriller, action or romance movies will go to see this movie. For example, young couples who enjoy romantic thrillers will go out to see this film, this is because there is a strong theme of love in the narrative and also young  couples can relate to the characters in the film that are also young and in a relationship. Furthermore, this is aimed at people who enjoy films with a complex narrative; they will go to see this movie because  it has a non-linear narrative, so the audience has to put together clues while watching the movie, instead of just simply watching a normal film from start to finish; they like films that require thought when watched.

In the last six months the target audience of my film would have watched a film like Inception, which is a psychological thriller, which also has elements of action and romance in the plot. They would have also seen films such as Saw 3D, Paranormal Activity 2, Salt and The Twilight Saga Eclipse. This is because all of these movies have codes and conventions of genres that are in my film, so fans of these movies will no doubt enjoy my film.

There are three main characters in my film, the boyfriend, the girlfriend and the girlfriend’s psycho dad.  Firstly, my film is aimed at an audience of black ethnicity, preferably black males from an urban community. This is because the lead character, is a black male who is represented as a young wealthy man from an urban community, this is seen through his costumes, language and acting. So young black males from urban communities will be interested to see how this character is portrayed on screen so they can decide if the representation of young urban males is accurate.

Secondly, my film is also aimed at people of the Asian ethnicity, preferably Asian fathers or Asian men around 25-40 years old, as the psycho dad is an Asian actor, so therefore Asian men will find it enjoyable to see how extreme a fathers love can be for his daughter as Asian fathers are known to be very strict and overprotective.

My film will be aimed at people with a variety of interests. People with an interest in fashion will watch this film as the latest in urban fashion is showcased throughout my film, also people with an interest in stunts and weaponry will watch this film as many stunts and weapons are used during the chase scenes in this movie. This means gamers, who play action and shooting games will be targeted as guns are involved in the plot, a lot of teenagers are interested in guns because of shooting and war games so they will go to see this movie.

In terms if psychographics, I am aiming this media product at people who are easily excited, but also people who will also question many aspects of my film, for example they will questions like ‘why there are so many flashbacks in my film instead of a easy flowing story?’ Also this is aimed at people have a good social life as I believe this movie is more enjoyable when surrounded my friends. These  people will be the ones who are touched easily by unethical acts, such as abuse and murder. They may like watching programs such as C.S.I, films that are based around investigations, clues, action and murder. They may be very socialable people, who enjoy going out every weekend, or every chance they have spare time.