prelim planning

We are planning on doing a short western themed scene which involved two people meeting and going for a coffee only to discover there is one biscuit left. The film will be called 'Biscuit Showdown'

Costume:
We plan to use smart/casual clothes, to create the appearance of teacher.
we also want to include smart shoes to create cowboy boot effect.
Setting:
The staff room will be a good setting as it has a counter where we can plug in out props and seats with table in-between.
Props:
For our prelim task we will need bring in two mugs, a biscuit, a kettle, a plate, some coffee and a spoon.
Lighting:
The lighting will be daylight and we will not need to set up and special lights.

The sound for our prelim will be split into two, for the first half we will play:
A fist full of dollars - Ennio Morricone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqjcoTzhaIk
For the second half (when the biscuit is found), this will be played as it is much more dramatic and will make it very tense:
The good, the bad, the ugly - Ennio Morricone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hYV-JSjpyU

Prelim Story Board

1. two characters walking down a corridor (long shot), cross cut between the two shots.
2.Close up of feet also cross cutting between the two people.
3.two people meet and exchange dialogue.
4.walk through door together (match on action)
5.pan around room as one person sits down
6.second person walks over to counter
7.two cups of coffee are made.
8.close up and birds eye view of coffee stirring around, (zoom in)

9.Graphic match and zoom out on biscuit.
10.zoom out to see birds eye view of people and biscuit
11.extreme close up of one persons eyes
12.extreme close up of the other persons eyes
13.extreme close up one person licking lips
14.extreme close up of other person with pen in mouth
15, long shot of two people sat opposite leaning in.
16.over the shoulder shot of  reaching for biscuit

17.Birds eye view of reaching for biscuit

no country for old men

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTbcp2R2yUQ&feature=player_embedded

The first shots in the opening scene are extreme long shots (establishing shots) they are used to show the setting, the setting is very isolated and deserted, we also know it is deserted al there is no evidence of civilisation  this is typical of a thriller as it shows the isolate nature of the setting and therefore how fitting it would be for an attack or crime as the victim would be completely helpless. There is also a narration over the top of the first few clips of the landscape of a man talking about another man, this is done to make us want to keep watching and know who the characters are.

The next shot is of a police man and a mysterious man, the police man is arresting the man. He is kept mysterious as the camera is kept behind him to disguise his identity, none of them speak either meaning we still do not know why they are in this vast landscape and who they are. The costume of the characters give us connotations of time as the police outfit  looks like sheriff outfit and is therefore old, the voice over from the previous clip also told us that it may be set in america because of his accent. The person being arrested is wearing black, meaning he may be bad and out of the ordinary considering the circumstances and setting, it also shows he is a key character as the rest of the landscape and person/props and bland light colours, where as he is wearing all black and so stands out.

The next shot shows both the police man an arrested man in the car. The lighting has been used to express their personalities as the police man is lit brightly representing he is innocent and good, whereas the man in the back of the car is in a shadow to hide his identity and create mystery about his, as well as representing that he has a bad atmosphere. Before this shot we also saw an air canister being put into the car, we do not know what this is for or why it is there. all these factors build up the sense of mystery.

The next shot is then inside what looks like a police station. The police man is on the telephone and describes how the man had some kind of weapon (the air canister). Tension the builds as we see the criminal creep up on the police man, there is no sound, which works just as effectively as using no music at all. The criminal then  suddenly attacks the police man yet his identity is still hidden.

The next shot is to show the struggle of the sheriff as he is being killed by the criminal. It is done by using a birds eye view of his feet franticly struggling, the shoes also leave marks on the floor to show his battle for survival. Once the feet have stopped we then see the concentrated face of the killer to show his determination.

Thriller mise-en-scene

Thriller mise-en-scene

Costumes:
costumes for a thriller usually included very dark clothing for killer/bad person as this makes them seem evil, hooded costumes also adds to a mysterious character as it can hide the face. Even masks can be used to hide faces.

Props:
Common props used in thrillers are things like weapons used for a murder or gadgets and detective equipment used to catch the killer.

Lighting:
Dramatic lighting often sets the mood of a thriller. By lighting the victim brightly and keeping the killer in the dark it creates an innocence about the victim and a dark mysterious personality to the killer. Shadows can also be tension building.

Setting:

settings for thrillers vary depending on the sub-genre. However stereotypical thrillers are often set in either somewhere which appears safe, e.g. home/shower. Or they are set in isolated, uninhabited areas such as woodland or dark streets.

Conventions

Genre	Thriller	Western	Sci-Fi	Gangster	Action
What we see	Knives, crime, detectives, mysterious people.	Tumble weed, horses,saloons, guns.	Space, aliens, experiments, future, planets, robots	Guns, gangs, money, knives, drugs, cars	Casino, guns, spy gear, explosions, bow-ties, modified cars
What we hear	Screams, heartbeats, tension building music, eerie sounds.	Gun shots, broken glass, whistling, wind,metal boots, horses.	Lasers, alien talk, woosh, beep	Gunshots, shouting, traffic, bad mouthing	Gunshots, explosions, gadgets beeping
Typical characters	Innocent young naïve girl, psychopath, detective.	What we see	Alien, traveller, computer	Mafia, gangsters, boss, police	Spy, baddie, glamours girl
Typical Storyline	Innocent victim murdered, pyscho twist, intelligent detective.	What we hear	Travel through space, man from England, world take over	Turf war, drug complication, revenge	Spy kills baddie and fancy event, girl gets in way.
Examples	Psycho, no country for old men, dead calm.	Young guns, true grit.	Amagedon, independence day, startrek	Snatch, godfather	James bond, fast and furious

Shutter Island opening analysis

Shutter island

I am analysing the opening to the thriller film, Shutter Island. The opening narrative shows a boat with two characters approaching a mysterious island. Many of the shots make is a clear thriller as there are many dark gloomy establishing shots and mysterious elements of mise-en-scene about the characters. There is also a key flashback which creates confusion and mystery to the narrative. There is also a constant build of tension as the boat draws closer to the island.

The first shot is an establishing shot which shows a front facing ship coming towards the camera. It is also very centralised which focuses the attention onto the ship. The ship its self is very sturdy and industrial looking, giving the impression it is suited for extreme weather and danger. We can tell this as the weather in the shot is raining and misty this is also an example of pathetic fallacy, reflecting the mood using the weather and is very common in other thrillers. In this case the mist surrounding the boat also makes it seem mysterious and unwelcoming. Another reason the boat appears mysterious is due to the vast amount of ocean around it, this gives the impression that the ship is isolated and has come from a far away place meaning it may have been separated from civilisation for sometime .If you look closely at the boat there is a single figure standing at the front adding to the sense of isolation and mystery as we cannot see the face of the person and they are unaccompanied. There is also little colour in the shot making the atmosphere appear gloomy and dull. The sound in the shot is of crashing waves, this gives a sense of danger to the water below. The other sound to be heard is of the horn, it is played several times and creates suspense and tension.

The second shot is a long shot of a character in a room. The character is centralised and is dressed in a suit, showing he is of importance and his style of hat also gives a rough idea as to what decades it is set in. Although the character is centralised, he is out of focus as the focus is on the chains and handcuffs hanging from the ceiling and lying on the floor. This gives the impression that the boat is possibly a prison boat and gives an eerie feel to the room and what it used for or if it is even still in use. The atmosphere of the room feels unsafe and depressive as the chains represent ideas of violence and torture. The lighting in the room is faint and produces little light which gives an ambiance of little hope. The sounds in the shot are of the chains clanking against each other, adding to the prison like feeling again.

The next shot introduces a second character. It is a medium shot and the new character is centralised and stood at the front of the ship. The weather is still miserable and sets the mood to be dull and dreary.There is little light in the shot, adding to the atmosphere, it could also mean it is either early morning or evening. The conversation between the characters identifies that the character we met earlier is in-charge of the new character making him seem more important knowledgeable. We can also tell by their clothes that their occupation could be a possible detective or a reporter.

The fourth shot I have chosen to analyse is from a flashback scene. It is straight away much more colourful and which would represent a happier/lively time and place. The content of the shot is the man in charge with a girl next to him who appears to be his girlfriend. We can tell this as she is hugging his shoulder and giving him a tie, this shows the connection between them. The clothes in the shot also identify the time the film is set in as the girl is wearing a 50's style dress. The music in the shot is quite eerie and consists of theatrical singing and dramatic effects, indicating a strong powerful moment. There is then a very sudden jump cut back to a shot of loud, violent crashing waves, which may have represented her death.

The final shot is an extreme long shot approaching the island. The main focus is on the pier where the boat is headed. On the pier there is what looks like a hanging frame which immediately indicates danger and dangerous people on the island. There is also figures of four police awaiting the arrival of the ship. The police confirm that the island is dangerous as they cannot be assisted with out police. There is also little evidence of buildings, meaning it is potentially uninhabited and therefore not a nice place to be. The music also gets noticeable louder as the ship approaches the island making it seem very daunting and there is a lot of suspense and tension.

Throughout the scene there is a constant suspense build due to the music gradually getting much louder and the continual ships horn. There is also a great sense of mystery about everything, due the weather, silhouettes,unexplained flashbacks and feelings of isolation and separation. The editing also helped to make the opening build suspense as there were lots of abrupt and quick edits,making things seem more sudden and shocking. 

Overall the key element to making shutter island conventional a thriller was the use of weather and pathetic fallacy to create negative and chilling atmospheres. 

Sound

Sound

There are two types of sound used in films, diegetic and non-diegetic.

Diegetic:

This is sound which is picked up during filming and then used, e.g:

-Talking form characters.

-Noise form objects.

-Music (noise from instruments there).

-Background noise.

It is actual sound which has been filmed on location and can be either on screen or off screen.

Non-diegetic:

sound is sound which has been added to the clip during editing to exaggerate a sound or to add a new sound completely, e.g:

-Narration over a clip.

-Sound effects such as explosions

-Soundtracks.

These must be edited well however to create the illusion that the sound was made by the action happening.