1. 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' has an interesting intro scene, explaining the rules of a variation of poker, using a dark room to cast long shadows on the faces of the actors, as well as an extreme close-up to prevent the audience getting a good look at them. Both techniques help to create an air of mystery and suspense, vital to a thriller film. I will bear in mind that an intro should give away as little vital information as possible.
2. 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' also has one interesting camera shot which I noted more than any other; when climbing a staircase, the camera follows them from behind, closely following their feet. This would create a very powerful opening shot, instantly creating a mysterious atmosphere.
3. Spiral staircases are often used in the more generic thrillers (so much that a film was even made around the idea ‘The Spiral Staircase’), such as ‘Vertigo’. The staircase, or spiral shape (spirals are also used in the intro sequence), is a metaphor for the twisting nature of thriller films. This effect is used in a lot of films, such as Leon.
4. 'Reservoir Dogs' uses the camera to zoom in on a persons face to make them seem isolated, and therefore create an enclosed space for them, another common tension building technique. I would like to experiment with this, maybe using a black border to close in instead of the camera.5. The first 'Lord of the Rings' film uses a fascinating zoom technique where the length of a passage seems to move into the camera to create a claustrophobic effect. This is something I will need to look into further, as it could be useful later on. This effect is combined with the staircase in ‘Vertigo’ to make the stairs look far more menacing.
5. From what I observed from last year's students intros on
Youtube is that to create a colour filter, they used coloured lights, which in my opinion created a tacky, unprofessional finish, as other colours were still too visible in the mise-en-scene, combining with the coloured lighting to make clashing colours, instead of the clean, polished look of a professional film. Although I would have to test this, I think it would be easier and cleaner to add a light filter after filming using film editing software.
Note the lack of any strong colours besides green in this image; if it had a person dressed in red, they would stick out, which is something i could use to make a person look important, a technique used in many films, especially in Sin City. (Left)
6. In the first half of 'From Dusk Till Dawn' When the lead character first sees a body on a bed, the camera zooms in on him, like in Reservoir Dogs, but instead of showing the audience what he sees, we only get flashes of the scene and atmospheric music, which is far more disturbing than seeing the body, as it creates an unnerving moment, and is far more scary for it. This same effect of showing a single frame very quickly, almost subliminally, is used in 'Se7en', when Mills realises what has happened and thinks of his wife in the last scene. The effect is used here to be the turning point, if he had not seen the image, he may have done something different, and the director wanted to make it clear what it was that was going through his head, seeing as the last part of the film was all very physiological.
7. Sound can create a very tense atmosphere if used correctly. The sound of feet and heavy breathing while not showing who is making the sounds can be very unnerving. This is an effect that I could use effectively, as it requires no special effects, although I might want to record the sound effects separately from the video.
8. One of the best amateur videos I found was this one, created by a comedian who goes by the name of 'Ashens'. Although the video itself is a spoof, the techniques and quality of picture were better than many of those presented as coursework. I will have to examine this video more closely later on.9. Another popular technique used on the crime side of the thriller genre is a narrative, only heard by us and the narrator, often the protagonist. As a common idea in thrillers is to use a flawed protagonist (The violent types in Sin City, or the Lead in 'Vertigo' with his fear of heights).
10. Thrillers normally have ambiguous messages, for example in films such as "The Dark Knight" or "Se7en". This is often caused by the flawed characters; in "Se7en", if Mills hadn't killed Doe, would true justice have been done? In becoming Wrath, he does exactly what the antagonist wants him to do, and so can true justice ever be done? In a lot of other thrillers, we are given a criminal as a protagonist, and often leaves us with no choice but to like that character, which bends the rules of society, where criminals are seen as "evil". This is shown in a very large number of thrillers, such as "Pulp Fiction" and "Reservoir Dogs"
11. Thrillers nearly always revolve around crime. "The Godfather", "Sin City" and "The 3rd Man" are good examples of this. This is possibly the most important point yet, and so I must ensure that our thriller is based around crime.
No comments:
Post a Comment