Analysis of Thriller Films

To help us collect ideas and be inspired for our own thriller film, we decided to look into a variety of popular thriller films and analysed them, we looked into the key elements of thriller films that we should include in our own thriller.

Preliminary Task

Initial planning of Preliminary task:

This is the script we wrote for our preliminary task:

The slides bellow show the analysis of our preliminary task:

Here is a short picture-movie that shows the photos we took befour we started filming, of the setting for our preliminary task:

When editing our preliminary task we made sure we had included all apropriate camera angles. We have used panning shots and shot reverse shots, all of which stick to the 180 degree rule. In this clip you can see that we ensured that we had continuity with each shot and the sound.Here is our finnished preliminary task film:

Thriller Directors

There are a variety of directors that specialise in thriller films, the word map bellow shows a few famous examples.

The slides bellow give some information about Alfred Hitchcock, his style of directing and some of his well known thriller films.

The Prezi-slideshow bellow gives detailed information about M.Night Shyamalan and some of his thriller films.

M. Night Shyamalan on Prezi

Camera Angles

We have recently been studying different camera angles and their effects. Here is a list of different camera angles we have looked at in class:

• Establishing shot
• Master shot
• Point of view shot
• Low angle shot
• High angle shot
• Long shot
• Extreme long shot
• Close up
• Extreme close up
• Mid shot
• Two shot
• Wide angle shot
• Framing shot

We also learn't that when using a variety of camera angles it is important to stick to the 180 degree rule to keep accurate continuity. The image bellow shows how the 180 degree rule works.

Thriller Opening - 'The Shining'

Here is my analysis of the opening titles of the well known thriller film 'The Shining'. I chose 'The Shining' because it is a typical example of a thriller film, and I have never seen the film before so when I analysed it I was only thinking about the opening sequence, as oppose to the whole film.

Here is the opening sequence of 'The Shining'

Thriller Openings - Mise-en-Scene

In class we began analysing mise-en-scene in the openings to thriller films, to see how they created tension and suspense in just the opening titles. We watched the openings of: Reservoir Dogs, Donnie Brasco, and Taxi Driver. The poster below shows the notes I made on mise-en-scene, click to enlarge it.

Mise-en-scene

This week we looked at Mise-en-scene, which is what the director puts in the scene. The diagram bellow shows the different aspects of a film you should focus on when analysing mise-en-scene.

A famous french film critic and film theorist called Andre Bazin said that active use of mise-en-scene encourages participation of the audience, and thought that mise-en-scene was a very important aspect of films.

Thriller Film Extracts

Last week in lessons we began to start analysing extracts from thriller films. We watched: The Village, The Firm, and Collateral. These are all different types of thriller films, however when I began analysing the extracts it became clear that they all used similar techniques. I focused on: lighting, sounds, camera angles/movements and editing. These are the notes I made when watching the extracts:

The Village: Lighting: Naturalistic daylight at first but it gradually gets darker, which builds up tension. Contrast between light & dark/calm & fear. Pathetic fallacy (the weather reflects the mood of the scene).

Sound: At the beginning there is a man talking slowly in a deep, clam and serious voice, this creates and eerie atmosphere. Exaggerated loud bang on the trap door (dramatic). Music starts slow to symbolise the 'calm before the storm', but it gets faster and louder as the danger draws closer, this builds up tension. There is a ringing bell, symbolising a warning/alarm.

Camera: Framing-shots through the trees, like the characters are being watched. Close-ups on the characters faces to show their scared facial expressions. Zooming in on symbols/signs e.g. the blood marking on the door. The shots are steady for the calm section of the extract, but as the tension builds up and there is more and more action, the camera movements become jerky, to show the panic.

Editing: Slow editing at first, eerie and calm. Fast short shots for the more dramatic sections. Fades to black, relates to the theme of darkness.

The Firm: Lighting: Realistic lighting, natural daylight. The light is brightest on the protagonist, to keep the main focus on him.

Sound: Ticking, an indication that time is running out, this also creates tension. The music starts when the villain comes into focus, and then gets faster and louder as he gets closer to the protagonist (builds tension). Not much diegetic sound from the extras in the scene, this keeps the focus on the hero and villain.

Camera: Close-ups on the protagonist to show his facial expressions, this makes the scene more intense. Tracking and panning shots when running, keep up with the fast moving chase. The camera movements steady on the calm hero, but are jerkier on the villain, as he runs. Shows contrasts between the hero and the villain.

Editing: Slow editing at first, but gets faster with shorter shots as the action speeds up. Jump-cuts from hero to villain.

Collateral: Lighting: Darkness and dim/low lighting creating nightclub atmosphere with spot lights and strobe lighting. Sets the scene. Creates confusion. Dark lighting shows that the characters feel isolated.

Sound: Exaggerated loud night club music with heavy bass (sets scene). Diegetic sound: screams, gun shots, punching, glass smashing, and stabbing noises, all of which emphasises the violence.
Camera: Close-ups show characters emotions and focus on particular characters. Chaotic, fast camera movements.
Editing: The surroundings in the scene are blurred to keep the focus on the main characters and to create a chaotic atmosphere. Jump-cuts getting faster as the action and violence starts. Jumpy, short shots, fast pace to keep up with the speed of the action.

Thriller Sub-Genres Diagram

The diagram below shows a few of the sub-genres of thriller films. Click to enlarge it.

Thriller Conventions Word-Map

Thriller Film Analysis

For my thriller film analysis I chose ‘The Happening’, which is an apocalyptic thriller. Here is my analysis of the sound, camera angles, lighting, and editing in this film:

Here is the trailer for ‘The Happening’:

If the video doesn’t work then here is a link to the trailer of the 'The Happening': The Happening Trailer

Lesson 1: What Is A Thriller?